10 January 2002, Volume 12 Issue 1

    

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Learning and Teaching English in the Chinese Context
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  From the Editors

  Gwendolyn Gong George S. Braine

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 0-0. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-000

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  Introduction

  Yongqi GU

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 1-4. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-001

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  Metalinguistic Knowledge at Work: The Case of Written Production by Chinese Learners of English

  Guangwei HU

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 5-44. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-002

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  A fundamental belief underlying traditional Chinese approaches to second language (L2) instruction is that explicitly represented knowledge about the target language can become increasingly available for spontaneous use through practice. The present study addresses this belief by investigating whether instructed Chinese learners’ metalinguistic knowledge about English is mobilized in their production and what psychological factors may impinge on access to such knowledge. Drawing on previous work on knowledge representation, information processing, and human categorization, it was hypothesized that real-time access to metalinguistic knowledge in L2 production would be affected by the amount of attention allocated to formal accuracy, the level of automaticity reached in processing such knowledge, and the linguistic prototypicality of the target use concerned. These hypotheses are supported by the results of a quasi-experiment on 60 instructed Chinese learners of English.
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  Learners’ Self-Reports on Comprehension and Learning Strategies for Listening

  Christine C. M. GOH

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 45-68. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-003

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  This article reports the results of a questionnaire study conducted on 118 ESL learners from China to identify comprehension and learning strategies used for listening. The study also examined the interaction between gender and strategy use. The variables in the questionnaire were based on the strategies and their respective tactics identified from a qualitative study conducted with a similar group of learners. A strategy framework that comprised metacognitive, cognitive, social/affective categories was adopted. A distinction was made between comprehension and learning strategies. Whereas comprehension strategies refer to those used for facilitating understanding during listening, learning strategies are for improving listening ability in general. Out of 15 comprehension strategies, respondents reported using 5 strategies frequently. Of the 4 learning strategies, only one was used frequently. Some studies on strategy use have reported differences between male and female learners. The present study, however, showed differences to be small and none came close to any statistical significance. In fact, there were remarkable similarities between the two gender groups. Both groups reported a high level of use for 12 tactics and a low level of use for four tactics. These similarities suggest that factors other than gender might have had an influence on strategy choice. On the whole, the learners reported a moderate level of strategy use.
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  Exploring EFL Reading as a Metacognitive Experience: Reader Awareness and Reading Performance

  Lawrence Jun ZHANG

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 69-94. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-004

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  This paper reports on an exploratory study of 160 Mainland Chinese EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness and reading. The researcher requested the subjects to answer a 36-item Likert-scale Metacognitive Awareness Questionnaire (MAQ). Interview protocols were collected from 20 of them to illuminate MAQ findings. As a partial replication of the Carrell (1989) study in terms of research method and objectives, this study generally corroborated what she had reported about L2 readers’ metacognitive awareness and L2 reading, suggesting that Chinese EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness had links to their EFL reading proficiency. The percentages of the subjects’ responses to the four categories of the MAQ further indicated that they generally regarded “Confidence”, “Effective- ness”, “Repair” and “Difficulty” as pertinent to EFL reading. However, multiple regression analyses revealed that, of the four categories of strategies, “Difficulty” and “Effectiveness” were significant predictors. Implications for instruction and recommendations for further research are also explored.
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  EFL Learning and Self-identity Construction: Three Cases of Chinese College English Majors

  Yihong GAO, Yuxia LI, and Weina LI

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 95-119. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-005

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  This qualitative research report presents three cases of EFL learning and self- identity construction by Chinese college English majors from a social constructivist perspective. It was found that EFL learning played a very important role in the learners’ self-identity construction. Unity and consistency was maintained in multiple and changing identities, and learners exercised different degrees of individual agency in the construction of their learning environment and self-identities.
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  Error Patterns of Vocabulary Recognition for EFL Learners in Beijing and Hong Kong

  Yongqi GU, Cynthia B. LEUNG

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 121-141. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-006

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  Sixty second year English majors from Beijing Normal University and sixty-five first year non-English majors from the Hong Kong Institute of Education were given a vocabulary recognition test (Goulden, Nation, & Read, 1990). They were asked to examine each word carefully, skip unknown words, and provide a Chinese equivalent or an English explanation to demonstrate that they know at least one meaning of the word. Errors thus elicited were tallied to determine the percentage of students in each sample making the same error. The number of right answers to each word and the number of students not being able to provide an answer to the word were recorded as well. These errors were then analyzed and grouped into categories. Four types of errors were identified: form errors, meaning errors, form and meaning errors, and part of speech errors. In addition, it was found that the overwhelming majority of errors produced by both groups were phonological or orthographic confusions and part of speech errors. Interpretations are provided in terms of both the learner’s mental lexicon and their vocabulary learning strategies. Pedagogical implications are next discussed.
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  Teaching Communicative English in China: A Case Study of the Gap between Teachers’ Views and Practice

  Xudong WU, Lan FANG

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 143-162. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-007

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  The article reports on a case study that investigates (1) the extent to which Chinese English teachers’ views on teaching communicative English in the FL classroom setting are compatible with their teaching behaviours, and (2) the possible causes of the observed incompatibilities between their views and practice. Based on Richards and Rodgers’ (1986) description of communicative language teaching (CLT) principles, a questionnaire was first developed which elicited the views of three Chinese English teachers on CLT principles. Observations were then made of their teaching behaviours in oral English classes for a week. Finally, each of them took part in an interview in which they responded to questions about the observed discrepancies between their views on CLT principles and their practice in teaching. The major findings are: (1) Although the participants all agreed with CLT principles, they spent most of the time on text-based exercises, which provided few opportunities for genuine communication. (2) The participants’ responses revealed that what prevented them from fully applying CLT principles were mainly their ignorance of the students’ communicative needs, their deep-rooted perception of teaching as one-way transmission of knowledge, and the washback effect of existing ways of student assessment. The relationships of these constraints are further discussed.
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  Passage Dependence in Standardized Reading Comprehension: Exploring the College English Test

  Liying CHENG and Lingyun GAO

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 163-178. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-008

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  This paper explores the extent to which Chinese university-level students rely on reading passages in answering multiple-choice reading comprehension tests. It is commonly believed among teachers and students in China that students do not need to read carefully or even comprehend passages to pass the test, and that multiple-choice reading comprehension tests do not accurately indicate students’ actual reading comprehension ability. It has been discovered that students can answer some multiple-choice reading comprehension questions correctly without reading or comprehending the associated passages (Powers & Leung, 1995). Another finding has been that even if students read the passages, multiple-choice reading comprehension tests demonstrate more a searching and matching skill than actual reading comprehension (Johnston, 1984). In order to investigate these claims, this study examines the reading test scores of groups of Chinese university- level students taking the standardized multiple-choice reading comprehension test of the College English Test in China under two different sets of testing conditions. Our findings show that students perform better when they are not allowed to go back and forth between the questions and passages when compared with a normal reading comprehension test situation; that passage comprehension is relevant to reading comprehension test performance and that students need to read the passages in order to answer most questions correctly. However, even without the associated passages, students still achieved scores above chance level (39.91% and 28.89% respectively for two groups of students), with some test items getting a mean item difficulty of .94 and .88, suggesting that the students’ use of test-taking skills such as ‘guessing’ in such a multiple-choice reading comprehension test was prevalent.
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  Writing for International Publication: The Perception of Chinese Doctoral Researchers

  Yongyan LI

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 179-193. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-009

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  As Mainland China increasingly strengthens the effort to go international academically, writing and publishing English papers in internationally refereed journals has become a major concern for the new generation of doctoral researchers in various science disciplines. This study aims to answer the following two questions: 1. How confident are Mainland Chinese doctoral researchers in writing English papers for international publication? 2. How do they evaluate their status in the endeavour in comparison with their international counterparts? 154 questionnaires were collected and in-depth interviews were conducted with a selection of doctoral students (N = 15) and supervisors (N = 5) at a comprehensive university. Findings suggest that Chinese doctoral students across various science disciplines are generally confident in writing and publishing English papers internationally. Except for a relative deficiency in using the English language, they do not think that they are disadvantaged in the endeavour vis-à-vis their international peers.
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  Effects of Project-based CALL on Chinese EFL Learners

  Peiya GU

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 195-210. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-010

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  Research suggests that project-based CALL may enhance ESL learners’ motivation, improve their learning performance and initiate their active roles in learning (e.g., Debski, 2000; Levy, 1997; Warschauer, 1996). This paper addresses the question of whether such CALL projects can achieve similar effects in a Chinese EFL context. A study of a cross-cultural collaborative online writing project conducted in the fall semester of 1999 forms the basis of discussion. 20 Chinese students at Suzhou University and 28 American students at the Southern Polytechnic State University of Georgia participated in the project. Supported by qualitative data, the writer concludes that CALL projects do have potential in motivating Chinese EFL learners and bringing about positive learning effects, but the key still lies in how they are managed and supported by learners, teachers, and administrators at all levels.
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  Development of a Web Project for English Learning and Teaching: Linking Theories and Practice

  Hsien-Chin LIOU

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 211-227. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-011

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  English learning involves both knowledge acquisition and skill automatization. A learner may acquire a great amount of knowledge about English language and culture, and of knowledge about the world, but he still needs opportunities to use English in order to automatize the knowledge with adequate fluency and appropriateness. The potential of the Internet lies not only in information display, storage, and updating, but also in computer-mediated communication (CMC). The two functions, knowledge base and electronic communication, match the dual processes of English learning: knowledge and use. This paper discusses the development of an English learning Web site which provides knowledge of English teaching and learning, and a WOO (Web-based MOO, multi-user domain Object Oriented) environment for English use. The Web site, ELT in Taiwan, has a Teacher Development and a synchronous WOO, ForMOOsa (implemented with a high school metaphor). As illustrated in this project, it is argued that the design of a Web site needs to address its audience needs by bridging theory and practice. Last, some preliminary evaluation data and implementation details are provided and implications for courseware designers, language learners and teachers are discussed.
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  An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Research on Chinese ELT Contexts and EFL/ESL Learners

  Guangwei HU and Yongqi GU

  Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2002, 12(1): 229-267. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2002-1-012

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