Demonstrates that both meanings of an ambiguity are accessed at the onset of the ambiguity when the context is biased towards the secondary meaning. This evidence does not support the context-dependent model, which says that contextual bias should aid the processor in selecting a meaning. (Author/VWL)

Back-translation is typically used to verify semantic equivalence (SE) of a translated measure to the original scale. Although validity of the adapted scale depends fundamentally on SE, back-translation always involves subjective evaluations. This study developed "dual-language, split-half quantitative methods of verification to supplement…

The authors investigated the role of syntax in verb learning in Mandarin Chinese, which allows pervasive ellipsis of noun arguments. Two questions were investigated using the Beijing corpus on CHILDES: (a) Does the input to young children manifest syntactic-semantic correspondences as needed for acquiring verb meanings? (b) Are verbs presented in…

This study of "consider" and "find" attempts to shed light on second language acquisition of English small clause complements, as in "we consider [Mary intelligent"] and "we find [Mary interesting"]. It examines how learners' First language (Mandarin Chinese) interacts with the target language. The analysis is based on the results of two kinds of…

The purpose of the study was to test the cross-cultural concurrent validity of the stages of exercise change scale (SECS) in Chinese college students. The original SECS was translated into Chinese (C-SECS). Students from four Chinese universities (N = 1843) participated in the study. The leisure-time exercise (LTE) questionnaire was used to…

The current study addresses the debate between so-called "structural" and "processing limitation" accounts of aphasia, i.e., whether language impairments reflect the "loss" of linguistic knowledge or its representations, or instead reflect a limitation in processing resources. Confrontation-naming task and category-judgment tasks were used to…

Two experiments involving Chinese 2nd graders and 4th graders investigated the use of subcharacter information to learn to pronounce unfamiliar semantic-phonetic compound characters. Experiment 1 confirmed that children can use the information in both tone-different and onset-different characters to learn character pronunciations and showed that…

The complexity of Chinese orthography has hindered the progress of research in Chinese to the same level of sophistication of that in alphabetic languages such as English. Also, there has been no publicly available resource concerning the decomposition of Chinese characters, which is essential in any attempt to model the cognitive processes of…

Despite hopes and claims about benefits of computer-assisted language learning, few studies have documented actual cases about how American students learn elementary Chinese in a computer-equipped classroom. This paper deals with how to use computer as an educational tool to develop American students' Chinese language skills. The theoretical…

China has one of the oldest educational testing systems in the world, yet its modern form was influenced by various western educational modes borrowed during the twentieth century. This essay reviews the history of the Chinese traditional educational testing system: its origin, features, and its past impact on Chinese people's lives as well as on…

This article attempts to examine the implications of introducing critical management education to Chinese students. It is based on an empirical study of 26 students attending MBA programmes at three UK university business schools, one "old" and two "new" universities. The study seems to show that there are significant barriers…

The authors investigate the question of how Chinese young adults (18-26 years old) in Sheffield seek employment information, and what sources and channels they use. Data collection was via a semi-structured questionnaire (78 responses) and via nine follow-up interviews with respondents to the questionnaire. Fifty-five percent felt that they had…

This article features the Foreign Language Assistance Program, also known as FLAP, which holds the distinction as the only federally funded program that exclusively targets foreign language instruction in elementary and secondary schools. Funded under Title V of No Child Left Behind, FLAP provides 3-year grants to states and local school districts…

This paper reports on a qualitative study investigating the viability of instant messenger (IM) interaction to facilitate intercultural learning in a foreign language class. Eight students in a Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) class participated in the study. Each student was paired with a native speaker (NS) of Chinese, and each pair…

The authors examine the effects of service barriers on the health status of older Chinese immigrants in Canada. A survey was completed in seven Canadian cities by a random sample of 2,214 older Chinese immigrants age 55 years or older. Service barriers related to administrative problems, personal attitudes, and circumstantial difficulties were…