Asking varying levels of questions within the cognitive domain is not an innate skill, which is especially true with English as a second language learner teachers. To develop their awareness of teacher questioning strategies, an eight-week quasi-experimental study, designed based on the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) has explicitly taught participants (N=14) questioning strategies of asking varying levels of questions and Divergent Questions through intense restructuring activities and a Question-Question Game. Pre-and post-tests, and pre-and post-questionnaires, including question journals, are administered. The results, compared with the control group (N = 7) using paired-samples t tests show that explicit instruction has developed participants' awareness of formulating levels and varieties of questions. Participants have significantly (t(13) = 3.67, p < .05) asked more higher order questions such as Analysis Questions. They have also significantly (t(13) = -2.85, p < .05) reduced lower order questions such as Understand Questions resulting from the promoted awareness of their existing strategies. Analysis of the qualitative data provides supporting evidence, further indicating specific questioning levels and cognitive processes for which L2 learner teachers lack awareness. This study is the first one that has experimentally taught L2 teacher questioning through the Revised Taxonomy and opens new directions for teacher training.

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Developing Awareness of Questioning Strategies for Second Language Learner Teachers

Idioms, the gems of a language, best reflect the national characteristics embodied in a language and always have rich national flavor and cultural connotation. It is not easy to translate idioms since not all English idioms have equivalents in Chinese idioms mainly due to cultural differences. There are six translation approaches in translating English idioms into Chinese: compensatory translation, literal translation, free translation, borrowing, integrated approach, explanational translation. This paper aims to propose the compensatory translation approach, one of the important and indispensable tactics to Chinese translation of English idioms based on Eugene A. Nida’s equivalence view. It is worth discussing on compensatory translation approach to English idioms from cultural perspective so as to better understand the application of this tactic, hoping to cast some enlightenment on further research in this area.

Application of Compensatory Translation Approach to English Idioms

Idioms, the crystallization of language, are always rich in cultural connotation and national flavor. Translating idioms is quite a difficult task because only a few English idioms have equivalents in Chinese idioms due to linguistic, especially cultural differences. Explanational translation, literal translation, free translation, compensatory translation, borrowing, integrated approach, are six translation tactics in translating English idioms into Chinese. This paper aims to propose the explanational translation approach, one of important and indispensable tactics to Chinese translation of English idioms based on Eugene A. Nida’s view on translation and culture. In order to keep the flavor of the original English idioms as well as to cater for the Chinese readers, each tactics should be reasonably employed in the process of translating. It is worth discussing on the application of explanational translation approach to English idioms so as to better use explanational translation tactic in translation, hoping to cast some enlightenment on further research in this field.

/pdf/application-of-explanational-translation-approach-to-english-2ldowrs9bq.pdf

Application of Explanational Translation Approach to English Idioms

There are more than 55 minority groups in China, most of which live in some remote mountainous areas, and the students there are poor in English during middle and senior school study, especially, in cross-cultural communication. As to English-Chinese cross-cultural communication, besides the culture itself, attentions also need to be paid to differences of culture-loaded words. In this thesis, in order to cultivate college minority preliminary students’ ability of cross-cultural communication, we will analyze three kinds of culture-loaded words with cultural differences between Chinese and English, namely, numbers, animals and colors.

http://dpi-proceedings.com/index.php/dtssehs/article/download/12877/12410

About Differences of English-Chinese Culture-loaded Words in Cross-cultural Communication for Chinese College Minority Preliminary Students

The Chinese language has a long history,and the Chinese words are rich and colorfulThe Chinese idioms include set phrases,colloquialism,while the English idioms include colloquialism,proverbs,slams and so onThe English idioms play an important part in the English language,and the Chinese idioms are very important in the Chinese languageEnglish and Chinese are two highly developed language families;both of them have a long history and a large quantity of idiomsTo understand the cultural connotation of China and the West,English learners should deepen the understanding of the similarities and differences between English and Chinese idioms

Chen Mei

Papers

A Comparative Study on English and Chinese Idioms