We trained 36 12-year-old Chinese students with reading disorders in the analysis, synthesis and integration of orthographic constituents of semantic and phonetic "bujians" (radicals); and also their writing (spelling and composing) skills. These target students were compared with 37 age-controls in a pre-test and post-test design on a…

Background: There is currently ongoing debate in Hong Kong between the teachers' union and the Government on the reduction of large class size (typically more than 40 students) in secondary schools and whether smaller class sizes might facilitate improvements in teaching and learning. In fact, many Hong Kong secondary schools have already started…

This paper outlines an adaptable collaborative writing approach employing a wiki to address the typical weaknesses of young Singaporean Chinese students learning Chinese as second language (L2) in Chinese writing. These students' problems in writing include limited and incorrect use of vocabulary, English-style grammar, badly structured passages,…

The current study uses Garcia Coll et al.'s (1996) developmental competence model of ethnic minority children and Kim's (1999) racial triangulation theory as frameworks for investigating the mechanisms whereby early adolescent English proficiency relates to perceived discriminatory experiences and adolescent depressive symptoms. Data from 444…

Cloze testing is a widely-used procedure to test learners' reading comprehension in learning a language, but little is known if it can really improve learners' reading comprehension skills. This paper attempts to seek answers to this question by comparing the cloze test scores of two groups of students (Experimental versus Control) undertaking…

This survey study, which involved 134 language learners enrolled in first-year Chinese as a foreign language classrooms in the US universities, intended to address the research question, "Do learners' strategy use differ based on the following learner differences: (1) gender; (2) home language/culture; and (3) number of other foreign languages…

Numerical phases have rich cultural connotations and connect closely with culture. Along with the extension of China's reform and opening up policy, cross-cultural communication tends to be wider. The comparative research on cross-cultural languages is very important. Because of different cultural backgrounds, the cultural connotations of Chinese…

The dissertation begins by exploring specific issues in the history of Western philosophy, in particular the theory of language that underlies speculation about the possibility of ideographic writing. Starting with the "China Illustrata" of Athanasius Kircher, the first chapter proceeds to archaeo-historically excavate Kircher's…

This paper, drawing upon multidisciplinary studies such as critical and cultural studies, literary criticism, intercultural communication and second language acquisition, suggests a specific literary genre--"migratory literature"--to support intercultural competence for learners of Chinese. We begin by elucidating key…

This article reports on research that questions commonsense understandings of a bilingual pedagogy predicated on what Cummins refers to as the "two solitudes" assumption. It sets out to describe a flexible bilingual approach to language teaching and learning in Chinese and Gujarati community language schools in the United Kingdom. We…

This article examines the role of written and spoken English vis-a-vis written Chinese, Cantonese and Putonghua in the four key service industries that have driven Hong Kong's economy in the past decade. The study forms part of a long-standing and continuing investigation into the impact of Hong Kong's transition from British colony to Chinese…

The objectives of this study are to investigate the interrelationships of a number of affective variables related to studying Chinese as a second language (L2); to examine the relationships between affective variables in second language acquisition (SLA) and the indices of adaptation; and thirdly, to assess the changes over time in the attitudes…

This study examines the reliability and validity of a Chinese-translated version of the Gifted Rating Scales-Preschool/Kindergarten Form (GRS-P) and explores the effect of gender and age on each of the subscales. Data were collected from 250 kindergarten children, with age ranging from 4 years, 0 months to 6 years, 11 months. Results indicated…

Changes in assessment practices in the direction of assessment for learning (AfL) can be a powerful force to enhance student learning. This article presents a case study of teacher learning in an AfL project in Hong Kong. In the Project, AfL strategies were adopted in Chinese Language and English Language classrooms at the junior secondary level.…

With China's growing power and influence on the global stage, efforts are burgeoning to promote teaching the official Chinese language in U.S. schools. And while those activities are getting help from a variety of sources--including the U.S. government--one key player taking an increased role is the Chinese government itself. Just this year, the…