25 August 2025, Issue 4

    

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An Independent Knowledge System for Foreign Language Discipline
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  Reimagining an independent knowledge system for foreign language education in China: Principles and pathways

  JIANG Yajun, DONG Jiehua

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 2-8.

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  Construction of China's independent knowledge system for foreign language education would meet the present requirements of strengthening foreign language education's capacity in addressing national strategic priorities, while offering a crucial pathway to overcome the challenges of foreign language programmes. This study analyzes the rationale and core principles underpinning the independent knowledge system. It then proposes pathways for its construction from four key dimensions of diversifying disciplinary concentrations, innovating curriculum content, enhancing faculty expertise, and developing pedagogical resources. China's independent knowledge system for foreign language education would benefit its transformation of talent cultivation modes, and improve its ability in building China into an education powerhouse.
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  An exploratory study on the construction of Chinese linguistic discourse system in the new era

  FENG Haoda, FENG Zhiwei

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 9-15.

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  Over the past decades, Chinese linguistics has undergone a process of “integration” and “contestation” with Western linguistic theories, and has made remarkable advancements, yet with limited recognition in the international academic community. This paper briefly reviews the status quo of construction of Chinese linguistic discourse system, and highlights the existing major issues. It then proposes a theoretical framework for establishing Chinese linguistic discourse system in the new era from three dimensions, namely system concepts and structures, comparative approaches and paths, and strategies and guarantees, and explores effective paths for breaking free from Western discourse dependency. It is hoped that the paper would shed some light on constructing Chinese linguistic discourse system and a linguistic academic community, and ultimately enhancing China's international discourse power in linguistics.
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  Theoretical and practice innovations in interpreting professionals education in China: Principles and pathways

  DONG Yanping, ZHAN Cheng

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 16-22.

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  This paper introduces cases of China's theoretical innovations in interpreting competence (a critical issue of interpreting professionals education), with special emphasis on the Interpreting Competence Scales and Attentional Control in Interpreting. The former illustrates the construct of interpreting competence from the perspectives of teaching and evaluation, while the latter exemplifies the underlying mechanism of interpreting competence. The paper then summarizes China's innovations in the practice of interpreting professionals education, including professional standardization, teaching modes and methods, evaluation systems, and industry standards. These innovations, prompted by the unique local issues, serve to enhance the understanding of an independent knowledge system for foreign language education in China, and have implications for interpreting professionals education in the AI age.
Foreign Language Education & Teaching
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  A framework for international competence in college foreign language education: Competence dimensions and implementation pathways

  WANG Hong, YANG Binyu

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 23-29.

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  With the accelerating process of globalization, the demand for talents with international competence has become increasingly pressing, while college foreign language education plays a pivotal role in cultivating such talents. Adopting an educational design research approach, this study draws on relevant frameworks at home and abroad, and aligns with the disciplinary characteristics of college foreign language education in China. Through questionnaires, interviews, expert consultations and teaching practices, the study defines international competence in college foreign language education, constructs a competence framework encompassing three dimensions of values, knowledge, and skills, and outlines 15 key elements. Based on the framework, it proposes corresponding implementation pathways, aiming to provide theoretical foundations and practical insights for cultivation and assessment of international competence in college foreign language education.
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  The foreign language effect in moral judgment: Evidence from moral norms and social distance

  TRAN Duc Trung, LIU Yuping, HAO Jiaxin

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 30-36.

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  Based on the experimental data from 137 Vietnamese-Chinese bilinguals, this study investigates how the foreign language effect manifests under different types of moral norms and levels of social distance. The results show that: (1) the moral foreign language effect is widespread, but its intensity may be influenced by linguistic features and cultural perceptions; (2) the effect remains consistent across different types of moral norms, and foreign language use leads to more lenient moral judgments on behaviors with varying normative attributes; (3) foreign language use weakens the influence of social distance on moral judgments, and the farther the social distance, the stronger the effect. The study verifies the general presence of the moral foreign language effect, and deepens the understanding of its manifestations and underlying mechanisms.
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  On practice approaches to academic research agency of foreign language MA students from the perspective of the activity theory

  LI Chen, YANG Luxin

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 37-44.

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  Guided by the activity theory, this study employs a qualitative case study approach to conduct a three-year longitudinal tracking of three MA students majoring in foreign languages, exploring the characteristics of agency in academic research activities during their MA studies. The findings reveal that the academic research agency practices of the MA students are carried out via their growth will, goal-oriented approaches, and practice objectives. These practices are realized by means of marginal observation and centripetal perception, and iteratively influence future activities under the mediating effects of various elements within the activity system. Investigating students' academic research agency helps extend the collaborative dialogic space between teachers and students in the academic research field, stimulating new educational capabilities of university MA programmes.
Second Language Research
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  On effects of control-value appraisals on L2 academic achievement: The mediating roles of L2 grit and academic emotions

  WEI Xiaobao, CHEN Fangzhou, ZHAO Xi

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 45-54.

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  Based on a questionnaire survey among 237 Chinese non-English major undergraduates, this study employed structural equation modeling to investigate the predictive effects of controlvalue appraisals on second language (L2) academic achievement and the chained mediating roles of L2 grit and academic emotions (enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom) in between. The results are as follows: (1) within controlvalue appraisals, only value appraisals exerted a direct predictive effect on English academic achievement; (2) control appraisals fostered L2 enjoyment, which subsequently exerted a positive predictive effect on achievement, whereas value appraisals triggered L2 anxiety, negatively predicting achievement; (3) control appraisals had an indirect predictive effect on English academic achievement by the chained mediation of L2 grit and academic emotions. The study corroborates the hypothesized quadripartite relational chain comprising “appraisal-driven, trait-shaping, emotion-triggering, and achievement-enhancing” mechanisms, revealing the mediating roles of academic traits and emotions in linking “evaluation to academic performance”.
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  Exploring the emergence and dynamics of multi-dimensional features in L2 discourse development

  LI Huixian, ZHENG Yongyan

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 55-64.

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  Based on the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), this study investigates the emergence and dynamics of multi-dimensional features in L2 discourse development. Argumentative essays written by 83 Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners over a semester were collected, and multi-dimensional analysis and longitudinal clustering methods were used. The results showed that two discourse types emerged from longitudinal cluster analysis, namely expositive persuasion and interactive persuasion. The former is more situation-explicit, abstract, informational, and less involved, while the latter shows the opposite features. A person-centered approach revealed three developmental profiles of L2 discourse, namely stable, fluctuating, and transitional profiles. They each exhibit distinct multi-dimensional interaction patterns, showing an overall tendency towards academicization. Implications regarding the pedagogy of argumentative discourses in the Chinese EFL context are discussed.
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  The cognitive mechanisms underlying the influence of context types and language proficiency on online processing of foreign language metaphors

  WANG Jiayu, XU Zuoting, WANG Luyao, XU Xiaodong

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 65-72.

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  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.
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  International research on second language oral accuracy: Retrospect and prospect

  LU Peng, ZHOU Dandan

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 73-80.

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  Oral accuracy is a key index of second language (L2) acquisition research and pedagogy. This paper reviews the cutting-edge developments and core issues in international L2 oral accuracy research in the past three decades. It identifies three major research strands: (1) the interactive mechanisms among accuracy, complexity, and fluency, (2) internal and external factors influencing oral accuracy, and (3) methodological approaches to measurement of oral accuracy. The paper concludes by calling for future research grounded in theoretical integration, oriented toward the standardization of measurement practices, and leveraging artificial intelligence to advance the field toward greater theoretical depth and empirical breadth.
AI Literacy of Foreign Language Teachers
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  Foreign language teachers' AI literacy: A comparative analysis and development framework from an international perspective

  NI Qin, CHEN Jing

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 81-87.

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  AI-enabled educational revolution has reshaped education models, and has shifted foreign language teachers' roles to “learning facilitators” and “human-machine collaborators”. This paper reviews policies, curricula, and research trends regarding AI in education in Asia, Europe and the Americas, and analyzes the applications and challenges of AI in education across different cultural contexts. Based on the analysis, it proposes a human-centered approach to enhancing foreign language teachers' AI competency, emphasizing ethics and digital inclusion. The stepwise pathway aims to support teachers' professional development and improve the quality of education in the AI era.
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  A study on the connotation elements, influencing factors, and development paths of AI-PCK for university foreign language teachers

  JIANG Xia

  Foreign Language World. 2025, 0(4): 88-96.

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  Against the backdrop of rapid technological advancement in artificial intelligence (AI), the knowledge framework of university foreign language teachers is in urgent need of transformation. Based on in-depth interviews with eleven foreign language teachers from different types of universities, this study investigates the connotation elements of teachers' AI-integrated Pedagogical Content Knowledge (AI-PCK). Drawing on the ecological systems theory, it also analyzes influencing factors of teachers' AI-PCK. Findings indicate that AI-PCK consists of seven core knowledge elements, namely AI Knowledge (AI-K), AI-integrated Foreign Language Teacher Knowledge (AI-FLTK), AI-integrated Student Knowledge (AI-SK), AI-integrated Foreign Language Teaching Objective Knowledge (AI-FLTOK), AI-integrated Foreign Language Subject Content Knowledge (AI-FLSCK), AI-integrated Foreign Language Teaching Strategy Knowledge (AI-FLTSK), and AI-integrated Foreign Language Teaching Assessment Knowledge (AI-FLTAK). They are influenced interactively by ecological factors at macro, exo, meso, and micro levels. The study concludes by proposing development paths of teachers' AI-PCK, offering practical implications for university administrators and teacher educators to formulate evidence-based policies and promote foreign language teachers' professional development.