This study designed and pilot-tested a learning path in Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) to facilitate learners' Self-regulated Learning. 122 postgraduates who joined an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) course at a comprehensive university in China were evenly divided into two groups. The experimental group used PLEs with…

This study investigated whether teacher expectations had significant effects on ethnic minority students' second language and foreign language learning in senior high schools. The participants of this study were 52 teachers and 836 ethnic minority students from 10 senior high schools in southwest China. Data of teacher expectations for students'…

This study investigated the relationship between a large-scale and high-stakes English test and test takers' learning behavior. Specifically, it explored whether and how the National Matriculation English Test (NMET) influenced test takers' extracurricular English learning activities under the Chinese Mainland educational context. Based on…

Shadow education helps students become academically competitive. Currently, little is known about whether shadow education can effectively fulfill either remedial or enrichment purposes in China. Using the nationally representative data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) collected in 2013 and 2014, this paper explored the opportunity gap…

This paper reports a study that investigated the dimensions underneath the construct of foreign language classroom enjoyment and explored the pattern in which these enjoyment dimensions affect foreign language achievement. To this end, 320 first language Chinese senior high school students, who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL),…

This article contests the narrative of Chinese international students (internationals for short) as passive and problematic to reveal the complexity and fluidity of their experiences. Simultaneously, it troubles the overly linear approach of stage theory in understanding internationals' adjustment. Following nine first- and nine second-year…

This is the first study that examines the comparative validity of the Chinese National College Entrance Exam (known as Gaokao) to a Western end-of-secondary-school performance measure, Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), as admission criteria to an Australian undergraduate degree programme. The study offers a strong warning about using just…

The English language has become an essential means for communication and studies for international students globally. With the increasing number of international students trooping to China to study diverse courses which are taught in the English medium, there is a need to address challenges faced by international students from non native English…

Working memory (WM) deficiency is a primary reason for the poor academic performance of children with learning disabilities (LDs). Studies have shown that the WM of typical children could be improved through training, and WM training contributes to improving their fluid intelligence and academic achievement. However, few studies have investigated…

This study employed narrative inquiry to understand the oral English learning motivation of Chinese international students with low oral English proficiency through their academic acculturation stories. Expectancy-value theory served as the theoretical framework to inform the study design and the interpretation of results. Findings suggest all…

China has launched a nation-wide project of learning English as a "core" subject starting from the third grade in primary schools after the Ministry of Education (MOE) issued "National English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education" at the beginning of this century. However, EFL teachers are far from sufficient in rural…

The present study examined the link between teacher-student relationship at the class level and academic achievement via the serial multiple mediation effect of self-efficacy and learning strategy in Chinese EFL context with 11,036 eighth graders. Student-reported measures of teacher-student relationship, English self-efficacy, learning strategy…

Numerous studies have been conducted on the accuracy of teacher judgement in different educational areas such as mathematics, language arts and reading. Teacher judgement of students' foreign-language achievement, however, has been rarely investigated. The study aimed to examine the accuracy of teacher judgement of students' foreign-language…

This paper studies a natural experiment due to an unusual change in the college admission policy at a Chinese university, which brought a large number of low-score students into several academic departments in the university. Exploiting large variations in peer characteristics and strong interactions among peer groups, the analysis finds that…

Each year, millions of high school seniors in China take the National College Entrance Examination (or gaokao). The score the students receive on the gaokao is the sole determinant of whether they will be admitted to college and which college they may attend. Because the demand for college exceeds the availability of admission seats, the…