This paper presents results of a study investigating four teaching methods used to introduce Chinese characters to beginner learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in an Irish secondary school between September 2016 and October 2016. Approximately 98 learners aged 14-16 were divided into four groups and taught for two one-hour classes per…

Although much has been discussed about the use of reading aloud (RA) outside China, it has been one of the least investigated learning/teaching behaviours in ELT in China. The paper reports the results of a series of semi-structured interviews, in which learners and teachers were invited to identify the reasons and problems in the use of RA in…

Much second language acquisition research in recent decades has assumed that a learner's main purpose for learning a second language (L2) is to develop communicative competence. Consequently, many studies have focused on investigating ways in which teachers and/or the learning environment may support the development of such competence. In…