As an essential higher-order capacity for foreign language learners, meta discourse awareness provides vital support for fostering high-quality foreign language professionals. Drawing on the findings from the research on English-Chinese discourse contrastive analysis, this paper proposes a content framework and its implementation strategy for cultivating meta discourse awareness. The framework operates at the micro, meso and macro levels, and comprises five key factors, namely structural awareness, semantic awareness, genre awareness, critical awareness and intercultural awareness. To implement the framework, the metacognition driven input-output strategy is adopted. With metacognition in the central organizing position, the strategy emphasizes clear goal orientation and self-regulatory ability development through discourse input and output. Its core lies in the bidirectional adjustment by teachers and learners via continuous reflection and feedback, thereby facilitating the effective transfer from English-Chinese discourse knowledge to intercultural discourse processing competence.

Amid the expansion of professional interpreter education, the developmental features of learners' interpreting competence and core sub-competence needs investigation. Adopting methods of testing, retrospective think-aloud and diary logging, this longitudinal study examines 55 interpreting learners at the MTI level over one academic year study. It reveals that: (1) the developmental trajectory of learners' strategic competence in Chinese-English consecutive interpreting is complex and dynamic, characterized by jumps, non-linearity and fluctuation. The overall number of interpreting strategies used increases in a curve, and the types of strategies remain the same. (2) The critical period for the development of learners' strategic competence in Chinese-English consecutive interpreting occurs between the third and seventh months of learning, with varying acquisition times for each strategy. These findings are expected to provide empirical evidence for constructing theories on interpreting strategic competence development as well as designing effective ways to interpreting strategy training.

Speech perception is a cognitive process that integrates visual and auditory modalities. Observers process prominent information through visual (e.g. facial expressions) and auditory (e.g. prominence) cues. Based on the McGurk effect theory, this study investigates Chinese EFL learners' audiovisual perception of English and Chinese prominence by measuring reaction time and accuracy. The results reveal that the congruent audiovisual cues have the strongest effect on prominence perception. It is easier for EFL learners to judge Chinese prominence than English prominence, showing native language advantage. Under audiovisually congruent conditions, EFL learners' audiovisual perception patterns of English prominence closely approximate those of native speakers. It is faster and easier to detect prominent words in the non-final positions of a sentence than those in the final position. The study provides foundational data for human-computer interaction research, offering practical application value in fields such as intelligent education and medical rehabilitation.

In the new era of high-quality educational development, this paper explores from theoretical and practical dimensions the multifaceted value of literary literacy in foreign language education, highlighting its distinct roles in improving language proficiency, deepening cultural understanding, and fostering critical thinking. Addressing common issues in current teaching practices, including the overemphasis on skills at the expense of humanities and fragmentation of course structures, the paper uses classic literary works as examples to demonstrate the pathways for integrating literature teaching with disciplines such as history, philosophy, and sociology, in the hope of providing enlightenment for cultivating interdisciplinary talents with both linguistic and cultural competencies.

This one year longitudinal study involves two cohorts of undergraduates at a Chinese university: 2 673 students from the 2022 cohort and 2 272 students from the 2023 cohort. It uses a self-developed GenAI-powered personalized adaptive learning system ZJU E-Lang, and examines its role in improving EFL listening and reading abilities from the perspectives of learning outcomes and students' perceived effectiveness. The findings indicate that the GenAI-powered system significantly enhanced students' English listening and reading abilities. However, a clear novelty effect was observed, with substantial progress during the first half of the year followed by a slowdown in the second half. Students' perceptions of the GenAI-powered system varied by discipline, but disciplinary backgrounds did not interact with GenAI-facilitated learning effects. The positive effects of the GenAI-powered system in supporting language learning provide enlightenment for the deep integration of human intelligence and artificial intelligence in foreign language teaching.

Intelligent chatbots are emerging technological tools for second language acquisition, though their effects on language acquisition remain controversial. Using meta-analysis, this study examines the overall and moderating effects of 35 experimental and quasi-experimental studies on application of intelligent chatbots to second language acquisition in the past decade. The results show that: (1) the overall average effect value is 0.677, exhibiting a large effect on language learning; (2) the moderating variables such as learning stages, teaching cycles, intelligent chatbot features (including interfaces and interaction modes), and second language skills produce significant effects on language learning, while learning situations have no moderating effect. The study provides implications for applying intelligent chatbots to second language teaching.

Fostering moral ethics through education and developing students' disciplinary and cross-disciplinary competencies is a key agenda for cultivating talents for the “Four New Disciplinary Initiatives” and a core component of curriculum reform. This paper focuses on the development of AI-enhanced College English courses. Taking a national excellent course as an example, it introduces an AI-enhanced College English course integrating AI technology with the course content. Through functions such as the construction of multi-dimensional knowledge and competency graphs, human-computer collaborative teaching and learning, full-cycle support from virtual teaching assistants and virtual teachers, and intelligent data feedback, the course promotes the cultivation of College English language and interdisciplinary competencies geared towards the “Four New Disciplinary Initiatives”, thereby realizing the transition from knowledge acquisition to intelligence growth in College English teaching.

The development of China's higher foreign language education has always been closely aligned with national strategies. This paper begins with a concise review of the evolution of higher foreign language education since the reform and opening-up, revealing the historical logic behind its service to national strategies. On this basis, it argues that the new connotation of higher foreign language education has shifted toward playing a foundational and strategic supporting role in pursuing the cause of building China into a leading country in education. Against the backdrop of national rejuvenation and digital-intelligent technological transformation, the paper proposes for higher foreign language education a trinity of development coordinates, grounded in “Chinese perspective, mutual learning among civilizations, and AI integration”. Through systematic self-innovation and accelerated transformation, higher foreign language education should commit to cultivating new-type foreign language professionals capable of meeting the critical national needs, and proactively respond to the requirements of the times within the broader context of “advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization”.

This study adopted a systematic review approach and analyzed the research methods employed in empirical studies in the field of applied linguistics from the perspective of complex dynamic systems theory (CDST). It summarized and discussed the research designs, participants, timescales and data collection methods, as well as data analysis methods. The analysis showed that the domestic and foreign CDST studies were featured with trends toward interdisciplinarity, paradigm integration and methodological innovation, though they differed in participant selection and design implementation.Domestic studies were primarily based on small-scale quantitative designs, focusing mainly on second language development at the tertiary level, with relatively limited data collection and analytical methods; in contrast, international studies involved larger sample sizes, covered learners at different educational stages, and used more diverse methods of data collection and analysis. It is suggested that future research should enrich theoretical perspectives, adopt integrated designs, and employ interdisciplinary methods to further reveal the dynamics and complexities of complex systems.

The rise of large language models has profoundly reshaped translation production practices, presenting a significant challenge to traditional translation training systems. This paper, oriented towards the objectives of knowledge, skills, and critical thinking, proposes a pedagogical framework driven by large language models for human-machine collaborative translation. The framework comprises a four-stage teaching pathway of translation diagnosis, prompt design, multi-round interaction and project practice, and adopts a comprehensive evaluation method, aiming to promote the intelligent transformation of translation education and cultivate innovative translators in the AI era.

This paper proposes a new model of translation revision competence by integrating key elements of translation competence and translation revision competence. The specific components of the model include cognitive competence, strategic competence, assessment competence, the spirit of truth-seeking, the spirit of utility-attaining, common elements of translation competence and unique elements of translation revision competence. It incorporates the translator's self-revision, which is often excluded by Western scholars, and can explain various types of translation revision, such as monolingual revision and literary translation revision. Its distinctive feature lies in the openness of components, so that each type of translation revision can activate corresponding sub-competences. The model has both theoretical and practical value, offering insights for understanding relevant theoretical translation concepts and cultivating translation talents.

Grounded in the self-regulated learning theory and blended learning theory, this study constructs an AI agent-assisted blended autonomous learning model of foreign languages, aiming to maintain the balance between the technological empowerment and development of autonomous learning abilities. This model emphasizes dynamic alignment of learning objectives and content, interactive design of learning methods and organization, and continuous improvement of learning assessment and feedback, and is implemented through a “planningexecutionreflection” cycle. An interpreting teaching experiment demonstrates that the model significantly improves students' interpreting performance, which is positively correlated with learning stages, while technology acceptance and feedback mechanisms reveal phased cognitive adaptation needs. Based on the experimental findings, the study provides recommendations for optimizing the model implementation, including collaboratively setting goals, explicitly teaching strategies and coordinating emotional support.

This paper systematically reviews the empirical literature on language teacher identity from the CSSCI and SSCI databases (2014-2024), and provides a comprehensive analysis of the research methods employed, with particular emphasis on the techniques for enhancing the quality of qualitative research and the ways in which the quality is reported. The main findings are as follows: (1) both Chinese and English-language literature feature qualitative research, with a wide use of interviews, observations and written materials to gather data, but Chinese literature also presents a more diverse range of research paths, including quantitative and mixed-methods research. (2) Case studies dominate qualitative research in both Chinese and English literature, with a rising trend of narrative research focusing on exploring language teacher identity from open and exploratory perspectives. (3) Qualitative research in both Chinese and English literature employs various quality-enhancing methods, such as triangulation and member check to enhance research credibility, while the use of quality terminologies is insufficient and inconsistent, and English literature shows the tendency to develop quality assessment standards applicable to qualitative research. The paper reveals the similarities and differences between Chinese and English empirical research on language teacher identity in terms of research methods, quality strategies, and terminological reporting, providing reference and enlightenment for advancing methodological awareness and standardization in teacher identity research.

Machine translation literacy has emerged as a frontier topic in translation studies in the human-machine collaboration era, but assessment tools for machine translation literacy remain underdeveloped. This study attempts to construct a machine translation literacy scale consisting of 5 dimensions and 18 indicators, and examines its reliability and validity. The dimensions include human-machine translating knowledge, human-machine translating strategies, pre-editing techniques, post-editing techniques and human-machine relationship understanding. The statistical results indicate that the scale demonstrates good convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency reliability. The machine translation literacy scale may provide reference for quantitative assessment in translation education and practice.

The precise educational assistance in the new era focuses on the practical needs of local teachers and is committed to promoting their professional development. Based on the TPACK model,and taking into account the professional development needs of teachers, the “Artificial Intelligence + Rural English Teacher Training” project achieves remote real-time interaction and self-study assisted by artificial intelligence through refined and career-oriented planning, and a regular course learning system established on an online platform. It also provides comprehensive practice activities, such as public lesson studies, and intensive onsite learning in the offline teaching week each semester. The precise assistance to foreign language education in the new era should deeply explore the needs of teachers, construct a three-dimensional knowledge model, dynamically adjust the content of assistance, and gather the strength of all parties to assure its effectiveness.

With its rapid advancement, artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually replacing the instrumental value of the discipline of foreign languages and literatures, but not the ontological value. However, AI has prompted the discipline to engage in deep reflection on its shortcomings in substantive aspects of development, thereby accelerating its substantive and innovative development. To meet national strategic demands, the discipline should establish an independent system of global knowledge and scholarship while cultivating high-level talents equipped with interdisciplinary literacy and creative thinking. In the AI era, the discipline of foreign languages and literatures should aim to construct China's independent knowledge system and talent cultivation system, actively embrace and skillfully utilize AI technologies, and deepen the development of knowledge production, academic innovation, discourse construction and talent cultivation across its five major research areas under the concept of “New Humanism”, in order to demonstrate its irreplaceable value.

This study employs a self-paced reading experiment to examine how context types and foreign language proficiency affect the processing of metaphors in a foreign language. The results show that for positive metaphors, both the metaphorical and literal meanings are accessed simultaneously, whereas for ironic metaphors, the metaphorical meaning is accessed after the literal meaning, indicating a staged processing characteristic. Although both positive and ironic metaphors are non-literal, their cognitive mechanisms differ in that ironic metaphors require more cognitive resources from EFL learners. Regardless of metaphor types, advanced learners process metaphors faster than low proficiency learners, while the relationship between language proficiency and metaphor processing is dynamically mediated by cognitive abilities.

The continuous deepening of college EFL curriculum and teaching reform has imposed new requirements for teachers' knowledge, ability and competence, potentially creating a professional identity transformation dilemma for college EFL teachers. Following the Activity Theory approach, this study adopts the case study method, and analyzes the contradictions and tensions that are exposed in the transformation of the participant college EFL teachers' professional identity, typically from a General English language teacher to a teacher of English for Academic Purposes. Data analysis shows that they encounter four-level contradictions in the transformation process, with the secondary level ones being the most apparent. They employ various mediating tools including others, cultural artifacts and strategic activities, and exert their agency such as seeking learning opportunities to resolve the contradictions. The study has both theoretical and practical implications for college EFL teachers' professional development.

Playing an important role in learners' L2 writing development, engagement with feedback is jointly affected by individual factors and environmental factors. The application of automated writing evaluation (AWE) system has furnished L2 writing pedagogic practice with a new environment of integrated feedback. This study examines the impact of the integrated feedback environment on learner engagement and L2 writing performance. The findings reveal that: (1) integrated feedback significantly outshines teacher feedback in improving learner engagement and consequently L2 writing performance; (2) in the integrated feedback environment, cognitive engagement has the greatest impact on learners' L2 writing performance, followed by behavioral engagement and affective engagement, and regarding cognitive engagement, the use of metacognitive strategies significantly contributes to a valid prediction of learners' writing performance.

Implicature constitutes a central topic in L2 pragmatic research. The present study, using a self-paced reading task, explores the influence of different types of implicature on L2 implicature processing among Chinese English learners with varying English proficiencies. The linear mixed effect model results show that: (1) types of implicature significantly influence L2 processing, and the respective processing costs of indirect refusals, indirect opinions and ironies increase successively; (2) there are significant differences between advanced and intermediate learners in processing L2 implicature, the former coming out with higher accuracy and shorter response time, and the latter with lower accuracy and longer response time. These findings partially support the conventionality effect, and reveal the pragmatic inferencing mechanisms in L2 implicature processing across different levels of English proficiencies.

This paper introduces the background of virtual teaching & research centers, and sketches foreign language virtual teaching & research center projects approved by the Ministry of Education in 2022. It then gives an overview of the development of the Virtual Teaching & Research Center of College English Curriculum Development. Based on the proposed virtual community of practice model, the paper further illustrates its intended implementation from the aspects of theoretical basis, organizational management and community of practice.

Based on the PRISMA framework, this study conducted a systematic analysis of 101 research papers on new-form foreign language textbooks published in China and abroad over the past nearly two decades (2006—2024). The analysis reveals a significant upward trend in the overall volume of publications, which has undergone three developmental stages. Research themes primarily center on textbook evaluation and development, with insufficient attention paid to textbook use and analysis. In empirical studies, the application of theoretical frameworks is insufficient and lacks systematicity. Research subjects encompass textbooks at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, with a particular emphasis on those at the tertiary level. English is the dominant language of the textbooks studied. Research methods have become increasingly diversified, with qualitative and quantitative methods frequently combined. Finally, the study identifies common problems in both domestic and overseas research, and outlines future prospects of research on new-form foreign language textbooks in China.

This study aims to examine the status quo of Chinese college foreign language teachers' competence in ideological and political education from the perspective of ecological affordances. It conducts a questionnaire survey among 816 teachers, 1 313 undergraduates and 948 postgraduates across the country, supplemented by interviews with 8 teachers, 13 undergraduates and 10 postgraduates. The results indicate that foreign language teachers demonstrate a significant amount of positive actualization of affordances in teaching, showcasing strong teaching competence in ideological and political education. However, with respect to research, the positive actualization is limited, primarily characterized by insufficient research activities and competence. The study further proposes pathways for enhancing ideological and political competence of foreign language teachers, in order to provide valuable insights for their development.

The 2024-2035 Master Plan on Building China into a Leading Country in Education calls for accelerating the development of a high-quality education system, and establishing an independent knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. In line with the goal of building a leading country in education, the discipline of foreign languages and literatures and related programs should keep pace with the times, strengthen the guiding role of innovative theories, and promote interdisciplinary integration to construct an independent knowledge system for the discipline. They should adhere to a needs-based approach to enhance the relevance of foreign language programs, align with national development strategies to broaden both the scope and depth of cultivating internationally competent interdisciplinary talents, and implement political and moral education by developing a system of high-quality original teaching materials. At this new historical juncture, higher foreign language education should remain committed to national priorities, seize historical opportunities, rise to challenges, and break new ground in development.

Based on 11 670 job ads collected through data mining, this study conducts multiple textometric needs analysis of translation-related jobs in Chinese markets in terms of language competence, domain-relevant knowledge and instrumental competence. The findings reveal that in the context of the new development pattern, there is a marked increase in the needs for translation talents' domain-relevant knowledge in emerging fields, and instrumental competence. Job positions and language requirements reflect the cluster effect of business activities in a specific region. The recruitment requirements for translation talents with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are homogeneous, except for the difference in domains and positions. Accordingly, the study offers suggestions for translator training in China concerning talent levels, educational resources, and industry-academia collaboration.

Applying netnography, semi-structured interviews, content analysis and cross-case analysis to collect and analyze qualitative data, this study explores the influences of online learning communities on tertiary EFL teacher competences, and focuses on the factors shaping an effective learning community. The findings suggest that online learning communities improve teacher competences regarding their cognition, knowledge, skills and multiliteracies. Major factors shaping an effective learning community include membership, objectives/tasks, interactions and mechanism. Specifically, diverse membership and teachers' autonomy are the prerequisites for the development of teacher competences. Shared objectives and explicit tasks are the solid bases. Significantly also, reciprocal interactions and sound mechanism create a climate in which collaborative learning takes place. Hopefully, these findings can provide insight into learning community construction and teacher professional development at large.

This paper focuses on the philosophies and paths of building the College English Courses (CEC) Virtual Teaching & Research Center led by Zhejiang University. Based on the concepts of “fostering virtue through education, integrating research with education, connecting the east with the west, and contributing jointly for shared benefits”, the CEC Virtual Teaching & Research Center commits itself to boosting core competitiveness featuring “innovation in course concepts, optimization in the course system, improvement in teaching and assessment, and enhancement in technological application”, and developing its organization system with “five elements”, namely serving the nation, perfecting the system, integrating research with education, innovating curriculum design, and contributing for shared benefits. The building of the CEC Virtual Teaching & Research Center reflects the efforts to actively explore innovative forms and modes of basic teaching organizations, which conforms to the requirements on College English teaching in the information age and responds to both the growth need of student individuals and the strategic need of national development.

The Project-based College English Virtual Teaching & Research Center was among the first batch of national experimental virtual teaching & research centers approved by the Ministry of Education. It aims for innovativeness in theoretical research, modes of organization and operation, and focal areas of work, and for excellence in course and teaching materials development, teaching methodology, and pedagogical research. To this end, the center coordinates collaboration in course development, resource construction and faculty development among school-based or virtual teaching & research groups, and encourages the sharing of academic and teaching resources, expertise, and pedagogical research achievements.

Adopting a mixed design based on the Latent Growth Curve Modeling and Retrodictive Modeling from a Complexity Theory perspective, this study investigates the macro, meso and micro developmental features of English writing competence in a group of English-major freshmen across one year. It uses lexical complexity, sentence complexity, accuracy and fluency as the variables, and finds that: (1) the students' CAF development is not linear, faster at the beginning and the end than in the middle; (2) the students' English writing competence can be longitudinally classified into three prototypes, namely the continuous stable type, bouncing first and then stable type, and alternate bouncing and stable type; (3) the CAF development of the typical students indicates that the dynamic correlations among the sub-systems are different in three prototypes, and distribution of cognitive resources, initial writing habits, feedback and motivation are the driving forces of different outcomes. The results have implications for teaching of English writing.