Chinese Learners Research Articles

Adapting online wine education to China: a two-study multimethod approach

Purpose Teaching wine tasting online is challenging, even given the curated digital tools of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, a highly renowned online wine certification system is used. This paper aims to initially explore wine experts’ opinions about online wine education and subsequently examine the feasibility of customizing wine appreciation lexicons for Chinese learners. Design/methodology/approach A two-study multimethod approach was adopted. Study 1, a two-stage Delphi study, was conducted with 17 wine experts representing a number of countries, using a mix of closed/open-ended questions in an online survey. Data was collected in a market study in Study 2, conducted at agricultural markets in Thailand (pilot test) and China. Dialogues with market sellers were undertaken, evoking mental imagery of wine descriptors to explore the relevance of traditional versus local aromas and flavors in describing wine. Findings Findings concentrate on three main areas: general advantages/disadvantages of online wine education, reactions toward asynchronous/synchronous methods of wine tasting and, finally, the feasibility of customizing a wine appreciation lexicon for Chinese learners. Originality/value The study presents novel insights into the role of online wine education in China.

The Auxiliary Role of Artificial Intelligence Applications in Mitigating the Linguistic, Psychological, and Educational Challenges of Teaching and Learning Chinese Language by non-Chinese Students

Learners might have several challenges while attempting to learn a second/foreign language. Learners of Chinese face linguistic, psychological, and educational challenges. The integration of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), into teaching foreign languages is a blessing for teachers and learners. This study delved into the auxiliary role of AI-powered applications in mitigating the linguistic, psychological, and educational challenges which non-Chinese learners face while learning Chinese/Mandarin language. Qualitative research was employed, and 20 teachers of Chinese language were selected through theoretical sampling. In-depth interviews were used for collecting data, and MAXQDA was used for thematic analysis. Findings revealed that AI-powered educational applications are useful for helping language learners overcome the commonly reported linguistic, psychological, and educational challenges which non-Chinese learners and teachers of Mandarin might encounter. Findings verify the effectiveness of AI-powered applications, such as ChatGPT, Poe, Brainly, and so forth, in helping teachers and learners of Chinese language learn grammar, structure, idioms, and cultural issues of Chinese language. Findings have implications for foreign language (Chinese) learners and teachers, educational technologists, as well as syllabus designers.

“To Use or Not to Use?” A Mixed-Methods Study on the Determinants of EFL College Learners’ Behavioral Intention to Use AI in the Distributed Learning Context

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers new possibilities for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to enhance their learning outcomes, provided that they have access to AI applications. However, little is written about the factors that influence their intention to use AI in distributed EFL learning contexts. This mixed-methods study, based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), examined the determinants of behavioral intention to use AI among 464 Chinese EFL college learners. As to quantitative data, a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach using IBM SPSS Amos (Version 24) produced some important findings. First, it was revealed that perceived ease of use significantly and positively predicts perceived usefulness and attitude toward AI. Second, attitude toward AI significantly and positively predicts behavioral intention to use AI. However, contrary to the TAM assumptions, perceived usefulness does not significantly predict either attitude toward AI or behavioral intention to use AI. Third, mediation analyses suggest that perceived ease of use has a significant and positive impact on students’ behavioral intention to use AI through their attitude toward AI, rather than through perceived usefulness. As to qualitative data, semi-structured interviews with 15 learners, analyzed by the software MAXQDA 2022, provide a nuanced understanding of the statistical patterns. This study also discusses the theoretical and pedagogical implications and suggests directions for future research.

To talk or to remain silent? Foreign language enjoyment and perceived classroom climate as drivers of change in Chinese EFL learners’ willingness to communicate: a latent growth curve analysis

ABSTRACT Classroom communication helps learners ameliorate their language proficiency, particularly speaking skills. Considering this, factors that bring favorable variations in language learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) need to be identified. To address this need, many SLA researchers have strived to disclose the predictors or antecedents of L2 learners’ WTC. However, no researcher has examined the internal and external sources of this variable and the growth of L2 learners’ WTC via complexity-informed approaches. To bridge the gaps, using latent growth curve analysis (LGCA), the present study investigated the rate of change in Chinese EFL learners’ WTC at the beginning, middle, and the end of the semester and measured the role of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and perceived classroom climate in predicting Chinese EFL learners’ WTC. To accomplish this, three self-report scales were administered to 894 EFL learners at three different times. Results indicated that Chinese EFL learners’ WTC significantly increased during the semester and uncovered that FLE and perceived classroom climate brought positive and significant variations in Chinese EFL learners’ WTC. The findings would be of great help to language teachers, notably English teachers, in raising L2 learners’ WTC.

Second Language Identity of Chinese Junior High School EFL Learners: Its Construction and Sources

Second Language Identity of Chinese Junior High School EFL Learners: Its Construction and Sources

Modeling the Contributions of Perceived Teacher Autonomy Support and School Climate to Chinese EFL Students' Learning Engagement.

Given the value of student engagement and its impact on academic performance, it is critical to identify factors that influence student engagement in different educational contexts. To do so, we examined the contributions of perceived teacher autonomy support and school climate in English as a foreign language (EFL) students' learning engagement. We conducted online surveys of 331 Chinese intermediate English learners. We substantiated the validity of the survey scales for measuring these three latent variables through confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), and we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify interrelationships in these variables of interest. Both perceived teacher autonomy support and school climate were significantly and positively related to student engagement, with school climate more strongly correlated than teacher autonomy support. These findings suggest that teacher autonomy support and a positive school climate are important contributors to student engagement in EFL classrooms, and we discussed practical implications of these discoveries for EFL teachers.

An Empirical Study of the Teachability and Learnability of L2 “Thinking for Speaking” Patterns

This study examines whether explicit pedagogical instructions of multimodal strategies based on typological contrastive analysis have any facilitative effect on the restructuring of “thinking for speaking” patterns, focusing on motion event construal which has been demonstrated to be notoriously difficult in second language acquisition (Hendriks and Hickmann 2011, Slobin 1996). Eighty adult Chinese intermediate-level EFL learners were recruited for a classroom-based quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. Teaching TFS instructions with awareness enhancement strategies as an independent variable divided the participants into two groups, the experimental group that received instructions and control group that followed a traditional teaching approach over a period of 4 weeks. Writing data were elicited by means of the <i>Frog Story</i> and was coded on specific measures of accuracy and complexity of the properties of lexicalization patterns: the description of Motion, Path and Ground. The results showed positive instructional effect on learners’ writing performance of motion event expression and confirmed the possibility of restructuring L1 thinking-for-speaking patterns in L2 through pedagogical instructions. The findings provide practical implications for teachers, typological contrastive awareness and explicit pedagogical instructions prove to be significant for learners’ development of L2 thinking for speaking patterns.

Young Chinese Language Learners’ L2 Motivational Self System and Learning Achievement in Chinese Literacy Acquisition

ABSTRACT This study investigated the impact of young Chinese second language learners’ motivation on their Chinese literacy acquisition. Based on the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), 188 Grade 5 ethnic minority students in Hong Kong were assessed. They completed an L2MSS questionnaire, a Chinese oral vocabulary test, and Chinese literacy measures, which covered Chinese character reading, spelling, reading comprehension, and sentence writing. Structural equation modelling results showed that the L2MSS tripartite predictors—ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and learning experience—predicted the students’ intended learning effort and literacy achievement, controlling for oral vocabulary. The ought-to self had the strongest total effect on effort and achievement, while the ideal self had a substantial effect on the learning experience and indirectly contributed to effort. This study argues that young learners’ perceived social expectation significantly influenced their motivation to learn to read and write Chinese. Their identification as fluent Chinese readers and writers generated positive learning experiences that were conducive to literacy learning.

Examining Chinese EFL learners’ acceptance of mobile-assisted vocabulary learning applications and its influencing factors

Abstract Significant advancements in mobile technology have offered tremendous potential for mobile-assisted vocabulary learning (MAVL). Given the relatively few studies on learners’ acceptance of MAVL, this study integrates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Self-Determination Theory to assess participants’ acceptance and motivation levels regarding MAVL applications and to identify predictors of users’ intention to utilise these applications. Questionnaire data from 270 Chinese English as a foreign language university students revealed that the participants exhibited a strong intention to learn English vocabulary via mobile applications, and they reported high levels of motivation. Additionally, structural equation modelling analysis results indicated that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived competence accounted for 61 % of the variance in users’ behavioural intention to use MAVL applications, which demonstrated a stronger explanatory power than the original TAM. Perceived autonomy and perceived competence, however, failed to predict usage intention of MAVL. The proposed theoretical framework extends the original TAM and offers implications for application developers, suggesting the importance of designing user-friendly applications.

Effects of peer familiarity on Chinese English learners’ L2 learning in collaborative writing

AbstractIn second language education, the pairing of students for interaction, particularly based on peer familiarity, has garnered considerable attention from researchers. Despite this focus, studies examining the impact of peer familiarity on language learning during peer interactions have produced varied results, with limited exploration in the context of collaborative writing tasks. This study seeks to investigate the effects of peer familiarity on Chinese English learners’ language learning in collaborative writing. Two groups of participants were recruited, including five familiar pairs and five unfamiliar pairs. Their interactive dialogues throughout the collaborative writing process were recorded; transcribed; and then analyzed for the number, type, and outcome of language‐related episodes (LREs). Our findings revealed that the familiar pairs exhibited a significantly higher production of LREs and a greater success rate in solving these episodes compared to the unfamiliar pairs. Furthermore, all participants demonstrated a higher retention rate for successfully solved LREs compared to unsolved ones, although no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of language learning retention. The findings offer pedagogical implications for student grouping in collaborative work.

Associations Between Teacher Confirmation, Emotional Support and Chinese EFL Learners' Grit: Sequential Mixed Methods.

While grit is considered essential to EFL learners as they navigate the challenges and setbacks of foreign language learning, it has been largely overlooked by EFL researchers. In this sequential mixed methods study with qualitative data and structural equation modeling (SEM), we examined the role of teacher confirmation and emotional support in predicting L2 grit among 309 low-proficiency Chinese EFL learners who were majoring in music, fine arts, and physical education at Chinese universities. Our results revealed positive correlations between teacher confirmation, emotional support, and L2 grit, with both teacher confirmation and emotional support significantly predicting L2 grit in our presumptive model. Qualitatively, we analyzed 22 participants' responses to three open-ended questions from a semi-structured interview. Interviewees named a spectrum of interpersonal, learner, context, teacher, and task related factors they believed to be affecting their L2 grit. Among the interpersonal factors, teacher-student communication variables were most frequently named, echoing our quantitative findings. We discussed the limitations, pedagogical implications, and recommended future directions of this research.

The effects of lexical densities and task types on Chinese students’ incidental vocabulary acquisition

This study examines the effects arose by different lexical densities (2%, 5%) and task types (mind map, continuation task) on Chinese senior high students. Four classes of intermediate-level Chinese EFL learners were randomly assigned to four groups, where the treatment condition for each group includes two variables (group1: 2%+mind map, group2: 5%+mind map, group3: 5%+continuation task, group4: 2%+continuation task). It was found that (1) lexical density (2%, 5%) would not result in a significant difference on incidental vocabulary acquisition; (2) Both tasks would lead to a significant difference on incidental vocabulary acquisition and (3) mind map showed superiority in enhancing receptive vocabulary, productive vocabulary and word retention under the text of 5% of lexical density; (4) 2% of lexical density more facilitated output vocabulary when the continuation task was administered. Pedagogical implications of these results for EFL vocabulary acquisition are discussed.

How does background knowledge affect second language reading? An eye movement study

AbstractThere is broad consensus that a reader's background knowledge on a reading topic affects both their reading processes and comprehension in their first language and also in a second language. However, it is unclear whether a reader's background knowledge specifically affects reading comprehension accuracy and reading rate. The extent to which background knowledge facilitates second language reading when compared to a reader's L2 linguistic knowledge is also unclear. Moreover, the mental process accounting for the interaction between general background knowledge, type of linguistic knowledge such as vocabulary or writing system, and L2 reading abilities also need to be identified. Using texts in Mandarin Chinese, this paper investigates these problems with an eye‐movement study administered to 40 L2 Chinese learners with Indo‐European L1s. Results illustrate that an L2 reader's background knowledge about the text can positively impact both their reading comprehension and reading rate; however, the influence on the latter could be topic‐dependent. In more challenging topics, the contribution of background knowledge to reading comprehension could outweigh any single type of linguistic knowledge, even if the target language uses a more cognitively demanding writing system. The connectionist account proposed by the construction–integration theory is suggested to be currently the best theoretical explanation for the mental process behind developing second‐language reading abilities. Pedagogical implications are also considered based on these findings.

Study on classroom anxiety, self-efficacy, and their relationship among chinese korean language learners

Study on classroom anxiety, self-efficacy, and their relationship among chinese korean language learners

Identification of Sentence Stems Characteristic of Chinese Learner English Writing

Phraseological units in academic English texts have been a central focus in recent corpus linguistic research. This paper describes a special category of clause-level phraseological units, namely, Characteristic Sentence Stems (CSSs), with a view to describing their identifying criteria and their extraction method. CSSs are contiguous lexico-grammatical sequences which contain a subject-predicate structure and which are frame expressions characteristic of academic writing. The extraction method of a CSS consists of six steps: POS tagging, n-gram segmentation, structure identification, significance of occurrence calculation, text range calculation, and overlapping sequence reduction. The significance of occurrence calculation is the crux of this method. It includes the computing of both the internal association and the boundary independence of a CSS, and it tests the occurring significance of the CSS from both the inside and the outside perspectives. Our methods and results suggest that CSSs can be statistically defined and extracted from corpora and can employed in large-scale studies to more fully account for the phraseological features of non-native English academic writing.

FIRST LANGUAGE TRANSFER IN CHINESE UNDERGRADUATES’ USE OF CONNECTORS IN ENGLISH NARRATIVES

Background and Purpose: Connectors are vital tools for cohesive discourse, significantly influencing the writing proficiency of learners. In Chinese educational contexts, many learners grapple with the correct application of connectors, due to potential first language (L1) influence. Previous research primarily delves into lexical and syntactic aspects, overlooking discourse-level considerations. This study aims to assess the frequency and accuracy of connector usage in English narratives among Chinese learners. It also seeks to investigate the extent of language transfer concerning connectors among Chinese learners and discern how this transfer evolves as learners' second language (L2) proficiency advances. Methodology: To amass data, 150 narratives composed by 30 Chinese learners were analyzed. Initial qualitative analysis was followed by quantitative examination. Findings: The findings underscore temporal words as the most frequently employed connectors, closely trailed by additives and causal words. Notably, temporal words and adversatives exhibited higher accuracy when compared to other connector types. Positive transfer manifested more frequently than negative transfer. Moreover, positive transfer displayed a noticeable inflectional change across the five-time narratives, whereas little variation was observed in negative transfer. Contributions: This study suggests that stakeholders, including educators, learners, and policymakers, should leverage positive transfer as a strategic resource when instructing connectors to enhance L2 writing proficiency. Keywords: First language, language transfer, connector, narratives, Chinese undergraduates. Cite as: Ma, Y. Q., & Stapa, M. B. (2024). First language transfer in Chinese undergraduates’ use of connectors in English narratives. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 9(2), 131-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss2pp131-159

Integrating international Chinese visualization teaching and vocational skills training: leveraging attention-connectionist temporal classification models.

The teaching of Chinese as a second language has become increasingly crucial for promoting cross-cultural exchange and mutual learning worldwide. However, traditional approaches to international Chinese language teaching have limitations that hinder their effectiveness, such as outdated teaching materials, lack of qualified instructors, and limited access to learning facilities. To overcome these challenges, it is imperative to develop intelligent and visually engaging methods for teaching international Chinese language learners. In this article, we propose leveraging speech recognition technology within artificial intelligence to create an oral assistance platform that provides visualized pinyin-formatted feedback to learners. Additionally, this system can identify accent errors and provide vocational skills training to improve learners' communication abilities. To achieve this, we propose the Attention-Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC) model, which utilizes a specific temporal convolutional neural network to capture the location information necessary for accurate speech recognition. Our experimental results demonstrate that this model outperforms similar approaches, with significant reductions in error rates for both validation and test sets, compared with the original Attention model, Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) is reduced by 0.67%. Overall, our proposed approach has significant potential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of vocational skills training for international Chinese language learners.

A Study on Korea Language Education Methods using Idioms included in the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK)-Focused on Chinese Learners

A Study on Korea Language Education Methods using Idioms included in the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK)-Focused on Chinese Learners

Comparison Between English and Mandarin Vowel Systems and the Challenges for Chinese Learners of English

In contemporary China, learning English has been considered as a must for almost all students, with the pronunciation acquisition usually being the initial focus. Among the phonetic elements, the mastery of vowel pronunciation is particularly crucial in that vowels are an essential element of language. Due to its great importance, numerous studies have comparatively analyzed the English and Mandarin vowel systems and experimentally listed the challenges Chinese English learners may face. Based on these analysis, feasible measures to handle the problems posed for Chinese learners are proposed. This paper collects and concludes logically the main discoveries and theories that have been raised by former scholars, with the aim of clearly presenting the disparities between the vowel systems of the two languages, illustrating the difficulties those differences may bring about, and sharing some approaches in which teachers can help their students to get out of the way. Despite the similarities and differences between the two vowel systems, which can lead to pronunciation errors, strategies such as meticulous comparison and immediate correction can aid students in getting rid of these obstacles. Therefore, this paper is of significant value in elucidating the difficulties encountered by Chinese students in learning English pronunciation and in outlining effective pedagogical strategies for teaching pronunciation.

Comparison Between English and Mandarin Vowel Systems and the Challenges for Chinese Learners of English

In contemporary China, learning English has been considered as a must for almost all students, with the pronunciation acquisition usually being the initial focus. Among the phonetic elements, the mastery of vowel pronunciation is particularly crucial in that vowels are an essential element of language. Due to its great importance, numerous studies have comparatively analyzed the English and Mandarin vowel systems and experimentally listed the challenges Chinese English learners may face. Based on these analysis, feasible measures to handle the problems posed for Chinese learners are proposed. This paper collects and concludes logically the main discoveries and theories that have been raised by former scholars, with the aim of clearly presenting the disparities between the vowel systems of the two languages, illustrating the difficulties those differences may bring about, and sharing some approaches in which teachers can help their students to get out of the way. Despite the similarities and differences between the two vowel systems, which can lead to pronunciation errors, strategies such as meticulous comparison and immediate correction can aid students in getting rid of these obstacles. Therefore, this paper is of significant value in elucidating the difficulties encountered by Chinese students in learning English pronunciation and in outlining effective pedagogical strategies for teaching pronunciation.