Books
Sun, Yachao & Lan, Ge. (2024). Trans-studies on Writing for English as an Additional Language. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009336659
Snow, Don, Li, Shuhan, & Zhang, Minghao. (2023). How Do You Learn a Language? Action Plans for Independent Language Learning. Nanjing University Press
Book Chapters
Davies, Laura J., & Davies, Joseph A. (2025). How the CHAMELEON Framework Has Had a Transformative Impact on Equitable and Adaptable Pedagogy, in A Syska., C. Buckley., G. Sedghi., & N. Grayson (Eds.) Transformative Practice in Higher Education: Innovative Approaches to Teaching and Learning (1st ed.), pp. 39-46) Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003503149-6
Abstract
The CHAMELEON framework, although stimulated by COVID-19, has transformed the English for academic purposes (EAP) practices at a Sino–foreign joint venture university. The framework’s guiding principles are to show compassion and empathy to foster equitable and adaptable conditions for teaching and learning. Tangible examples of transformative practice include the creation of a working group to develop EAP-related artificial intelligence (AI) policy, the formation of EAP micro-teams to facilitate professional development and personal support, and increased undergraduate and graduate EAP synergy. Taking generative AI as an example, the CHAMELEON framework has been fundamental in developing an empathic, rather than punitive, pedagogical approach and associated policy to better understand students’ (mis)use of AI tools. This chapter will extrapolate on how the CHAMELEON framework informed transformative EAP practices in ways that are transferable to a wide range of higher education practitioners involved with writing, assessment, pedagogy, and generative AI.
Sun, Yachao, Carter, Tyler J., & Hiller, Kristin E. (2024). Transdisciplinary writing teacher development in a Sino-US joint-venture university in China. In E. Ene, B. Gilliland, S. H. Lee, T. Saenkhum, & L. Seloni (Eds.), EFL writing teacher education and professional development: Voices from under-represented contexts (pp. 135–142). Multilingual Matters.
Abstract
This chapter reflects the professional development initiatives undertaken at the Language and Culture Center (LCC) at Duke Kunshan University (DKU) through a transdisciplinary lens (Matsuda, 2013, 2021). This lens was particularly pertinent, given that LCC faculty involved in teaching undergraduate English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing, undergraduate English composition, and graduate EAP writing courses brought diverse academic backgrounds to the table, including second language (L2) writing, rhetoric and composition, creative writing, applied linguistics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), second language acquisition (SLA), and literature. To foster a deeper understanding of EFL/L2 writing pedagogies and support writing teacher development, we facilitated open discussions on core themes within EFL/L2 writing studies, such as disciplinarity and feedback. Reflecting on these discussions revealed how adopting a transdisciplinary perspective allowed LCC faculty to exchange knowledge and insights more effectively, thus enhancing their understanding of each other’s pedagogical approaches. This, in turn, set the stage for more fruitful collaborations.
Wang-Hiles, Lan, Goodroad, Ekaterina, Zhang, Tong, & Szerdahelyi, Judith. (2023). Negotiating identity, language and power: Dialogic reflections on non-native English-speaking writing instructors in the US composition classroom. In C.-C. Lin & C. V. Bauler (Eds.), Reimagining dialogue on identity, language and power (pp. 60–74). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/LIN4723
Abstract
Through collaborative autoethnography, we, four NNESWIs, explore how our identities are shaped by our individual, cultural, linguistic, and institutional backgrounds. Our multidimensional dialogic reflections and analyses reveal how the issues of language and power in U.S. higher education institutions lead us to negotiate our identities. By sharing the challenges we face and discussing the strategies to overcome them, this chapter serves a two-fold purpose: supporting and empowering the NNESWIs community and negotiating for social justice and equality for NNESWIs as valuable contributors to the U.S. classroom.
Journal Articles
Hanauer, David I., Zhang, Tong, Graham, Mark, & Hatfull, Graham. (2025). Who is in Our STEM Courses and How do We Know? Student Self-Descriptions, Intersectionality and Inclusive Education. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 24(1), ar9. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.24-02-0078
Abstract
The aim of inclusive education is to provide a supportive space for students from every background. The theory of intersectionality suggests that multiple identities intersect within social spaces to construct specific positionalities. To support the heterogeneity of all students, there is a need to understand who is in our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses and how we would go about assessing this. This article problematizes the traditional approach to demographic data collection and presents the beginnings of an alternative approach. The study utilized qualitative and quantitative data in order to examine the way students self-describe within a large multi-institutional program. There were 2,082 students presented with 12 identity categories and asked to specify which of these identities were important to them for their own self-definition and then write an open self-description. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, comparative proportional usage analyses of identity categories by traditional demographic groupings, and hierarchical cluster analysis of identity variables. The results showed that the majority of students use multiple categories of identity in combination, that these identity preferences differ in relation to traditional demographic categories, and that there were four underpinning identity orientations consisting of a focus on heritage, health, self-expression, and career.
Chiocca, Emmanuelle (2025). Manifestations of transformative learning: A case study of a short-term study abroad program in Israel. Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education, 17(1), 39-56. https://doi.org/10.32674/d1r8cc37
Abstract
Study abroad participants, including in short-term programs, often describe their time abroad as “transformative” and a period of intense personal growth. However, the contents of this transformation are often treated by administrators and students themselves as inscrutable, with the fact of having developed intercultural skills and “worldly” knowledge taken for granted. Using multiple data sources within an interpretive framework, this case study focuses on the manifestations of transformative learning to provide insights for international curriculum development. Using a qualitative approach, data was analyzed inductively and thematically. The findings point out that change emerged in the forms of (1) intercultural learning and sensitivity development, (2) learner expectations and behavior alteration, (3) ideological reconstruction or transition, and (4) academic and professional orientation conversion or refinement, suggesting that even short-term programs can lead to in-depth and broad transformation.
Lu, Yuan, & Pan, Xiaofei (2024). Writing performance and discourse organization in L2 Chinese: A longitudinal case study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 66, 101150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2024.101150
Abstract
The present study explored the development of writing performance and discourse organization in Chinese as a second language (L2) writing, focusing on the effects of genre and learning context. Tracking an L2 Chinese learner’s written production in two genres (i.e., narrative and argumentative) across four learning contexts (i.e., pre-study abroad, study abroad, post-study abroad, and delayed post-study abroad) longitudinally over four years, this study revealed that holistic ratings and discourse organizational devices showed distinct patterns in different genres and across learning contexts. Narrative essays generally received lower ratings than argumentative essays. Ratings of narrative essays remained relatively stable across four learning contexts, whereas those of argumentative essays displayed an omega-shaped pattern over the four-year period. Among six discourse organizational devices, subordinate clauses, textual connectives, and grammatical metaphors were used more in argumentative essays, but coordinate clauses and topic-prominent constructions were used more in narrative essays. The six discourse organizational devices exhibited discrete developmental trends throughout the four years of learning. This study provides a deeper understanding of writing performance and discourse organization in L2 Chinese development.
Zhang, Xin & Pan, Xiaofei. (2024). Motivational dynamics of intermediate Chinese learners in a COVID-induced remote IPA-informed CSL curriculum: A case study from a CDST lens. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 46(4), 518–543. https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2023-0403
Abstract
Grounded in a complex and dynamic systems theory (CDST) perspective of L2 learning motivation, this year-long longitudinal study examines evolving motivational dynamics of two intermediate Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) learners at a Sino-US joint-venture university in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adopting Higgins’ framework of motivation, this case study focuses on the interplay of learner motivation for value, control, and truth effectiveness and contextual factors in shaping the contrastive motivational trajectories of two CSL learners who displayed discrepancy in the improvement of Mandarin oral proficiency. In particular, the two contextual factors of interest are an Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) -informed CSL curriculum and COVID-induced remote online learning. We focus on how learners co-adapted with the “here-and-now” manifestations of these contextual factors and how their motivational dynamics and learning behaviors evolved based on multiple interrelated layers of the temporal-spatial context. The findings show that CSL learners’ motivational dynamics were shaped by multiple overlapping and interrelated motivations related to value, control, and truth effectiveness, which emerged out of the contingencies and affordances in the learning context. The learner-context co-adaptations play a significant role in directing relevant motivational dimensions and thereby shaping the overall identity of the whole system. This empirical study contributes to CSL and L2 motivational studies by exploring the applicability of a CDST approach and a global motivational framework to study intermediate CSL learners’ motivational dynamics and how they individually co-adapted with an innovative curricular design and the perturbance during the COVID-19 online teaching and learning process. The paper reflects on the effectiveness and applicability of IPA in an intermediate-level CSL curriculum from a motivational perspective and offers insights into understanding and promoting the complex learner motivation during COVID-19 for language educators.
Sun, Yachao & Lan, Ge. (2024). Translingual practices in Chinese as a second language writing: Variations across language proficiency levels. Language Teaching Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241299906
Abstract
This study investigates the variations in multilingual students’ translingual practices across language proficiency levels in the context of Chinese as a second language (CSL) writing. The case study examined multilingual students’ CSL writing across different proficiency levels at a Sino-US joint-venture university in China, with the aim to understand the variations in translingual practices across these levels. The findings revealed that as language proficiency advanced, there was a corresponding increase in the sophistication of translingual practices, which was manifested in a rise in nuanced, strategic, and culturally inclusive writing. The gradual development in language proficiency allowed students to navigate beyond lexical boundaries and embrace linguistic and cultural diversity, which indicated a change from a monolingual viewpoint to a translingual one. These findings underscore the vital role of language proficiency in both the research and implementation of translingual practices, indicating that translingual practices extend beyond mere scaffolding to involve the development of translingual and transcultural competence. This points toward the need to foster linguistic diversity and cultivate this competence within classroom environments to optimize the enactment of translingual practices for CSL writing education.
Feng, Huang, & Sun, Yachao. (2024). Translingual practices for critical language awareness in English as an additional language writing education. Applied Linguistics Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2024-0098
Abstract
This study explores the impact of translingual practices on Critical Language Awareness (CLA) in English as an Additional Language (EAL) writing education within a non-English Medium Instruction (non-EMI) Chinese higher education context. A case study approach was employed to investigate five students’ EAL writing practices and language ideologies. Data collection included screen recordings of students’ writing processes, semi-structured interviews, and their written products. The findings revealed that translingual practices facilitated CLA development. Students adeptly meshed their home language and English, which reflected a complex interplay of linguistic identity and power dynamics in academic settings. The study found that translingual practices enabled students to challenge monolingual ideologies and develop a critical understanding of the socio-political implications of language use. The findings indicate that translingual practices can not only facilitate content learning but also promote a deeper engagement with social justice issues within EAL writing education. Hence, this study emphasizes the necessity for EAL writing education to embrace translingual practices, thereby enriching students’ CLA.
Sun, Yachao. (2024). Power dynamics in translingual practices for Chinese as a Second Language writing education. Language Teaching, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444824000089
Abstract
This study explores the impact of power dynamics – represented by linguistic privilege, learning environment, and identity formation – on translingual practices in Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) writing education. It focuses on a specific case involving Chinese language learners at a Sino-US joint-venture university in China to elucidate these dynamics in a real-life context. The findings revealed how societal expectations, internalized power dynamics, and prevailing language ideologies nurtured perceptions of a diminished Chinese identity and influenced students’ language preferences and engagement in CSL writing. The article argues that the decolonization of writing education necessitates critical awareness of power dynamics and the challenges they pose to monolingual ideologies. It also proposes pedagogical strategies to incorporate power dynamics into translingual practices by emphasizing the need to embrace language diversity and fluidity, facilitate translingual identity formation, and employ reflective practices. By raising awareness of power dynamics in translingual practices, educators can empower students to confront the linguistic status quo, promote linguistic justice, and cultivate a more equitable CSL writing education.
Chiocca, Emmanuelle S. & Zhang, Xin. (2024). Distinguishing oneself: First-year international students’ pre-college motivations and expectations in a Sino-foreign joint venture university in China. Chinese Education & Society, 56(5-6), 331–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2024.2303914
Abstract
China has shown increased engagement in International Higher Education (IHE), an interest motivated by a tremendous demand among both Chinese and international students. Conducted at a full-scale Sino-foreign joint-venture university (JVU) in China, this study seeks to explore the motivation of first-year international students for applying to and attending Sino-foreign JVU in China. A second related question investigates what they expect to experience prior to matriculation. Qualitative data collection and analyses suggest that international students at a Sino-foreign joint-venture university were motivated by a strong desire to distinguish themselves for integrative, international signaling, and instrumental purposes, and expect to change as a result of studying and living in an intercultural environment in China.
Santo-Flores, Guillermo, Ruiz-Primo, Maria Araceli, Li, Min, Zhao, Xueyu, Shade, Chelsey, & Chrzanowski, Ashley. (2024). How equally do teachers distribute their attention across students classified as English learners (ELs) and their non-EL peers in science classrooms? A frequency analysis of monolingual and bilingual teachers’ interactions with different student grouping configurations. International Multilingual Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2024.2303275
Abstract
We address the notion that different student grouping configurations in the classroom may provide different sets of opportunities for English learners (ELs) – students whose home language is not English (the language of instruction in the U.S.) – to both learn science and develop a second language through different forms of social interaction. We examined the frequency with which monolingual and bilingual (English-Spanish) teachers interacted with students working in four grouping configurations: Only ELs, Whole Class, Only Non-ELs, and Mixed (both ELs and non-ELs). We used a sample of 359 instructional episodes from 78 science lessons taught by bilingual and English-only teachers in the U.S. While we observed a considerable variation in the frequency of different classroom practices (e.g. those promoting critical thinking were less frequent than those involving factual knowledge), Whole Class was the grouping configuration most frequently observed for all classroom practices. The same frequency patterns were observed for monolingual and bilingual teachers. We argue that the low frequency of teachers’ interactions with students working in small groups limits the opportunity for ELs to learn science through different forms of social interaction and for teachers to identify and address individual EL students’ learning needs.
Zhao, Xueyu & Solano-Flores, Guillermo. (2023). Test translation review: a study on discussion processes and translation error detection in consensus-based review panels. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1303617. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1303617
Abstract
We examined the discussion processes through which two independent consensus-based review panels detected errors in the same sample of items from an international test translated from English to Chinese. The discussion processes were defined according to four events: (1) identifying a potential error; and (2) agreeing with, (3) disagreeing with, and (4) elaborating an opinion expressed by other panelists. We found that, while the two panels had similar error detection rates, only half of the errors detected by the two panels altogether were detected by both panels. In addition, of the errors detected by the two panels, more than half were detected by the panels through different discussion processes. No discussion process occurred substantially more frequently or less frequently for any translation error dimension. We conclude that the unique combination of backgrounds, skills, and communication styles of panel members and the unique combination of textual features in each item shape which errors each panel is capable of detecting. While panels can be highly effective in detecting errors, one single panel may not be sufficient to detect all possible errors in a given set of translated items. Consensus-based translation error review panels should not be assumed to be exchangeable.
Weng, Zhenjie. (2023). Identity position and pedagogical agency negotiation in teaching EAP writing: A case study. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688231205095
Abstract
In language education, little classroom-based research has been conducted regarding novice teachers of English for academic purposes (EAP), and even less on teaching EAP at graduate level and on graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), a significant but overlooked teacher population at universities. Thus, this ethnographic case study focuses on the exploration of a GTA’s self-positioning in a graduate-level EAP composition class, with which he was unfamiliar as he taught it for the first time. Classroom field notes, audio-recordings, and interviews, in addition to supportive data, were collected and analysed through the lens of positioning and agency. The analysis of the data revealed that the teacher took up three core identity positions: a considerate teacher of English as a second language (ESL), an experienced and knowledgeable researcher, and a limited writing teacher. The findings further indicated that the possession of or the lack of knowledge on research, EAP writing, students, and genre pedagogy influenced the teacher’s agency in constructing identity positions and making pedagogical decisions. The study contributes to the limited investigation of EAP research and further explores the relationship among teacher knowledge, identity positions, and pedagogical agency. The study bears implications for the teaching of EAP writing and professional training.
Hanauer, David I., Zhang, Tong, Graham, Mark J., Adams, Sandra D., Ahumada-Santos, Yesmi Patricia, Alvey, Richard M., Antunes, Mauricio S., Ayuk, Mary A., Báez-Flores, Maria Elena, Bancroft, Christa A., Bates, Tonya C., Bechman, Meghan J., Behr, Elizabeth, Beyer, Andrea R., Bortz, Rebecca L., Bowder, Dane M., Briggs, Laura A., Brown-Kennerly, Victoria, Buckholt, Michael A., … Sivanathan, Viknesh. (2023). Models of classroom assessment for course-based research experiences. Frontiers in Education, Article 1279921. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1279921
Abstract
Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment—(1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; (2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; (3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and (4) Metacognition of Learning—along with a set of practices for each aim. These aims and practices of assessment were then integrated with previously developed models of course-based research instruction to reveal an assessment program in which instructors provide extensive feedback to support productive student engagement in research while grading those aspects of research that are necessary for the student to succeed. Assessment conducted in this way delicately balances the need to facilitate students’ ongoing research with the requirement of a final grade without undercutting the important aims of a CRE education.
Carter, Tyler J. (2023). Apples and Oranges: Toward a Comparative Rhetoric of Writing Instruction and Research in the United States. College English, 85(5), 387–414. https://doi.org/10.58680/ce202332559
Chen, Mengtian. (2023). Leveraging affordances in an ecological stance: Reflective language teaching for professional development during COVID-19. Heliyon, 9, Article e15981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15981
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has made a prominent impact of social contexts on teachers’ professional development in remote classroom teaching. To explore how the change has altered human-environment relationships in university language classes, this qualitative case study investigated three teachers’ progressive reflection on their use of affordances for teaching Chinese as a second language (L2) during COVID-19. Under the framework of human ecological language pedagogy, three themes of emergency remote teaching emerged from monthly semi-structured interviews about the three teachers’ reflective practice in remote classrooms: computer-dominant teaching conditions, flexible classroom interaction, and rational social empathy in L2 education. The findings suggest the importance of a growth mindset for L2 teachers to leverage their teaching abilities and environmental resources for continuing professional development during COVID-19 and post-pandemic periods.
Ji, Wenting. (2023). Her Feet Hurt: Female Body and Pain in Chen Duansheng’s Zaisheng yuan (Destiny of Rebirth). CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature, 42(1), 28–65. https://doi.org/10.1353/cop.2023.a898380
Abstract
This paper investigates the female writer Chen Duansheng’s tanci fiction Zaisheng yuan, a story centered on a cross-dressed female protagonist. Evoking storytelling and stage performance, tanci fiction is a lengthy, rhymed narrative genre favored by female writers in the early modern Jiangnan region. This paper approaches Zaisheng yuan from the perspectives of gender and the senses to examine its representations of the female foot and pain. Zaisheng yuan repeatedly associates pain with the female practice of footbinding and spotlights the bound foot to address the female characters’ distress and identity crisis. While the haptic-oriented descriptions of female feet speak to the gender stereotypes, through depicting both passive and active revealing of female feet, Zaisheng yuan demonstrates the emerging possibilities of female agency. In contrast to the male literary tradition, which treats the female body as a static spectacle, Zaisheng yuan endeavors to portray bound feet as an ongoing experience that causes pain from daily movements and calls for sympathetic audiences and mutual support from the female community. However, there are also times when the experience of pain, physical and especially psychological, cannot be shared, not only between genders but also between mothers and daughters, and this may indeed create obstacles to female companionship. To sum up, pain caused by bound feet provides a framework to shape the way women experienced the world, identified themselves, and interpreted the possibilities and limitations of their ways of living in early modern Chinese society.
Presentations
Chiocca, Emmanuelle & Zhang, Xin. (2025, April 17–18). Navigating challenges: A longitudinal study of international students’ motivations, future selves, and transformative learning in a Sino-US joint-venture institution in China [Poster Presentation]. Transformative Learning Conference, Edmond, OK, United States.
Abstract
How do international students transform during their studies in Sino-foreign institutions? This session presents a longitudinal exploration of the transformative journeys of students in China, revealing how transformation unfolds both as a process and an outcome. Based on in-depth interviews conducted before matriculation, after their first year, and before graduation, the study uncovers the dynamic interplay between students’ initial motivations, future self-guides, and adaptive learning.
Borden, Rebecca, & Chiocca, Emmanuelle. (2025, April 17–18). Gauging the Impact of Faculty and Students’ Positionality in TL During Short-Term Study Abroad Programs [Conference Presentation]. Transformative Learning Conference, Edmond, OK, United States.
Abstract
Short-term study abroad programs (STSAs) have been a widely implemented mode of international education (Open Doors, 2023), yet the majority of pre-service teacher candidates engaging in these experiences do not reflect the diversity seen in their classrooms. In the U.S., where the teaching workforce remains predominantly white, female, and middle class (NCES, 2021), individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are often underrepresented, illuminating a critical gap in the design of pre-teacher field experiences mirroring diverse classrooms. In addition, faculty members’ positionality as cultural mentors may contribute to the students’ holistic transformation in field-based contexts. This presentation explores the transformative potential of STSAs for pre-service teachers, focusing on a case study of two students from a low socio-economic background who participated in a STSA program in Italy. Conducted at a satellite branch campus of a Southwestern U.S. university, this qualitative case study used transformative learning (Mezirow, 1978) as a framework to investigate the perceived changes, with a focus on the teacher identities, of two pre-service teachers following their STSA experiences.
Davies, Joseph. (2025, March 28). Feedback Literacy: Creating a culture of learning-focused feedback practiced based on DKU student and faculty insights [Workshop]. DKU Center for Teaching & Learning Workshop, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China.
Abstract
Feel like you’re spending too much time ‘giving’ feedback? Feel like your students don’t use your feedback in the best ways, or even worse, that they don’t even read your feedback? Feel like you’re wasting much of your precious time on feedback? Don’t worry, you are not alone! Higher education feedback practices have been generally shown to be ineffective, inefficient, unpopular (with both students and faculty) and in need of radical change. Within the feedback research literature there has been a paradigm shift from transmission-focused to learning-focused feedback practices, but to what extent has such a shift actually been applied to practice? Are faculty even aware of this seismic shift? If you are interested in learning more about the powerful phenomenon of feedback literacy, that applies to both students and faculty, and want to improve your own feedback practice, then come along to this workshop. Together, we will explore current trends and themes within assessment and feedback research and I will share empirical insights from DKU students and faculty about our ongoing feedback practices and feedback culture. Workshop attendees should leave the session with an increased awareness of the power of feedback, some strategies and ideas about how to enhance their own and their students’ feedback literacy, and hopefully some techniques to enhance feedback efficacy and efficiency. This research was very kindly supported by a CTL Teaching and Assessment Research Grant.
Zhao, Xueyu. (2025, January 31–February 1). Examining the mismatch of semiotic resources in English-Chinese translation in the context of testing [Presentation]. International Conference on Language Curriculum Development and Learning Methodologies, Athens, Greece.
Abstract
The traditional view that translation focuses solely on linguistic transfer has been challenged in recent years. This study addresses the fact that language is no longer as the dominant mode among other potential modes for making meaning and that meaning is created through multiple semiotic resources. This investigation indicates the availability of semiotic multimodal resources as key to accurate and effective translation in the context of testing. I examined how the mismatch of semiotic resources in English-Chinese translation entailed gains and losses in the process of conveying meaning. This paper reports on an exploratory investigation that examined the affordances and constraints of semiotic resources used in both English and Chinese PISA science and mathematics items. Findings indicate that different resources can be used in different kinds of semiotic work or in broadly similar semiotic work in different ways. Ultimately, the results of this study contribute to the implementation of test adaptation guidelines and the improvement of test translation and test translation review procedures.
Zhao, Xueyu. (2025, January 27–28). Teacher as a mediator in science classrooms [Presentation]. International Conference on Distance Education and Innovative Teaching Models (ICDEITM-25), Istanbul, Turkey.
Abstract
Teacher is the connection between students’ sociocultural experiences at home and school, and also acts as a mediator using different teaching practices and strategies to mediate their learning and cognitive development. In classroom settings, teaching can be redefined as assisted performance, which includes sets of mediational tools so that teachers make appropriate stimuli available for the child’s interaction and to help the child select and organize these stimuli in ways that develop his/her thinking processes. In this investigation, I conducted interviews and classroom observations to examine the mediational tools in science classrooms in a US high school. Findings indicate that the mediational tools that science teachers used included: 1) raising correlated questions, 2) concept maps, 3) quote, question, and objective, 4) prior knowledge, 5) no right or wrong, and 6) analogies or examples. Different mediational tools can facilitate class activities and allow teachers to gradually direct students to be active constructors of knowledge. The investigation contributes to identifying the most effective mediational tools for teachers to use in science classrooms and what actions teachers can take in order to make learning a much easier transition to allow the growth and construction of knowledge.
Zhang, Tao. (2024, November 21–24). The imagined and the lived: Re/naming, tourism, and the identity performance of the Shangri-La Tibetans [Conference Presentation]. NCA 2024: Communication for Greater Regard, New Orleans, LA, United States.
Abstract
Zhongdian (中甸, the Central Meadow), the Tibetan region of Yunnan Province in China, was officially renamed in 2001 as Shangri-La, a place that appeared in James Hilton’s 1933 novel The Lost Horizon. The renaming practice was an economic catalyst to promote the local culture and generate tourism revenues. Undeniably, the quality of life of many local Tibetans has been lifted to an unprecedented degree with the booming tourism in the region since the renaming of Shangri-La. However, the renaming and tourism have raised questions concerning the preservation of the environment and local Tibetans’ culture and traditions, given the capacity of the local infrastructure and that Tibetans in and adjacent to the tourist areas tend to actively participate in the tourist industry by opening their house, showcasing their everyday life, and performing their Tibetan-ness for tourist purposes.
Holding the concerns and curiosity about local perspectives, this ethnographic project thus aims to understand the following questions: 1) how the locals, from the government to the grassroots levels, interpret tourism’s impact on their lived experiences and identity, 2) how their culture and traditions have been performed and lived across generations before and after Zhongdian became Shangri-La, and, 3) how Tibetans who do not benefit directly from the Shangri-La tourism interpret the re/naming practice and its impact on their identity experiences. The research will contribute to critical intercultural communication scholarship by providing in-depth cultural insights from local perspectives, which is an integral part of my larger Chinese-ness studies project that attempts to tell less-told stories and less-heard voices from the margins.
Li, Cong. (2024, November 23). Learning to Play the Language Game [TED Talk]. TEDxDKU.
Abstract
Human beings love playing games, but have you ever considered your daily speech acts as a series of games? When learning a new language, your experience will be totally different if you can pay more attention to communicative strategies and learn to anticipate what you might hear from your interlocutor.
Zhang, Tong & Weng, Zhenjie. (2024, November 13–16). Empowering growth: Teacher-student rubric co-construction for enhanced second language writing instruction [Roundtable Discussion]. Symposium on Second Language Writing, Tuscon, AZ. United States.
Abstract
This research investigates the impact of teacher-student rubric co-construction on first-year L2 students’ writing learning at a joint-venture university in China. Our potential findings focus on comparing students’ and instructors’ perceptions regarding the effects of rubric co-construction before and after increasing students’ exposure to this process.
Sun, Yachao & Lan, Ge. (2024, November 13–16). Trans-studies on writing for English as an additional language [Conference Presentation]. Symposium on Second Language Writing, Tuscon, AZ. United States.
Hiller, Kris, Zhang, Tong, Carter, Tyler, Li, Wendy, & Sun, Yachao. (2024, November 13–16). Writing and language program
administration at Sino-foreign joint venture universities: Excerpts from a multiple case study [Roundtable Discussion]. Symposium on Second Language Writing, Tuscon, AZ. United States.
Snow, Don. (2024, October 27). Critical incident exercises and preparing learners for intercultural encounters [Keynote Presentation]. 12th International Conference on Intercultural Communication, Wuhan University, China.
Snow, Don. (2024, October 20). Teacher as language learner: How independent language learning helps us become better teachers [Plenary Presentation]. Whole Teacher, Whole Learner: Fall 2024 TESOL Symposuim, NYU Shanghai.
Davies, Laura, Davies, Joseph, Weng, Zhenjie, & Li, Junyi. (2024). Authenticity in language and culture teaching: Insights from a community-based learning approach.
Abstract
Community engagement forms an important part of Duke Kunshan University’s mission, with the Language and Culture Center (LCC) playing a central role. This presentation will share insights from three undergraduate LCC courses that adopt a community-based learning (CBL) approach to provide authentic opportunities for students to engage meaningfully with local community partners. Faculty involved in the design and delivery of these courses, focusing on language teaching, local Suzhou culture and English for Academic Purposes, will reflect on the practical implications of adopting a CBL approach. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of CBL, its benefits, and its potential applicability for their own teaching contexts.
