Working memory (WM) is essential to vocabulary learning. However, limited attention has been paid to young beginner learners' vocabulary development under various task conditions from the perspective of WM. This study investigates how two types of WM--complex WM and phonological short-term memory--may influence two instructional approaches (i.e.,…

Symbolic competence is integral to intercultural teaching and learning, but limited research and teaching guidance exist in foreign language classrooms. This paper explores the use of critical incidents in developing the symbolic competence of advanced-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners at a Chinese university. Mixed methods…

The past few decades have seen a boom in English-medium instruction (EMI) in Chinese universities. Despite growing research interest in EMI policy and practices in China, little is known about how students' motivation to study in the EMI programs is influenced by EMI policy and its implementation at the meso and micro levels. This study addresses…

This study explored sustainable development strategies to improve the effectiveness of College English hybrid teaching literacy of Normal Universities in Sichuan province. This study aimed to (1) explore the current situation of College English hybrid teaching literacy of Normal Universities in Sichuan Province, (2) establish the sustainable…

Learners' interaction with lecture materials has remained underexplored despite the growing body of studies on the use of materials. The current study explored the actions EFL learners employed during the use of lecture materials in tertiary classrooms in China through the lens of a transactional view. This empirical study involved forty-two…

Research into metacognition has found it to facilitate self-regulation and correlate to learners' L2 writing level. Following Lee & Mak's (2018) framework of Metacognitive Instruction (MI) for L2 writing classrooms, this study applies Dynamic Assessment (DA) to writing MI (MI-DA) in a rural middle school EFL class in China. A one-semester…

In Dynamic Assessment (DA), the observation that individuals respond differently to support, or mediation, is important for diagnoses of development. The concept of learning potential refers to openness to mediation, i.e., the extent of change to performance when mediation is available, which may suggest learners will need less overall instruction…

Digital games are increasingly used in education to boost engagement and reduce stress. Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has improved the learning experience. However, further investigation is needed to determine the specific impact of commercially available, off-the-shelf (COTS) video games on English language skills. This study provides a…

This study used computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) as a teaching and assessment method to promote Chinese EFL learners' reading comprehension, with a quasi-experimental design in which the control and experimental groups were each given three tests but in different formats. Each test consisted of multiple choice questions (MCQs) selected from…

In the context of educational informatization, the Guide to Institutions of Higher Education in China have set clear expectations for Japanese language teachers' educational information technology applications. There is an urgent need for research on information technology applications and the influencing factors of Japanese language teachers in…

This study reports on the ongoing experiences of academically transitioning students with textbook-based learning. The study was conducted at a Chinese university among first-semester English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students transitioning from high school to university. Qualitative analysis of interviews with the students, students' written…

The production-oriented approach (POA) is a nascent language-teaching approach that considers the aptitudes of Chinese learners. This study compared POA with task-based language teaching (TBLT) and presentation-practice-production (PPP) theoretically and empirically. A four-quadrant model and a theoretical comparison table are proposed to clarify…

This article reports a case study of older adults learning English in China. It indicates how, founded on consequentialist ethics, risk analysis, and safeguarding, it was decided to use covert research, drawing on the confluence of risk analysis, risk evaluation, risk management, safeguarding, research ethics, and important contextual and cultural…

In China, English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers seem to be in a dilemma because of the discrepancy existing in classroom teaching and assessment, the new curriculum requirement, and the paucity of language assessment knowledge. To tackle these problems, there is an urgent need to evaluate EFL teachers' language assessment literacy (LAL) and…

The generation of meaning in discourse is regarded as the process of knowledge-building, which can be analyzed by semantic waves. Combining the deep learning systems and polynomial fitting method, we present a method to compute multimodal semantic waves. With this method, four representative examples are discussed for the knowledge-building of…