Toward a new normal in foreign language classrooms

Although Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is relied upon heavily in these disruptive times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about committed learners’ reactions to CALL as they actively voiced their questions and concerns during crisis-prompted remote learning. Employing a qualitative research method, findings reveal that their attitudes toward remote learning were ambivalent. While they viewed online tools as useful learning resources, they also expressed hesitation in adopting them. Meanwhile, they welcomed innovative ad hoc curriculum quickly developed by the instructor; however, the innovative curriculum was also viewed as less organized. These findings shed light on pedagogical implications for world language education in higher education and urge researchers to further investigate how remote language teaching and learning would affect committed students during the new normal times as foreign language enrollments continue to decline.

Staying afloat

This qualitative study gives an emic account of the experiences of adult L2 learners studying Chinese characters. Using semi-structured interviews and written journals of Americans who have spent time in China, the study uncovers core experiences and common patterns, giving voice to the holistic experience of learners, including affective aspects. The results of the study show that the very complexity of Chinese characters simultaneously attracts and deters learners. Learners experience an ever-growing realization of deeper complexity and greater volume. The struggling that ensues compels learners to actively find strategies to enable them to remain afloat in the learning process: (1) breaking down the complexity, (2) managing the incoming volume, (3) finding satisfaction in using the learning, (4) leading their own learning, (5) making use of resources, and 6) maintaining their learning. Findings from this study suggest practical applications for both L2 learners and teachers of Chinese characters.

The influence of L1 translation familiarity on the acquisition of L2 Chinese antonyms

As a partial replication of Tagashira, Kida, and Hoshino (2010), the present study examined first language (L1) translation familiarity effect on second language (L2) antonym acquisition among English-speaking intermediate-level Chinese learners. Fifteen students learned 15 antonymous pairs with familiar or unfamiliar L1 translations and completed two multiple-choice posttests. Their learning strategies were also collected. Results showed (a) a delayed L1 familiarity effect, (b) better retention and lower interference of L2 pairs with familiar L1 translations, (c) low retention of L2 pairs with unfamiliar L1 translations for both words, and (d) more orthographic elaboration strategies employed. The findings suggest that L2 instructors present antonyms in pairs, avoid providing a single, unfamiliar L1 translation, and encourage the use of orthographic elaboration strategies.

台湾对外汉语教学学科研究的发展与前景

抽象的 在过去25年中，台湾对外汉语教学研究主要借鉴英语教学研究的方法，着重于开发教学策略。本文整理台湾对外汉语教学的发展后，透过分析台湾当前对外汉语教学师资和学会年会论文，来观察台湾对外汉语教学研究现状，并讨论台湾对外汉语教学学科面临的挑战。台湾对外汉语教学研究以“教学应用为大宗”，且研究仍偏向实务性强并用于课堂实践的“教学策略/技巧”之探索。相对于“教学应用”，“汉语语言本体”，“二语习得与认知”之研究显得较少，这部分反映了华语教学研究本身跨领域的性质，以及华语教学事业本身尚未获得学术独立性。

日语母语者汉语是非疑问句语调习得研究

抽象 本实验通过考察日本学习者汉语陈述句和疑问句语调的产出和感知，分析学习者疑问句语调习得情况，并结合其母语疑问句语调特点分析偏误产生原因，总结其习得难点，为实际教学提供参考。学习者在音高上线、下线、调域、句末音高等方面均与母语者存在较大差异，总的来说，其语调感知能力先于产出能力的发展。

Peer-interaction patterns in a Chinese as a foreign language pair writing task

Research on peer interaction patterns over the past three decades has provided insights regarding how relationships formed among peers can influence task performance. Six pairs of intermediate Chinese learners participating in a collaborative writing task were recruited, and their pair-interaction patterns were investigated for detailed evidence of how such patterns were constructed through their co-participation measured by two indices proposed by Storch (2002a), equality and mutuality. Furthermore, taking a Conversation Analytical (CA) perspective, this study also examined the fine-grained detail of several interactional practices displaying participants’ orientation to the peer relationship. This revealed that each pair displayed a distinctive interaction pattern that was constructed through diverse participatory practices which are contingent upon the ongoing interaction as it unfolds. The findings shed new light into analyzing pair interactions in collaborative writing from a CA perspective in CFL settings and have important implications for studying interaction patterns and implementing collaborative writing tasks.

汉语女性第三人称指代词 “她”字的发展、使用和教学

提要 第三人称指代词的基本功能是替代一个实体专用名词，避免表述的累赘重复。在1919年新文化运动之前，汉语中的“他”一直是一个中性第三人称指代词，既可指代男性,也可指代女性, 还可指代一切其他事物。汉语女性第三人称指代词的 “她” 直到二十世纪早期才出现。在现代社会中，“她” 字笔画简单，运用易教易学，但是为人所忽略的是由人字旁的“他”到女字旁的“她”紧密联系着近代中国社会和语言的变化。本文旨在结合文化史、语言学和语言认知来描述女性第三人称指代词在书面语、口语中的发展。通过讨论中国早期作品中关于女性人物的叙述，分析新文化运动后“她”字的产生、确立和使用，作者认为在现代汉语中，“她”字的存在，不仅可以避免专用名词的累赘重复，还能够降低第三人称代词在文本中回指关系的模糊性。然而，在汉语教学中，由于汉语省略主语和中性“他”在近现代汉语指代范围不清的特点，汉语学习者时不时在阅读和写作中有第三人称指代对象模糊现象。因此，汉语老师需要在教学实践中帮助学生特别厘清“他”“她”的指代关系。

Success factors for a Mandarin bilingual program

Immersion-style bilingual school programs have proven to be effective ways for children’s acquisition of additional languages. However, such programs seem to be scarce across the world in comparison to the value people attach to bilingual skills and bilingual education. Through a case study of a successful Mandarin bilingual program in western Canada, the study hopes to explore the factors that contribute to the success of such programs in North America. The study points to the importance of government language policy environments, the attitude of local school boards, the commitment and active involvement of parents, and the availability and recruitment of quality teachers as key factors for the success of a bilingual school program.

Multimedia learning materials for second language learners

As an important form of second language input, videos have been given much attention by both language teachers and SLA researchers. Second language learning videos typically come in two forms: live-action videos (with human actors in realistic settings) and animation videos. In this paper, we report on an empirical study on the relative merits of these two kinds of videos for beginning learners of Chinese. A total of 82 participants took part in this research as students in a Beginners’ Chinese Language course at a university in Singapore. Each participant attended four learning sessions, two of which being based on live-action videos and another two on animation videos. Post-tests showed that the efficacy of the two kinds of videos differed between students who had had richer community exposure to Mandarin before attending the course and students who did not have such exposure. The former group performed significantly better than the latter after attending live-video sessions. However, students in the latter group reported a preference for animation videos during the post-interviews due to the more well-controlled quality of the soundtracks (i.e., less noisy background).