Corrective feedback (CF) and task complexity are two important pedagogical topics in second language acquisition research in recent years, but there is few research investigating effects of CF on speaking task complexity in China's university classroom settings. This research, through conducting different versions of speaking task experiments…

Poor comprehenders have reading comprehension difficulties but normal word recognition ability. Here, we report the first study, which investigated (i) the dissociation and (ii) the prevalence of L1-L2 reading comprehension difficulties, and (iii) the levels of key metalinguistic skills in poor comprehenders among Chinese-English bilingual…

This article investigates the intercultural competence and identities of undergraduate heritage language learners (HLLs) studying abroad under the auspices of the U.S. Flagship Program. Based on survey responses and interviews with HLLs from Flagship Programs across the country, the article aims to assess the preparation of HLLs for study abroad…

This study investigated whether the effect of two forms of computer-automated metalinguistic corrective feedback in drills transferred to subsequent writing tasks. The English simple past tense, a learned structure, was selected as the target structure. Participants included 117 intermediate learners of English as a foreign language assigned to…

This article explores how Confucius Institute teachers and U.S. students use language to index qualities of Chinese people and culture. The study draws on the model of "linguistic fact" to argue that students' and teachers' contextualized use of language occurs in relation to their different yet naturalized assumptions about a commonly…

This laboratory-based research investigated how 40 university EFL learners responded to their peers' linguistic errors and made their moment-to-moment decisions of whether or not to provide corrective feedback (CF) to their peers' errors in task-based peer interaction. Data from the transcripts of videotaped pair interaction and audio-taped…

Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) theory focuses on developing language learners' meta-linguistic understanding of the interrelation among linguistic form (grammar/vocabulary), meaning, and context. Guided by SFL when using a mandatory textbook and open educational resources, this study investigates how exposure to this blended teaching and…

On the basis of the three metafunctions in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL): experiential, interpersonal and textual, the paper makes an analysis of the current news "ROK, DPRK Agree to Defuse Tension after Talks" on China Daily. The paper finds out that the political news has unique features in terms of experiential, interpersonal…

How learners perceive written corrective feedback (CF) associates with its effectiveness in language learning. This research investigates students' preferences for three types of written CF, i.e., direct, indirect and metalinguistic written CF, and explores the factors that encourage the teachers to employ these CFs in teaching practice. The…

This article reports on a study that investigated the role of metapragmatic awareness of L2 learners in Hong Kong, and the impact it has on language choices when addressing requests in English. Simulated open role-plays and retrospective interviews were used to explore the ways in which mainland Chinese undergraduates assess, plan and produce…

Metalinguistic awareness is the ability to identify, reflect upon, and manipulate linguistic units. It plays a critical role in reading development. The present study investigated Chinese- and English-speaking preschoolers' metalinguistic awareness development and the role of cognitive and linguistic abilities in its development. Forty-two…

This study investigates the role of morphological awareness in the incidental learning of Mandarin Chinese characters among Chinese as second language (CSL) learners. Participants of the study were 20 college-level international students, uniformly Thai in language background, enrolled to study CSL at Southwest University, Chongqing, China. The…

This study examined transfer facilitation effect of first language morphological awareness on second language lexical inference ability among Grade 6 Chinese-speaking English as a foreign language learners in China. A set of paper and pencil tests was administered to measure children's morphological awareness and lexical inference ability in both…

This study examines the intra-and inter-lingual relationships between first and second language morphological awareness and reading comprehension among grade 6 Chinese learners of English as a foreign language in China. Morphological awareness measures covered compounding as well as derivation. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that within…

This paper explores the problems of EFL classroom writings in the Chinese college teaching context from the perspective of textual organization and pragmatic strategy. Influence of their native cultural thought pattern causes the problem of discourse pattern and cohesion; lack of sufficient pragmatic strategy renders students' unawareness in…