Foreign Studies University Research Articles

Η ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ ΩΣ ΞΕΝΗΣ ΣΕ ΔΙΕΘΝΗ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ ΣΠΟΥΔΩΝ: Η ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΚΕΝΤΡΟΥ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΑΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΩΝ ΜΕ ΤΟ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΞΕΝΩΝ ΣΠΟΥΔΩΝ ΤΟΥΕΚΙΝΟΥ

Η ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ ΩΣ ΞΕΝΗΣ ΣΕ ΔΙΕΘΝΗ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ ΣΠΟΥΔΩΝ: Η ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΚΕΝΤΡΟΥ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΑΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΩΝ ΜΕ ΤΟ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΞΕΝΩΝ ΣΠΟΥΔΩΝ ΤΟΥΕΚΙΝΟΥ

Международная научная конференция «Взаимодействие языков и культур» (Челябинск, 28–30 мая 2018 г.)

The paper provides an overview of the international academic conference Language & Cultural Interaction held on May 28–30 in Chelyabinsk. This landmark event for the linguistics brought together scientists not only from Russia and China, but also from the neighboring and other countries. Since the reports of eminent scientists deserved the attention of all participants, the conference program included four plenary sessions. The conference resulted in a signed memorandum of understanding concerning the development of cooperation between the Institute of Linguistics and International Communications of the South Ural State Research University, SUSU, and the Tianjin Foreign Studies University (China), including sharing experiences in the current areas of modern linguistics, cultural linguistics, pedagogical anthropology and methods of teaching foreign languages in order to develop regional and international scientific cooperation.

The origins and early developments of the UN Training Program for Interpreters and Translators in Beijing

Abstract This paper fills the missing the link in the research on the history of interpreter and translator training in the P. R. China. After the restoration of China’s seat in the United Nations on October 25, 1971, the UN Secretariat suggested, as early as in 1972, to the P. R. C. Permanent Mission in New York, that a training course be established to train interpreters and translators. But it was not until 1979 that the UN Training Program for Interpreters and Translators (译训班) was established at Beijing Foreign Studies University. What happened during the period of 1972–1978 and how the first cohort of students were recruited and trained remain, to a large extent, unexplored areas. By combining newly-discovered historical materials and interviews with former staff members and students of the program, this paper presents details about the preparatory work carried out in mid-1970s that laid the foundations for the establishment of the program, the month-long negotiations between Chinese and the UN representatives in 1978 that led to the founding of the program, as well as the recruitment and training of the first cohort of students.

Mock Conference’s Impact on Internalizing Translating and Interpreting Learners’ Motivation

The internalization of motivation in second/foreign language (L2) learning and the use of mock conferences (MCs) to prepare Translating and Interpreting learners for future professional careers have been widely researched by scholars, but whether mock conference can facilitate the internalization of T&I learners’ motivation are under-researched. Based on Self Determination Theory (SDT), this thesis investigates the effectiveness of MC in facilitating internalization of motivation through an empirical study which involves a two-week long pedagogical experiment on two parallel classes of T&I learners taught by the same teacher in their first year of graduate study at Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, Beijing Foreign Studies University. The research shows that compared with traditional teacher-centered teaching model, MCs can better facilitate internalization of T&I learners’ motivation. This article justifies the use of MCs as a situated approach in interpreting teaching and describes the design of MCs according to the psychological needs of Self Determination Theory (SDT). In addition, the paper offers suggestions for further improvement of mock conference’s design at postgraduate level.Key words: second/foreign language (L2) acquisition; mock conference; self-determination; internalization of motivation

Rain or Fish, and: Water Bird

Rain or Fish, and: Water Bird Gao Xing (bio) Translated by Ming Di (bio), Frank Stewart (bio), and Liang Yujing (bio) rain or fish Rain (yu) and fish (yu) are homonyms in Chinese but have different tones. Suddenly lightningflashes and the rainis transformed into fish, each transparent bluefalling in a torrentacross the earth Below,some of the people are startled and panic,they cower here and there and cover their heads.Others are ecstatic and opentheir welcoming arms. I blink my eyes and cry aloud:Look, the sky is having a dream. [End Page 33] water bird Something streaks across the skyplunges into the water and rises—was it merely the sky's shadow? The bird paddles along,slaps at the surface, then stops.What shall I do? It hesitates as ifconsidering its options:turn around, dive under, or fly away—three possibilities to choose from,three paths, three directions. The bird turns back,Then returns, and suddenly dives as ifovercoming some obstacle in its path.It surfaces, and then rises into the airin the direction of the horizon.The bird is certain that it can haveall three choices, as if they were all one. Only such a bird knows the meaning of freedom.But it does not speak. The bird has no need at all to speak of freedom. [End Page 34] Gao Xing Gao Xing 高兴 was born in Jiangsu province in 1963 and graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. In addition to writing poems and essays, he has translated Milan Kundera, Ismail Kadare, Tomaz Salamun, and others into Chinese. He is the deputy editor-in-chief of the Chinese journal World Literature. Ming Di Ming Di 明迪 is a Chinese poet based in the U.S. She attended Boston College and Boston University, where she taught Chinese. She has published six books of poetry in Chinese along with a collaborative translation, River Merchant's Wife (2012). She co-translated The Book of Cranes by Zang Di (2015) with Neil Aitken, and Empty Chairs: Selected Poems by Liu Xia (2015) with Jennifer Stern, which was a finalist for the 2016 Best Translation Book Award. She edited and co-translated New Cathay: Contemporary Chinese Poetry (2013) and New Poetry from China 1917–2017 (2019). In 2013 and 2014, she received Henry Luce Foundation fellowships. A co-founder of Poetry East West journal, she serves as the China editor for Poetry International Rotterdam. She has also translates from English into Chinese, most recently Observations by Marianne Moore (2018). Frank Stewart Frank Stewart is a recipient of the Whiting Writers Award. His edited books include The Poem Behind the Poem: Translating Asian Poetry (2004). His translations, with Michelle Yeh, are included in Hawk of the Mind: Collected Poems of Yang Mu (2018). He has also translated I, Snow Leopard by Jidi Majia (2016); other translations have appeared in Chinese Poetry Today, World Literature Today, and Harvard Review On-line: "Omniglots." Liang Yujing Liang Yujing grew up in China and is a doctral candidate at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He is the Chinese translator of Best New Zealand Poems 2014 and the English translator of Zero Distance: New Poetry from China. Copyright © 2019 University of Hawaiʿi Press

Contributors to This Issue

Previous article FreeContributors to This IssuePDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreJingyun Dai is a doctoral student in sociology at Harvard University. She is broadly interested in political sociology, organizations, and the sociology of knowledge.Greg Distelhorst is the Mitsubishi Career Development Professor in International Management and Assistant Professor of Global Economics and Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an investigator with the Governance Project at Stanford University. His research on public participation and government responsiveness in China has recently appeared in The Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies, and Quarterly Journal of Political Science.Anoushiravan Ehteshami is professor and the Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Chair in International Relations and director of the HH Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Programme at the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University. His publications include Dynamics of Change in the Persian Gulf: Political Economy, War and Revolution (2013), Iran: Stuck in Transition (2017), and, as co-editor with Niv Horesh, China’s Presence in the Middle East: The Implications of the One Belt, One Road Initiative (2018).Diana Fu is assistant professor of Asian politics at the University of Toronto. She works on contentious politics in China, with a focus on labor and civil society. She is the author of Mobilizing without the Masses: Control and Contention in China (2017), and her articles have appeared in Comparative Politics Studies, Governance, and Modern China.Niv Horesh is associate professor at the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University. He has published several books and articles in the fields of history, business, and Asian studies. He is particularly interested in monetary policy and outbound foreign investment, past and present.Ewan Smith is the Shaw Foundation Junior Research Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford, and an associate at the Oxford University China Centre. He spent ten years working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including five years in the Political Section of the British Embassy in Beijing. His current research considers the role of political rules in China’s constitutional order.Anthony J. Spires is senior lecturer at the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Melbourne. His research focuses on the development of civil society in China, including philanthropy, governmental regulation, and the cultures of nonprofit organizations. He recently served as a consulting editor for the American Journal of Sociology and is a frequent reviewer for other academic publications.Beibei Tang is associate professor in the Department of China Studies at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou. Her research focuses on state-society relations, grassroots governance, and social class in contemporary China. She was awarded the 2015 Gordon White Prize by The China Quarterly, and she has also published in The China Journal, Journal of Contemporary China, and other journals. She is the author of China’s Housing Middle Class (2018).Ruike Xu is lecturer at the School of English and International Studies at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. He specializes in China–Middle East relations and the US-UK special relationship. His articles have appeared in International Affairs, Journal of Strategic Studies, and Asian Affairs. He is also the author of Alliance Persistence within the Anglo-American Special Relationship: The Post-Cold War Era (2017).Xu Yi-chong is professor in the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University. She is author of Sinews of Power (2017) and Politics of Nuclear Energy in China (2010), and co-author (with Patrick Weller) of The Working World of International Organisations (2018) and Inside the World Bank (2009). Previous article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The China Journal Volume 79January 2018 Published on behalf of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/694917 Copyright 2018 by The Australian National University. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Assessing the English Translation of BFSU’s New Motto

<p>The motto is a potent marketing tool in today’s globalized site of higher education. Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) adopted a new motto in 2011 to reflect its new self-branding as a cosmopolitan scholar-doer. Its English translation has since then triggered much discussion about quality assessment. The current study critically surveys the existing literature on translation quality assessment (TQA), in an effort to identify an appropriate framework to assess the translation of Chinese university mottos. House’s model (2015) is found the most appropriate and applied to the official translation of the BFSU motto, after being adjusted in two important aspects. One, in regard to the rise of English as a language of global communication, it is proposed that more broad-based English norms than those of English as a native language be established for the purpose of adjudicating cultural filtering. Two, the use of corpus-based contrastive pragmatics is expanded to gauge the justifiability of overt as well as covert mismatches. While the errors identified by such a modified model are better intersubjectively verifiable, it remains to see how social research can be incorporated into the system to assess the degrees different errors may impact on the perceived quality of a translation.</p>

Art, Science and History in a Globalized World: the Case of Italy-China

Art and science, over the centuries, though starting from different positions, have very often led to the same conclusions. History, on the other hand, establishes identities that derive from our past and allows for exchanges and unity between people of different nationalities, in both a commercial and scientific context, in a world without borders, in spite of obvious contradictions related to this globalized world. The case of Italy-China bears witness to this in a significant way. A case in point is represented by the scientific collaboration between the Alma Mater University of Bologna and Zhejiang University, as well as that between the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome and Fudan University in Shanghai, Zhejiang University and the Foreign Studies University of Beijing. In the first case, the ongoing research project “Historical anamnesis, preservation and valorization of the statues of the Longxing Buddhist Temple of Qingzhou (China)” is being carried out between the Department of Cultural Heritage Diagnostic Laboratory for Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna and the Cultural Heritage Institute of Zhejiang University. In the second case, collaboration between the Salesian Pontifical University and the Chinese Universities, covers activities relating to the study of philosophy, pedagogy and Latin language and literature. The paper highlights the importance of drawing value of a cultural, conservative, social, identitary nature within the context of the holistic value of cultural heritage and respecting ethical aspects at a personal and interpersonal level, in particular, by offering young people the opportunity to enter the employment market and of which they are currently experiencing all the problematic fluctuations.

A Corpus-based Study on Collocation and Colligation of “Soil” in Agricultural English

This paper was based on the corpus built by the writers on agricultural science and technology English. Through corpus-based research and statistical tools AntConc 3.2.1 and BFSU Collocator 1.0 (Beijing Foreign Studies University Collocator 1.0), this paper tried to make an analysis of the collocation and colligation of the word “soil”. The result revealed the colligation between “soil” and its collocates in agricultural academic papers, which was instructive to academic writing and the research method was a practical reference of building a corpus on agricultural science and technology English.

An Empirical Study of Chinese EFL Classroom Teaching: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach

AbstractAn empirical study of Chinese EFL learners has been carried out in the authentic Chinese EFL classroom on the campus of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, with an aim to verify how and why the cognitive linguistic approach can facilitate L2 or FL learners in the process of learning English as a second or a foreign language. The statistical analysis of the data showed that the EC outperformed the CC both on lexical and grammatical proficiency and on their metaphorical and pragmatic or sociolinguist competence after the classroom treatment. The study has concluded that using CMs and IMs as the motivator and organizer in the process of learning English as a foreign language, the cognitive approach benefits L2 or FL learners with respect to comprehension and retention of memory.

Five Poems

Shu Cai (Chen Shucai) was born in Fenghua, Zhejiang, in 1965. He majored in French at Beijing Foreign Studies University, graduating in 1987. He worked as a diplomat in the Chinese embassy in Senegal from 1990 through 1994. Since 2000, he has worked at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in the Foreign Literature Research Institute. He currently lives in Beijing. His publications include, among others, a poetry collection entitled Alone, and an essay collection entitled Peeking. His work has been translated into many languages, including French, English, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic. He has also translated and published poetry collections including Selected Poems of Pierre Reverdy, Selected Poems of Rene Char, and Selected Poems of Yves Bonnefoy. In 2008, he received the Order des Palmes Academiques (Order of Academic Palms) from the French government.

Symposium: Dynamic systems/Complexity theory as a new approach to second language development

Presented at the 16th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA), Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, 24 August 2011.The goal of the symposium was to show that a Dynamic systems/Complexity theory (DST) perspective will provide important insights into the L2 developmental process. Kees de Bot (University of Groningen) introduced the symposium by outlining the basic characteristics of a dynamic system: all factors or variables involved in language development are interconnected, interact with each other over time, and affect each other differently over time on different time scales. Initial conditions such as the learner's L1, motivation or level of proficiency are crucial and systems self-organize over time. Development is not linear and learners are not all the same, so variability and variation are the norm.

Symposium: The contexualization of teaching and learning English as an international language

Presented at the 16th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA), Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, 24 August 2011.SLA research has long been challenged by the flawed comparison of L2 learners to native speakers (Bley-Vroman 1983). Since the start of the new millennium, applied linguists have paid increasing attention to studies of English as a lingua franca (ELF), defined as ‘communication in English between speakers with different first languages’ (Seidlhofer 2005: 339). From the ELF perspective, L2 speakers of English are no longer considered as ‘failed native speakers’ who produce problematic talk, but as ‘highly skilled communicators’ (Jenkins, Cogo & Dewey 2011: 284) who attempt to use multilingual resources to achieve their communicative goals.

Symposium: (Dis)ordered processes of globalization: Policing and voicing language identities

Presented at the 16th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA), Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, 27 August 2011.This symposium aimed to capture the multiple and dynamic processes of language and identity in the context of globalization. The pervasive process of globalization has inevitably affected the previously existing social and linguistic order. Broad, stable and normal patterns of conduct are being deconstructed and reshuffled; multiple, overlapping and conflicting forms are being shaped and reshaped. The abnormal becomes normal; disorder becomes the new order. The symposium explored this issue from two complementary perspectives – a macro perspective that focuses on language policies, and a micro perspective that focuses on how people struggle to articulate their identities.

Chinese firms “going out”: An economic dynamic with political significance

Based on:- Special issue of Contemporary International Relations (现代国际关系, xiandai guoji guanxi, 2011, no. 8) following a meeting organised by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (中国现代国际关系研究院, zhongguo xiandai guoji guanxi yanjiu yuan) on 9 August 2011 on the theme “Reviewing ten years of China’s ‘going out’ strategy: Successes and challenges,” containing the following articles:- Article 1: “From an active and progressive ‘going out’ strategy to its speedier implementation,” Tao Jian, professor and director, University of International Relations.- Article 2: “Reviewing ten years of China’s ‘going out’ strategy: successes and challenges,” Jin Canrong, professor and vice-director, Faculty of International Relations, Renmin University.- Article 3: “Why are the political risks of China’s direct investments abroad so high?,” Mei Xinyu, researcher, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.- Article 4: “Some salient problems linked to China’s ‘going out’ strategy,” Jiang Yong, researcher, economics department, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.- Article 5: “International political economic analysis of China’s ‘going out’ strategy,” Lin Hongyu, professor and director, Department of International Politics, University of International Relations.- Article 6: “Promoting the renminbi’s internationalisation through an autonomous strategy,” Zhao Qingming, PhD, deputy senior manager at the head office, China Construction Bank.- Article 7: “The 3L growth method for Chinese multinationals,” Fan Libo, professor and director, research centre on international companies, International and Business Economics University.- Article 8: “Hong Kong’s role and functions in the new phase of China’s ‘going out’ strategy,” Zhang Yuncheng, researcher and director, Centre for Hong Kong and Macao-related Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.- Article 9: “Enterprises ‘going out’ and public diplomacy,” Li Yonghui, professor and dean of the School of International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University.

National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University

The National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education (NRCFLE) attached to Beijing Foreign Studies University (www.sinotefl.ac.cn/) is a key research institute in the humanities and social sciences in universities approved by the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the People's Republic of China. It was formally set up and approved in September 2000. After a decade of dedicated hard work, the centre has become an applied linguistics hub of research and training unrivalled in China, and co-hosted AILA2011, the 16th World Congress in Applied Linguistics in August 2011. The current director of the centre, WEN Qiufang, currently presides over the China English Language Education Association, another co-host of AILA2011. The centre publishes two journals, one of them, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, being pre-eminent in the field in every key journal index in China, as well as being the only journal in applied linguistics and foreign language education to feature in the MOE's 2010 Distinguished Journals in Humanities and Social Sciences.

A Chess Master Model for Classroom Teaching and Teacher/Researcher Development

Tongji University and Beijing Foreign Studies University recently have set up a joint Multimodal,Multimedia,and Multi-environment Learning Research Lab (3-ML Lab for short) for in-service teachers to videotape their own classroom teaching so that they can reflect upon real-life performances.This paper presents an outline of a chess master model for inservice teacher development involving the use of the 3-ML Lab.The model consists of four essential components:(a) the design phase,(b) the performance phase,(c) the reflection phase,and (d) the application phase.A mini-case study is presented to demonstrate how the model works in practice.The model is evaluated against other models of teacher development as found in Wallace (1991).A distinctive feature of the chess master model is its methodology in multimodal text analysis (MTA) as a way for critical self-reflection.

Promoting Student Participation in Seminar Courses: A Case Study

Using a conversation analysis approach, the present study investigates the teacher-led question-answer sequences of one successful seminar course ( Short Stories and Western Culture ) within the curriculum reform for English majors in Beijing Foreign Studies University, aiming at uncovering an effective way of integrating disciplinary learning with language skills development. The result of the analysis shows that the teacher of the course, who perceives student participation as an indispensable ingredient of his class, often uses more divergent, opinion-seeking questions to initiate discussion and uses four types of expansion question on his turns to promote student participation, namely, probing questions (PQ), clue-giving questions (CQ), elaboration requests (ER), and agreement checks (AC). The study also generates an I-R-(E)-F-FC [ Initiation-Response-(Evaluation)-Follow up-Further Contribution ] model, in which the teacher attempts to promote student participation and guide the construction of students' understanding. 本研究采用会话分析的方法，对北外英语专业课程体系改革中一门比较成功的讨论型专业课（《短篇小说与西方文化》）课堂上的师生问答序列进行分析，旨在探究高年级专业教学与语言技能（口语）训练结合的有效途径。分析结果显示，这门课中教师采用发散式、征求观点类问题引发学生参与，而后又采用四种问题话轮来拓展学生的发言。这四种扩展问题话轮分别是：追问、提供线索式问题、详述请求、同意检验。同时，研究中还总结出一套由引发一回答一（评价）一跟进一进一步发言构成的会话模式。该模式不仅促进了学生参与，同时也有助于教师帮助学生构建对课程内容的理解。

Cognitive Linguistics–Inspired Empirical Study of Chinese EFL Teaching

Aiming to verify how and why insightfulness of the CL-inspired approach can facilitate L2 or FL learners in the process of learning English as a second or a foreign language, an empirical study of Chinese EFL learners has been carried out in the authentic Chinese EFL classroom on the campus of Tianjin Foreign Studies University. After the classroom treatment, it has been found that the EG outperformed the CG by 21.7% based on the results from the delayed posttest in Experiment 1; by 6.73% in Experiment 2; by 6.61% in Experiment 3; by 21.7% in Experiment 4. The study has concluded that through awakening students’ metaphoric awareness and analyzing features of the image schematic structure, the CL-inspired approach benefits L2 or FL learners in the process of learning English as a foreign language with respect to lexical and grammatical competence, metaphorical and pragmatic or sociolinguist competence, including semantic comprehension in reading, writing and translation, particularly in terms of long-term retention of memory.

The China Research Center of Overseas Sinology of the Beijing Foreign Studies University

The China Research Center of Overseas Sinology of the Beijing Foreign Studies University