Over the past two decades, the Chinese language has emerged as a global language. Gulf Cooperation Council countries, such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have integrated Chinese language into their educational systems and established Confucius Institutes to promote Chinese language and culture. In Qatar, interest in…

We investigated the effect of culture and social status on sarcasm interpretation. Two hundred U.K. participants and 200 Chinese participants read scenarios in which the final comment could be either literal or sarcastic criticism and the speaker had equal, higher, or lower social status compared to the recipient. Comments were rated on degree of…

Due to modernisation and Englishisation in Bahrain, noticeably different types of bilingual and bicultural experiences exist, especially among the youth. Recently, the rise of Chinese education policies in the region raises the question of how it might alter the local linguistic market and the forms of capital within it. Applying a…

Chizhou Nuo Opera is a sacrificial folk opera performance organized by clans, characterized by mask-wearing performances, and aimed at "worshiping gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and eliminating disasters" (He, 2012). There are many taboos in ritual performances. These human-imposed taboos not only maintain the sacredness of…

As a former treaty port and a current Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in China, Shantou occupies unique position in China's interaction with colonialism and globalisation. Through an analysis of English translations in the linguistic landscape (LL) in Shantou, it was found that international, local and regional factors work together to shape the…

Disagreement is face-threatening but necessary for teachers to correct errors and prompt learning. However, little research has examined how teachers employ disagreement as feedback, especially from a multimodal perspective. This study investigated the differences in linguistic markers (LMs) and accompanying nonverbal behaviours (NVBs) associated…

A region's identity is closely related to its semiotic landscape as well as history, economy and culture. This article explores the linguistic landscape of Jianghan Road, a historical business centre in Wuhan, P. R. China, by photographing and analysing 1308 official and unofficial signs in order to provide a snapshot of language choice and…

To explore email request patterns in the institutional context of university settings, this study combines speech act research with conversation analysis methods to examine how native speakers of American English and native speakers of Chinese formulate email requests to faculty. 100 authentic email requests sent by Chinese and American students…

Mental State Language (MSL) is language that refers to individuals' inner states, including terms relating to "emotion," "desire-&-preference," "perception" and "cognition." This study explores the nature of eight Chinese educators' MSL in their interactions with infants during structured and free play.…

In this article, we--three Asian MotherScholars in the field of language and literacy education--conducted a collaborative self-study to examine how our individual and shared experiences as transnational mothers of emergent bilinguals have shaped our ways of promoting bilingualism and biliteracy. Our study drew on transnational feminist…

From the perspective of translanguaging and instruction theories, this Open Access book examines Chinese English Medium Instruction (EMI) lecturers' linguistic and pedagogical characteristics. This book demonstrate that 'English' in EMI is not a monolingual issue and EMI lecturers have applied their bilingual advantages to systematically and…

In Chinese culture the concept of 'face' refers to the "dignity" or "prestige" of an individual that must be protected or saved, particularly in inter-cultural communication. This study aimed to examine how addressers inevitably save their own face in inter-cultural communication and what different strategies of 'face' saving…

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…

This paper discussed the relationship between language, ecology, and culture, and claimed that the study of linguistic communication as pragmatics should not be confined to the traditional context, but should focus on a broader ecological environment. It analyzed the context of practical communication from the perspective of language ecology…

This study examines teachers' cultural diversity beliefs and culturally relevant practices, and the predictors of those beliefs and practices. A sample of 606 primary school teachers from southwest China participated in the study. The findings reveal that teachers' beliefs are not necessarily reflected in their teaching practices as they are…