Self-regulated learning (SRL) is considered a critical competence for lifelong learning that requires explicit instruction and consistent practice, especially for college students. Despite the abundant intervention studies on the role of SRL in students' academic performance in the Western world, very little is known in China in English as a…

English has been formally adopted by many East Asian universities as the dominant language in higher education to foster quality education. An increasing number of universities are now providing English Medium Instruction (EMI) programs to undergraduate and postgraduate students in a diverse array of disciplines, ranging from the humanities to the…

Through the application of the Douglas Fir Group's transdisciplinary framework, this study investigated how three levels of mutually dependent influence (i.e., the micro level of social action and interaction, meso level of sociocultural institutions and communities, and macro level of ideological structures) operate across time and space to shape…

Second language (L2) utterance fluency is crucial for speaking proficiency assessment. The measurement of L2 utterance fluency relies heavily on silent pause identification. However, empirical studies establishing specific silent pause thresholds for L2 monologic speaking are scarce, and even fewer exist for L2 dialogic speaking. This study thus…

This study investigated more than 3600 online comments responding to an incident in 2019 where a controversial memo was sent to instruct Chinese graduate students at a US university not to speak Chinese in the department. A text analysis based on Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software showed that these comments included more negative-emotion…

This study aimed to develop and validate an analytical rating scale specifically designed to assess the lexical proficiency of Chinese college students in Academic English speaking tasks. A multi-layer construct of lexical proficiency was first developed and operationalized into an eight-dimension rating scale, including word diversity, word…

This study reports an empirical case study about using interdisciplinary approach in business English courses with 41 English majors in the Chinese university context. The methodologies are two-stage surveys, teacher reflection and participant observation. The results show that participants most preferred using specialist vocabulary and…

Machine translation post-editing (MTPE) is a process where humans and machines meet. While previous researchers have adopted psychological and cognitive approaches to explore the factors affecting MTPE performance, little research has been carried out to simultaneously investigate the post-editors' cognitive traits and the post-editing task…

While there is no lack of studies on the major approaches to L2 writing instruction (i.e., the product-, process-, and genre-oriented approaches), it remains unclear whether and how these theory-based approaches have been translated into students' experiences of L2 writing pedagogy. This study examined students' experiences of L2 writing…

Despite the important role of strategies in language learning, they have not been afforded much attention in the development of language proficiency scales. This study, situated in a nationwide project of developing China's Standards of English language ability, presents in detail the development of a reading strategic competence scale for Chinese…

The National Matriculation English Test (NMET), also known as the Gaokao English Examination, is a high-stakes, large-scale selection test for tertiary education in China, with numerous provinces and regions adopting the standardized national test papers. The validity of the NMET has garnered extensive attention. To verify the NMET's validity, it…

Although grit has been an important individual factor contributing to learning, studies are limited regarding second/foreign language (L2) specific grit. Additionally, most approached it without disentangling the differential role of its two dimensions, and the context was restricted in traditional face-to-face language learning. It remains…

In spite of the close relationship between gestures and expressive language, little research has examined the roles of the parents' and children's gestures in the development of expressive language abilities in autistic children. Previous findings are also inconclusive. In the present study, we coded the gestures produced by the parents and their…

International student numbers in China are growing, but limited research considers their academic experiences in China's higher education system. This qualitative study reveals international students' experiences regarding academic adaptation and success in China's two academic management environments: 'semi-differential' and 'differential'. The…

The study reported in this article examined the dynamics of plurilingualism, ethnicity, and effectiveness in intercultural encounters among a sample of 221 participants from Chinese universities via an online questionnaire and a situational judgement test comprised of three scenarios involving plurilingual and intercultural encounters. It employed…