Abstract Textbooks may reflect a certain ecosophy through the linguistic elements of the content that significantly influences students’ values. This analysis selected 88 discourses from the reading sections of Communicative English for Chinese Learners (Integrated Course), from Books 1 to 4, designed for undergraduate English majors. Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics, the title and the illustration of the reading sections are analyzed to ascertain whether the ideology they reflect is in accord with the ecosophy, that is, the harmonious coexistence of humans, nature, and the development of society. After conducting a textual analysis, all multimodal discourses that can reflect clear ecosophy conform to this idea. Concerning illustrations, seven of them are at variance with the ecosophy. As for the analysis of the logico-semantic relations between image and text, only three discourses are found at variance with the ecosophy, but in actual pedagogical context, these three discourses aim to arouse the thinking of the audience about people’s inappropriate conduct and arouse their ecological consciousness.
{"title":"Multimodal Discourse Analysis of <i>Communicative English for Chinese Learners (Integrated Course)</i> From the Perspective of Ecosophy","authors":"Xu Song, Melissa Shamini Perry","doi":"10.1515/cjal-2023-0308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2023-0308","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Textbooks may reflect a certain ecosophy through the linguistic elements of the content that significantly influences students’ values. This analysis selected 88 discourses from the reading sections of Communicative English for Chinese Learners (Integrated Course), from Books 1 to 4, designed for undergraduate English majors. Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics, the title and the illustration of the reading sections are analyzed to ascertain whether the ideology they reflect is in accord with the ecosophy, that is, the harmonious coexistence of humans, nature, and the development of society. After conducting a textual analysis, all multimodal discourses that can reflect clear ecosophy conform to this idea. Concerning illustrations, seven of them are at variance with the ecosophy. As for the analysis of the logico-semantic relations between image and text, only three discourses are found at variance with the ecosophy, but in actual pedagogical context, these three discourses aim to arouse the thinking of the audience about people’s inappropriate conduct and arouse their ecological consciousness.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"63 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135588710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Since the documentary A Bite of China (i. e. Shejian shang de Zhongguo ( 《舌尖上的中国》), where shejian shang literally means “on the tip of the tongue”), was broadcast in May 2012, a great number of expressions like shejian shang de Russia/world/Olympics/safety have begun to gradually converge into a novel modifier-head construction Shejian Shang de X , illustrating a typical evolution of modern Chinese.This study aims to analyze the construction’s meaning from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. Our investigation and analysis indicate that (1) Shejian Shang de X differs from the classic Chinese construction PP de X in both semantics and syntax; (2) as a modifier-head construction, Shejian Shang de X shows its variations in the head X’s multiple category options (noun, verb and adjective), therefore extending the scope of nominalization in Chinese and simultaneously triggering the construction’s diversified meanings; (3) the construction’s non-compositionality results mainly from its modifier components shejian and shang and is in general construed metonymically and metaphorically; (4) as a whole, the construction is a double-scope network consisting of two different organizing frames: the frame of shejian (“tip of the tongue”), a body part term and the frame of X, a dynamically changing entity (physical or abstract). The surface semantic incompatibility between the modifier and the head can be solved only by virtue of conceptual blending, producing the novel meaning [X relevant to the function of the tip of the tongue] of the whole construction.
{"title":"On the Novel Chinese Modifier-Head Construction <i> <i>Shejian Shang de X</i> </i>: An Analysis of Meaning Construction","authors":"Siruo Zhou, Dan Xiong, Tongquan Zhou, Ping Pang","doi":"10.1515/cjal-2023-0307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2023-0307","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Since the documentary A Bite of China (i. e. Shejian shang de Zhongguo ( 《舌尖上的中国》), where shejian shang literally means “on the tip of the tongue”), was broadcast in May 2012, a great number of expressions like shejian shang de Russia/world/Olympics/safety have begun to gradually converge into a novel modifier-head construction Shejian Shang de X , illustrating a typical evolution of modern Chinese.This study aims to analyze the construction’s meaning from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. Our investigation and analysis indicate that (1) Shejian Shang de X differs from the classic Chinese construction PP de X in both semantics and syntax; (2) as a modifier-head construction, Shejian Shang de X shows its variations in the head X’s multiple category options (noun, verb and adjective), therefore extending the scope of nominalization in Chinese and simultaneously triggering the construction’s diversified meanings; (3) the construction’s non-compositionality results mainly from its modifier components shejian and shang and is in general construed metonymically and metaphorically; (4) as a whole, the construction is a double-scope network consisting of two different organizing frames: the frame of shejian (“tip of the tongue”), a body part term and the frame of X, a dynamically changing entity (physical or abstract). The surface semantic incompatibility between the modifier and the head can be solved only by virtue of conceptual blending, producing the novel meaning [X relevant to the function of the tip of the tongue] of the whole construction.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135588715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In the last three decades, Professional learning communities (PLCs) have spread rapidly in different countries and contexts. While much is known about PLCs’ potential to enhance teachers’ professional learning, less is known about factors influencing teachers’ sustained participation and the process concerning how PLC was built at an early stage, especially in higher education in China. This study, conducted at the School of Foreign Languages in a key teacher education university in China, examined 17 university EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers’ perceptions of the value of academic salon-based PLC and the factors influencing their participation. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews, the results showed that most participants embraced and appreciated the significant role of salon-based PLC in breaking a sense of isolation, enriching general knowledge in research and publication, and enhancing beliefs of the significance of research in professional development. However, how salons were implemented hindered teachers’ sustained participation. Factors at the individual level (i. e., low motivation, heavy workload, etc.) and the institutional level (i.e., non-collaborative culture, hierarchy, etc.) also exerted great influence on teachers’ sustained engagement. Implications for university teachers’ development in the context of PLCs were discussed.
{"title":"Examining Chinese University EFL Teachers’ Perceptions and Participation in an Academic Salon-Based Professional Learning Community","authors":"Li Wang, Yihuan Zou","doi":"10.1515/cjal-2023-0302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2023-0302","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In the last three decades, Professional learning communities (PLCs) have spread rapidly in different countries and contexts. While much is known about PLCs’ potential to enhance teachers’ professional learning, less is known about factors influencing teachers’ sustained participation and the process concerning how PLC was built at an early stage, especially in higher education in China. This study, conducted at the School of Foreign Languages in a key teacher education university in China, examined 17 university EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers’ perceptions of the value of academic salon-based PLC and the factors influencing their participation. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews, the results showed that most participants embraced and appreciated the significant role of salon-based PLC in breaking a sense of isolation, enriching general knowledge in research and publication, and enhancing beliefs of the significance of research in professional development. However, how salons were implemented hindered teachers’ sustained participation. Factors at the individual level (i. e., low motivation, heavy workload, etc.) and the institutional level (i.e., non-collaborative culture, hierarchy, etc.) also exerted great influence on teachers’ sustained engagement. Implications for university teachers’ development in the context of PLCs were discussed.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135588718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Assessment feedback is an important aspect of teacher assessment literacy which can be understood along three interrelated dimensions: conceptual in terms of conceptions teachers have of feedback, praxeological regarding feedback practice, and socio-emotional which relates to how teachers attend to the emotional dynamics of assessment from the students’ perspective (Pastore & Andrade, 2019). This paper presents the findings of a phenomenographic study involving 15 teachers in Singapore schools that explored their qualitatively different ways of experiencing assessment feedback. Drawing on the variation theory perspective, the analysis of interview data resulted in five teachers’ conceptions of assessment feedback that shed light on the non-static nature of feedback engagement. These conceptions represent the variation in teachers’ qualitatively different ways of experiencing assessment feedback, and ranged from feedback as inspection of students (emphasizing mistakes) to feedback as introspection for students (emphasizing reflection on feedback). The findings show the potential that teachers can aspire to move from level to level, depending on contexts and students. Insights on the continuum of teacher assessment feedback literacy are drawn. Implications for developing teacher assessment literacy are discussed to assist teachers in reviewing their conceptions of assessment feedback beliefs and enhancing assessment feedback practices beyond improving academic learning.
{"title":"Teachers’ Qualitatively Different Ways of Experiencing Assessment Feedback: Implications for Teacher Assessment Literacy","authors":"Rachel Goh, Kelvin Heng Kiat Tan","doi":"10.1515/CJAL-2023-0207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2023-0207","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Assessment feedback is an important aspect of teacher assessment literacy which can be understood along three interrelated dimensions: conceptual in terms of conceptions teachers have of feedback, praxeological regarding feedback practice, and socio-emotional which relates to how teachers attend to the emotional dynamics of assessment from the students’ perspective (Pastore & Andrade, 2019). This paper presents the findings of a phenomenographic study involving 15 teachers in Singapore schools that explored their qualitatively different ways of experiencing assessment feedback. Drawing on the variation theory perspective, the analysis of interview data resulted in five teachers’ conceptions of assessment feedback that shed light on the non-static nature of feedback engagement. These conceptions represent the variation in teachers’ qualitatively different ways of experiencing assessment feedback, and ranged from feedback as inspection of students (emphasizing mistakes) to feedback as introspection for students (emphasizing reflection on feedback). The findings show the potential that teachers can aspire to move from level to level, depending on contexts and students. Insights on the continuum of teacher assessment feedback literacy are drawn. Implications for developing teacher assessment literacy are discussed to assist teachers in reviewing their conceptions of assessment feedback beliefs and enhancing assessment feedback practices beyond improving academic learning.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"46 1","pages":"253 - 269"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49127598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Formative assessment (FA) has been increasingly recognised as a powerful tool to improve teaching and learning, and thereby increase educational effectiveness. As such, FA has been written into government directives and curriculum standards; and incorporated into teacher education programmes. At the classroom level, however, teachers have found FA a formidable task that is difficult to implement. This has been attributed to the teacher’s lack of assessment literacy, among other reasons. In this guest-editor introduction, we frame the special issue and its scope by highlighting the main issues involved. We then briefly introduce the 10 articles which we believe, taken together, advance our understanding of teacher formative assessment literacy and its development.
{"title":"Developing Assessment Literacy for Classroom-Based Formative Assessment","authors":"Peter Yongqi Gu, Ricky Lam","doi":"10.1515/CJAL-2023-0201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2023-0201","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Formative assessment (FA) has been increasingly recognised as a powerful tool to improve teaching and learning, and thereby increase educational effectiveness. As such, FA has been written into government directives and curriculum standards; and incorporated into teacher education programmes. At the classroom level, however, teachers have found FA a formidable task that is difficult to implement. This has been attributed to the teacher’s lack of assessment literacy, among other reasons. In this guest-editor introduction, we frame the special issue and its scope by highlighting the main issues involved. We then briefly introduce the 10 articles which we believe, taken together, advance our understanding of teacher formative assessment literacy and its development.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"46 1","pages":"155 - 161"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46415526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article offers a perspective on two questions: (1) How will a better assessment future differ from the current assessment landscape? (2) What will assessment literacy look like in that future? Answers will be based on a recent large-scale review of research in the area of assessment to inform teaching and learning and professional development work with teachers. The article will focus on identifying what will change—and is changing—in assessment, what can be expected to stay the same, and how that affects assessment literacy needs for teachers, school leaders, and students.
{"title":"Assessment Literacy in a Better Assessment Future","authors":"Susan M. Brookhart","doi":"10.1515/CJAL-2023-0202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2023-0202","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article offers a perspective on two questions: (1) How will a better assessment future differ from the current assessment landscape? (2) What will assessment literacy look like in that future? Answers will be based on a recent large-scale review of research in the area of assessment to inform teaching and learning and professional development work with teachers. The article will focus on identifying what will change—and is changing—in assessment, what can be expected to stay the same, and how that affects assessment literacy needs for teachers, school leaders, and students.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"46 1","pages":"162 - 179"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49039636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Teacher assessment literacy has gained significant attention in recent years due to its critical role in learning and teaching. Various theoretical and empirical conceptualizations of this construct have been emerging with more recent emphasis on building teachers’ knowledge and skills. The aim is to make highly contextualized, fair, consistent and trustworthy assessment decisions to inform learning and teaching to effectively support both student and teacher learning. This article explores changes in secondary English language teachers’ assessment literacy following the introduction of school-based assessment for learning as part of high stakes secondary school assessment reform in Hong Kong. Drawing on teacher questionnaires completed by almost 4,500 teachers who undertook a common professional development course conducted over the first six years of assessment reform (2005 – 2011), this paper explores the impact of professional development on teachers’ assessment literacy. Despite Hong Kong’s deeply ingrained competitive examination-oriented culture, an analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data from pre- and post-program evaluations demonstrate signs of positive change in teacher attitudes, confidence and practices, in particular in using assessment criteria, designing and implementing appropriate assessment tasks, involving learners more actively in the assessment process, making trustworthy assessment decisions and providing effective feedback and feed-forward to students to improve student learning. The findings of the study suggest that changes in assessment culture are possible, provided teachers are well supported. The implications for assessment reform and for the development of teacher assessment literacy more generally are also discussed.
{"title":"Assessment Literacy: Changing Cultures, Enculturing Change in Hong Kong","authors":"C. Davison","doi":"10.1515/CJAL-2023-0203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2023-0203","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Teacher assessment literacy has gained significant attention in recent years due to its critical role in learning and teaching. Various theoretical and empirical conceptualizations of this construct have been emerging with more recent emphasis on building teachers’ knowledge and skills. The aim is to make highly contextualized, fair, consistent and trustworthy assessment decisions to inform learning and teaching to effectively support both student and teacher learning. This article explores changes in secondary English language teachers’ assessment literacy following the introduction of school-based assessment for learning as part of high stakes secondary school assessment reform in Hong Kong. Drawing on teacher questionnaires completed by almost 4,500 teachers who undertook a common professional development course conducted over the first six years of assessment reform (2005 – 2011), this paper explores the impact of professional development on teachers’ assessment literacy. Despite Hong Kong’s deeply ingrained competitive examination-oriented culture, an analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data from pre- and post-program evaluations demonstrate signs of positive change in teacher attitudes, confidence and practices, in particular in using assessment criteria, designing and implementing appropriate assessment tasks, involving learners more actively in the assessment process, making trustworthy assessment decisions and providing effective feedback and feed-forward to students to improve student learning. The findings of the study suggest that changes in assessment culture are possible, provided teachers are well supported. The implications for assessment reform and for the development of teacher assessment literacy more generally are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"46 1","pages":"180 - 197"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43234006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract While prior research suggests that teachers’ conceptions of assessment (CoA) are influenced by their personal characteristics, experiences, and specific sociocultural contexts, how these factors influence teachers’ CoA is still underexplored. This narrative study explores what teachers’ CoA are, as well as how influential factors mediate their CoA by drawing on data from narrative frames with 48 high school EFL teachers in China. Findings reveal that teachers commonly endorsed the improvement-oriented purpose of assessment. A range of factors is found to have exerted influences to different degrees on these conceptions, including personal factors (i.e., teachers’ agency in assessment), experiential factors [i.e., (anti-)apprenticeship of observation about assessment], and contextual factors (i.e., exam-oriented culture). These findings are discussed in terms of how teachers negotiate the improvement- and accountability-oriented purposes of assessment, as well as how teachers’ CoA are shaped by teacher agency, emotional experiences as assessees, and the exam-oriented culture. This paper concludes with implications for research on teachers’ CoA and policy, practice, and professional development of teacher assessment literacy.
{"title":"How Personal, Experiential, and Contextual Factors Mediate EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment: A Narrative Study","authors":"Yueting Xu, Jiayu Chen, Liyi He","doi":"10.1515/CJAL-2023-0206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2023-0206","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract While prior research suggests that teachers’ conceptions of assessment (CoA) are influenced by their personal characteristics, experiences, and specific sociocultural contexts, how these factors influence teachers’ CoA is still underexplored. This narrative study explores what teachers’ CoA are, as well as how influential factors mediate their CoA by drawing on data from narrative frames with 48 high school EFL teachers in China. Findings reveal that teachers commonly endorsed the improvement-oriented purpose of assessment. A range of factors is found to have exerted influences to different degrees on these conceptions, including personal factors (i.e., teachers’ agency in assessment), experiential factors [i.e., (anti-)apprenticeship of observation about assessment], and contextual factors (i.e., exam-oriented culture). These findings are discussed in terms of how teachers negotiate the improvement- and accountability-oriented purposes of assessment, as well as how teachers’ CoA are shaped by teacher agency, emotional experiences as assessees, and the exam-oriented culture. This paper concludes with implications for research on teachers’ CoA and policy, practice, and professional development of teacher assessment literacy.","PeriodicalId":43185,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"46 1","pages":"237 - 252"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44539773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}