scholarly journals Learner Agency in China’s Program for Interdisciplinary English Talents: A Sociocultural Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Fengju Dai ◽  
Xiao Lin
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Context ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Sociocultural Context ◽  
Sociocultural Perspective ◽  
Chinese Universities ◽  
Local Factors ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Learner Agency

Aiming to develop a sociocultural understanding of learner agency as defined by Ahearn (2001), this study asks the questions: How do English majors under the Program for Interdisciplinary English Talents in Chinese universities with international or regional orientations experience their English learning and exert learner agency differently? Which factors influence learners’ agentive activities and what differences exist in the influencing strength of those factors? Interview data were collected from 14 student participants from two representative universities in the eastern part of China. Analyzing the data using the framework proposed by Dang and Marginson (2013) revealed that learners’ agentive activities are mediated by the sociocultural context, in which the global, national and local factors exert great influences and their influencing strength varies. Among all the factors, the influence of the microgenetic domain, to be specific, the institutional context is the greatest. Implications and suggestions are provided based on the results.

Decoding the Visual Grammar of Selected South African History Textbooks

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Eszter Morgan
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
History Textbooks ◽  
African History ◽  
Sociocultural Context ◽  
Sociocultural Perspective ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Instructional Texts ◽  
The Relationship

Since the 1990s researchers have explored the design features of instructional texts from a Vygotskian sociocultural perspective. This article draws on their work in order to formulate analytical questions. Selected examples from four South African eleventh grade history textbooks are analyzed in an attempt to understand how the application of design principles, or the lack thereof, affects the potential mediating function of the text for historical learning as a whole. The relationship between visual processing and analytical and affective thinking is introduced to the discussion. The article concludes by commenting on the sociocultural context of textbook production.

Multi-Channel Data Acquisition System Analysis and Modeling

2014 ◽  
Vol 644-650 ◽  
pp. 4192-4196
Author(s):  
Ning Zhang ◽  
Ze Hua Wu
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Autonomous Learning ◽  
English Learning ◽  
College English ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Science Test ◽  
English Major ◽  
Proficiency Scores

College English learning now has attracted a great deal of attention, but many non-English majors students have major problems in terms of English learning, and how to improve the non-English majors' autonomous learning efficiency is the problem that the majority of English educators can not ignore. Through a college non-English major students' English learning science test survey, usual English learning and English language proficiency scores for tracking and monitoring, and data for scientific analysis, and monitoring results, this article indicates that by increasing the non-English majors' autonomous learning teaching mode, the students' efficiency and academic performance have improved significantly. From subsequent cognitive satisfaction survey for self-acceptance, this teaching mode's performance is quite satisfactory.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Application of Writing Strategies in Writing Instruction

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
Chenrong Han
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
Sociocultural Perspective ◽  
Strategy Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Writing Research ◽  
Writing Strategy ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Language Writing

Research on writing strategies has been a well-established field in second language writing research and the application of writing strategies in pedagogy has been widely acknowledged to effectively improve the process and product of English composition. This article explores how English as a foreign language learner’s writing strategy use within both traditional cognitive views and sociocultural perspective. While ESL composition research actively investigates writing strategies on English majors in university, less attention has been directed to non-English majors and their composing situations differ from those of English majors. This article attempts to begin to fill this gap. The findings from this study are concluded about the specific solutions that can be practiced in writing instruction and suggest future directions of writing strategy research.

Agency Fluctuations and Identity Transformations in Chinese English-Majors on Their Learning Trajectories

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-505
Author(s):  
Qiuming Lin
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Learning Trajectories ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
English Majors ◽  
University Life ◽  
Identity Positioning ◽  
Identity Transformations

Abstract This paper explores agency fluctuations and identity transformations in Chinese English-majors and how they are related to the process of English learning. By tracing a group of students for four years in a Chinese university and conducting qualitative analyses to their oral narrations of learning experiences at different periods, the study has found that most participants started and ended their university life at relatively high levels of agency, with inevitable ups and downs in between. Agency fluctuations in the learners are the result of their identity positioning and repositioning within a complex and ever-changing context. Concordant or conflicting identities may co-exist within an individual learner and keep changing across different situations. Learner identities will cause increase or reduction in their investment in English learning, while their learning experience will in turn reinforce or undermine their identities. The study sheds light on the intricate relationships between agency, identity and language learning and therefore has important implications for English learning and teaching in China.

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