English Language Teaching, Issue: Vol.19, No.6

Overseas Study and the Development of EFL Teachers’ Research Agency: A Sociocultural Perspective

Mon, 11 May 2026 07:04:37 +0000

This narrative case study investigates how overseas study experience shapes the research agency of a university EFL teacher in China. Drawing on sociocultural theory, we analyze the dynamic process through which Teacher X exerts research agency via regulation, reflection, and resolution of contradictions. Findings reveal that overseas study provides unique sociocultural affordances (e.g., research resources, collaborative culture, mentor encouragement). These affordances are not automatically internalized; rather, individual factors (past experience, emotions, professional identity) mediate their appropriation. The study extends Eteläpelto et al.’s (2013) subject-centered sociocultural framework into a process-oriented sociocultural framework, in which sociocultural affordances interact with individual factors to enable research agency active. Overseas study acts as both a catalyst (triggering research awareness and resilience) and a platform (offering sustained access to tools and networks). Implications for EFL teacher education and future research are discussed.

The Evolution and Future Direction of Story Continuation Writing Task in China: A Systematic Review

Tue, 19 May 2026 02:56:04 +0000

Story continuation writing tasks (CWT) have emerged as a prominent pedagogical and assessment innovation in English as a second and foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts, particularly in China. Requiring learners to read an incomplete narrative and compose a coherent continuation, CWT integrates reading comprehension with written production, fostering a psycholinguistic process of alignment where learners reuse and adapt lexical, syntactic, and semantic structures from the input text. This distinctive mechanism positions CWT as a powerful tool for both learning-to-write and writing-to-learn. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, this systematic review synthesizes 32 peer-reviewed empirical studies (2012-2025) from databases including Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The analysis traces the developmental trajectory of CWT research across cognitive, affective, technological, and literacy dimensions. Findings reveal its effectiveness in promoting linguistic development (e.g., vocabulary, syntactic complexity, accuracy, cohesion), enhancing affective factors (e.g., reducing anxiety, fostering flow), and facilitating alignment-driven learning. Key moderators such as task design (e.g., input modality, planning conditions, genre), technological integration (e.g., digital tools, AI feedback), and learner variables (e.g., proficiency, working memory) are identified. The discussion situates these findings within broader theoretical frameworks (Interactive Alignment Model, sociocultural theory) and highlights persistent tensions, such as the alignment-originality paradox in assessment. The review concludes by outlining future research directions, including the need for more longitudinal studies, cross-contextual replications, and ethical frameworks for AI integration, while offering evidence-based guidance for practitioners aiming to optimize CWT implementation in diverse ESL/EFL settings.

Adapting the Social Support for English Learning Scale to Chinese Postgraduate English Education: A Preliminary Pilot Study

Tue, 19 May 2026 03:15:39 +0000

Social support is an important part of second-language learning, but many existing instruments and empirical models have been developed mainly for school-age learners. Postgraduate English majors study in a more independent, research-oriented, and feedback-intensive environment, so it remains unclear whether a multidimensional social support scale works in the same way for this group. This preliminary pilot study adapted the Social Support for English Learning Scale (SSELS) to Chinese postgraduate English education and examined it with 31 students from five Chinese universities. The questionnaire measured teacher/supervisor support, family academic support, family autonomy support, peer support, English learning self-efficacy, and self-rated academic achievement. The adapted subscales showed high internal consistency. A preliminary exploratory component inspection produced four components, explaining 79.44% of the variance, but the loading pattern did not clearly reproduce the original four-factor model. Because of the small sample size and low KMO value, factor validity remains undetermined. Exploratory regression models showed that family autonomy support reached statistical significance in relation to self-efficacy, whereas peer support reached statistical significance in relation to self-rated achievement. These findings should be read as feasibility evidence and as hypotheses for larger studies, not as confirmatory validation evidence. Overall, this study provides initial evidence and methodological directions for future research on social support in advanced EFL education.

The Relationship between High-Frequency Auditory Vocabulary Knowledge and English Listening Comprehension

Tue, 19 May 2026 03:34:36 +0000

This study selected 83 non-English major sophomore English learners from a provincial university in China as subjects to explore the relationship between their auditory vocabulary knowledge and their listening comprehension in the College English Test Band 4 (CET4). Correlation analysis results indicated a significant correlation between the subjects' auditory vocabulary knowledge and CET4 listening comprehension. Multiple regression analysis revealed that subjects’ auditory vocabulary knowledge in the 1000-word (K1) and 2000-word (K2) frequency bands collectively predicted 47.4% of the variance in their CET4 listening comprehension scores. One-way ANOVA results showed significant differences among subjects with low, medium, and high listening proficiency levels in terms of their auditory vocabulary knowledge in the 1000 (K1), 2000 (K2), and 3000 (K3) word frequency bands. The findings offer certain implications for vocabulary teaching.

Reading Strategies for Political Texts among Saudi Learners of Foreign Languages

Sun, 24 May 2026 01:33:58 +0000

This study investigates the reading strategies employed by Saudi learners of foreign languages when engaging with political texts and examines the influence of selected variables on strategy use. Adopting a descriptive survey design, the researcher collected data from a sample of 103 Saudi learners studying English, French, Spanish, and Chinese at three higher education institutions. The study utilized a questionnaire adapted from the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory, which measures three categories of strategies: global, problem-solving, and support. The findings revealed that learners use reading strategies at a generally high level, with problem-solving strategies ranking first, followed by global strategies and support strategies. This indicates that learners rely heavily on higher-order cognitive processes such as inference, analysis, and evaluation when dealing with the complexity of political texts. The results also showed no statistically significant differences in strategy usage based on language major, gender, or language proficiency level. However, a significant effect was found for learners’ level of familiarity with global political events, with higher familiarity associated with greater use of reading strategies. The study highlights the importance of background knowledge in facilitating comprehension and enhancing strategic reading behavior. It also underscores the need for explicit instruction in metacognitive and problem-solving strategies, as well as the integration of authentic political content in foreign language curricula. The findings contribute to the limited research on reading political texts in foreign language contexts and offer pedagogical implications for improving learners’ reading comprehension and strategic awareness.

Contesting the Xinjiang Cotton Boycott: A Critical Discourse Analysis of H&M’s Statements and Chinese Official Rebuttals

Thu, 21 May 2026 06:19:45 +0000

This study critically examines public statements by H&M Group and the rebuttal by Chinese government spokespersons (CCTV News), aiming to uncover the ideological differences underlying the dispute over the Xinjiang cotton boycott. Employing van Dijk’s sociocognitive approach to critical discourse analysis, the analysis reveals a fundamental discursive asymmetry. H&M Group activates a mental model centered on corporate social responsibility and international compliance, whereas CCTV News activates a model centered on national dignity and resistance to perceived external hypocrisy. These two mental models are not merely different but incommensurable in their underlying evaluative structures. This incommensurability explains why the two public discourses failed to engage substantively with each other, instead talking past one another. The study concludes that such discursively enacted ideological divergence not only reflects but also reinforces the deepening geopolitical rift between China and Western-dominated institutional frameworks.

Balancing Intentional and Incidental Vocabulary Learning: Pedagogical Implications for Japanese EFL Classrooms

Thu, 21 May 2026 06:26:14 +0000

This paper provides a narrative pedagogical review of intentional and incidental vocabulary learning, focusing on Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. It integrates foundational pedagogical literature with recent empirical research on the breadth and depth of vocabulary, intentional and incidental learning, repetition, contextualized exposure, learner autonomy, and classroom-based vocabulary instruction. It addresses a gap in the literature by examining how these research strands can be integrated into a coherent pedagogical framework for an input-limited EFL context such as Japan, where learners often have limited exposure to English beyond the classroom. Rather than treating intentional or incidental learning as independently sufficient, the paper argues that these methods’ effectiveness depends on learner proficiency, the quantity of available exposure, and the quality of instructional support. Further, it contends that vocabulary development is most effective when explicit vocabulary instruction is integrated with repeated contextualized encounters, productive use, and sustained strategy development. The paper concludes by proposing a practical pedagogical model to sequence explicit vocabulary instruction, planned recycling, contextualized re-encounters, and learner-directed review in Japanese university EFL classrooms and also identifies areas warranting further empirical research.

Negotiating Chinese American Identity in Fae Myenne Ng’s Bone

Fri, 22 May 2026 06:08:31 +0000

Since the first Chinese immigrants arrived in 1820, more and more Chinese Americans have entered the American society, which reportedly have already accounted for 1.5% of the total population of the United States. Caught between the Chinese and American cultures, they inevitably need to face culture conflict. Bone (1993), Chinese American writer Fae Myenne Ng’s debut novel, demonstrates Chinese Americans’ painstaking search for their cultural identity, an on-going topic of interest in Asian American literature. This paper intends to explore, from the postcolonial perspective, the identity seeking of Chinese American immigrant Mah and American-born daughters as Leila, Ona and Nina in the novel. Among them, Leila successfully transcends the mode of duality antagonism in her choice between the American culture and Chinese culture and eventually achieves a hybrid identity as a Chinese American, echoing postcolonial theorist Bhabha’s advocate for hybridity in the multi-cultural environment.

A Phenomenological Study on Teachers’ Lived Experiences of Their English Medium Instruction (EMI) Implementation in Thai Secondary Schools

Fri, 22 May 2026 06:25:20 +0000

This descriptive phenomenological study investigates how Non-Native English-Speaking (NNES) subject teachers (n = 9) who implemented English Medium Instruction (EMI) in their teaching across the English Program (EP), the Intensive English Program (IEP), and the Science-Mathematics Bilingual Program (SMBP) experienced their work. While existing EMI research has largely focused on language outcomes, policy implementation, and higher education settings, this study addresses a significant gap by exploring the subjective realities and professional vulnerabilities of secondary-level teachers in a Southeast Asian context. Grounded in Husserl’s philosophical framework, this research uses in-depth phenomenological interviews and classroom observations to examine the essence of teaching content through a non-native language. Data were analyzed through horizontalization, clustering of meaning units, and the development of textural and structural descriptions. The findings revealed that EMI implementation is a complex professional journey for NNES subject teachers, involving linguistic-pedagogical dissonance, impact on teacher identity and practice, emotional and cognitive load, and the adoption of adaptive teaching practices. However, this experience also provides NNES subject teachers with professional growth in adaptive pedagogical expertise, multimodal and translanguaging strategies, and teacher resilience. This study is original in its systematic phenomenological documentation of how NNES secondary teachers reconstruct their professional identities. It reveals their transition from content specialists to multilingual mediators through reflective meaning-making, a process largely invisible in policy-oriented and higher-education-focused EMI research. Implications include designing contextually responsive professional development and translanguaging-informed policy support for EMI teachers across Southeast Asian secondary education.

Translation of Dialect Metaphors from the Perspective of Conceptual Metaphor: A Case Study of Howard Goldblatt’s Translation of Red Sorghum Family

Sun, 24 May 2026 02:28:27 +0000

Mo Yan’s Red Sorghum Family vividly represents local culture through its extensive use of the Gaomi dialect. However, in cross-cultural translation, the rendering of dialectal expressions, particularly metaphorical ones, poses significant challenges, as linguistic and cultural disparities often hinder the preservation of their original connotations and cultural resonance. How to accurately convey these dialect metaphors has become a crucial step in promoting cross-cultural understanding and second language learning. Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), this paper analyzes the translation strategies for dialect metaphors in Howard Goldblatt’s English version. Drawing upon the five metaphor translation mechanisms proposed by Zhou Hongmin, this paper examines the translator’s strategic choices and adaptive adjustments across different cultural contexts through detailed case analyses. The study finds that, although certain instances of cultural attenuation inevitably occur in the translation process, Howard Goldblatt, by virtue of his profound Sinological expertise, succeeds in preserving the local linguistic and cultural features of the source text to a considerable extent. These findings also offer valuable implications for bilingual learners and cross-cultural translation practice.

Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety: A Study of a Saudi University

Mon, 25 May 2026 10:52:10 +0000

This study investigates the multiple sources of foreign language teaching anxiety (FLTA) among Saudi instructors teaching English in a Saudi university. Understanding teachers’ FLTA is crucial since it influences their confidence, teaching practices, and their students’ learning experiences. The study explores the roles of gender, years of teaching experience, and highest educational qualification on the level of perceived self-reported FLTA. The 56 participants (42 females and 14 males) were Saudi university instructors teaching English as a foreign language, with varying years of experience and educational qualifications. Data collection was through a closed and open‑ended questionnaire. The closed items were an adapted version of Ipek’s (2006) FLTA scale (FLTAS). This was followed by the semi-structured interviews, ten participants were randomly selected from the study sample, comprising five males and five female instructors. The findings revealed a statistically significant gender difference, with male instructors reporting significantly higher mean FLTA scores than female instructors. However, no significant differences were found between FLTA according to years of teaching experience or highest educational qualification. The study also reports on the sources that triggered instructors’ FLTA, for example, lack of self-confidence, fear of being judged, working environment and students. The findings highlight the need for teacher training programmes and institutional support to help instructors manage their FLTA in addition to providing directions for further research in this area.

Sinhalese Learning Experiences in Sri Lanka: A Case of Chinese University Students

Wed, 27 May 2026 01:00:03 +0000

Against the background of China’s increasing cooperation with South Asian countries and the strong demand for multilingual talents, less commonly taught language education has been increasingly valued in higher education. This study focuses on three Chinese Sinhalese majors during their study‑abroad period, aiming to explore how they develop Sinhalese language proficiency in Sri Lanka.

The study finds that Chinese students are confronted with significant communication challenges in the multilingual context in Sri Lanka, where colloquial forms, dialectal variations, and frequent mixing of Sinhalese and English constitute daily and academic interactions. To overcome these communication barriers and enhance their practical language skills, Chinese students actively draw on diverse resources and strategies, using English as a resource, participating in volunteer and social activities, learning collaboratively with peers, and employing digital tools and flexible multimodal communication. Despite the supportive role of English in facilitating basic daily communication, it poses noticeable constraints on in-depth interaction, since local English is marked by heavy accents and uneven proficiency, accompanied by clear social stratification in use, and fails to fully convey culture-loaded meanings in cross-cultural communication.

This study contributes to a better understanding of less commonly taught language learning in study-abroad contexts. It emphasizes the importance of multilingual and multimodal resources and provides implications for curriculum design, pre-departure training, and cross-cultural support.

Beyond the Native Speaker: An Interactional Ecology for English Learning

Sat, 30 May 2026 04:50:52 +0000

The role of native-speaker interaction in English language learning has long been debated in applied linguistics. Traditional second language acquisition theories have frequently positioned native-speaker input as the most authentic model of language exposure. However, the global expansion of English as a lingua franca, together with the rapid development of AI-mediated communication, increasingly challenges this assumption. Drawing on recent scholarship, this article critically examines three complementary interactional pathways: non-native teacher scaffolding, peer interaction, and AI-mediated communication. Rather than presenting original empirical findings, the paper is positioned as a conceptual framework study that synthesizes existing research in order to propose an interactional ecology framework for English language learning. The analysis suggests that effective language development depends less on interlocutor nativeness than on the quality, diversity, and pedagogical design of interactional experiences across learning contexts.

Multilingual Practices in China-Vietnam Borderlands: A Case of Supermarket at Hekou

Sat, 30 May 2026 11:50:52 +0000

Against the backdrop of increasingly frequent cross-border mobility, language plays an important role in catering to the needs of foreign migrants who come to China for various purposes. This study selected a supermarket in Hekou, a China-Vietnam border town, as a research site for examining how different languages are displayed across different areas of the supermarket and what functions these languages serve. Based on the content analysis of 127 multilingual signs and semi-structured interviews with seven bilingual employees, the study reveals three major findings. First, the supermarket’s linguistic landscape is dominated by bilingual signs. Specifically, Chinese-Vietnamese signs serve practical communicative functions, while Chinese-English signs mainly appear on electronic products and imported goods. Second, Chinese-Vietnamese bilingual signs perform important informative functions such as directional guidance, price transparency, usage instructions, and rule communication. However, interview data show that multilingual signs alone cannot fully meet the needs of Vietnamese customers, who prefer interpersonal communication for product details and promotional information. Third, English serves symbolic rather than practical communicative functions in that English signs create a fashionable atmosphere for young Vietnamese customers, signal high-end product quality, project a formal and professional institutional image, and position the supermarket as an internationally oriented venue for cross-border shoppers. The study concludes that the multilingual signs in the border supermarket serve both informative and symbolic functions. Practical suggestions are provided for offering Vietnamese language training for border service workers so as to facilitate cross-border trade and people-to-people connectivity between China and Vietnam.

Stereotypes in AI Voice Assistants: A Case Study of China’s Doubao Platform

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 04:29:03 +0000

As artificial intelligence voice assistants become a mainstream form of human-computer interaction, the gender and occupational stereotypes embedded in voice design have emerged as one of the most heated sociolinguistic debates, particularly in the context of China’s strengthening AI ethics governance and the growing influence of domestic AI platforms. This study examines the linguistic features displayed on Chinese Doubao AI voice platform, focusing on voice labeling, role allocation and acoustic design. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative analysis of 152 structured questionnaires with qualitative thematic coding of semi-structured interviews with and open-ended responses from users’ perceptions. Drawing on the concepts of explicit-implicit stereotype theory, social gender role theory, and the yin-yang cultural gender paradigm, the study reveals that Doubao’s voice library contains clear gender and occupational stereotyping: female voices are commonly associated with gentle and service-oriented traits, while male voices are linked to authority and technology-related roles. Although most users recognize such stereotypes, many still accept or enjoy them because of emotional attachment and entertainment value. Moreover, superficial technological diversity and algorithmic recommendation systems together create a self-reinforcing cycle of stereotypes. This study contributes to the research on AI voice bias in Chinese local platforms and provides insights for AI ethical design, diversified voice ecosystems, and gender equality governance in technology.

Reviewer acknowledgements for English Language Teaching, Vol. 19, No. 6, 2026

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:01:46 +0000

Reviewer acknowledgements for English Language Teaching, Vol. 19, No. 6, 2026