By reviewing the developmental trajectory of applied linguistics in international contexts and grounding the analysis in China's research and practice, this paper identifies five modules in a Chinese knowledge framework of applied linguistics, namely foreign language learning, foreign language teaching, foreign language testing and assessment, foreign language teacher development, and foreign language digital intelligence technology. It explains the logical relationships, definitions, and connotations of these modules, draws the distinctions between the Chinese knowledge frameworks of applied linguistics and foreign language education, and proposes two major construction strategies, i.e. “exemplar-driven scaling” (piloting successful modules and progressively extending them to broader contexts) and “selective development of defining concepts” (strategically prioritizing the formulation of concepts that define the framework's Chinese distinctiveness), aiming to systematically advance the development of Chinese knowledge frameworks of disciplines.
The development of artificial intelligence and the transformation of global civilizational communication are reshaping the objectives and knowledge systems of foreign language education. This paper proposes the cultivation of research-oriented foreign language professionals, emphasizing a shift from static ability combination to dynamic developmental empowerment. It explores the construction of a three-dimensional framework of thinking, knowledge, and competence for research-oriented foreign language professionals, and argues that creative thinking functions as the cognitive engine of research-oriented professionals, an open transdisciplinary knowledge system serves as their structural foundation, and competence in mutual learning among civilizations constitutes their core practical capability, in order to meet the multiple demands of national development strategies, high-level opening-up, and participation in global governance in the New Era.
The rise of the “Global South” represents a significant historical opportunity for the transformative development of China's foreign language programs and their construction of an independent knowledge system. This paper clarifies the conceptual connotation of the “Global South”, reviews relevant studies on the construction of independent knowledge systems, and focuses on the development process and knowledge production of Southeast Asian language programs in China. It then puts forward that foreign language programs promote the practice of “taking language as a pathway and the South as a method”, leverage their traditional strengths, advance reforms in talent cultivation models, curricula and teaching materials systems, integrate area studies, and build the “South-South Cooperation” civilizational ecosystem, aiming to facilitate the development of foreign language programs and their construction of an independent knowledge system.
As one of the pioneers of foreign language education in New China, Jiang Chunfang held viewsof great historical and contemporary significanceon foreign language education. Based on a systematic examination and analysis of historical archives, collected works, manuscripts, biographies, and interview materials, this paper proposes that Jiang Chunfang's views on foreign language education are mainly reflected in three key aspects: firstly, a foreign language education philosophy oriented towards serving national development strategies; secondly, a three-dimensional concept of talent cultivation centered on “political literacyregional cognitioninternational vision”; thirdly, a cultivation path emphasizing systematic coordination and flexible adaptation. Rooted in the Chinese historical context, Jiang Chunfang's views on foreign language education embody a strategic mindset that aligns foreign language education with national development, and offers valuable implications for the renewal of foreign language education philosophy, the restructuring of talent cultivation objectives, and the innovation of systematic approaches to talent cultivation in the New Era.
Grounded in the language education planning theory, this paper constructs a planning framework consisting of five dimensionsfor college English education, namely educational objectives, curriculum system, teaching materials and methods, teaching assessment, and teacher development. Based on the planning framework, it analyzes the major challenges to the development of college English education across the five dimensions. The paper further proposes a five-pronged development pathway through redefining educational objectives, restructuring the curriculum system, reorganizing teaching materials and methods, rebuilding the teaching assessment system, and regenerating the teacher development ecology. The pathway is expected to advance the systematic transformation and high-quality development of college English education, effectively serving the national needs of strategic development in the New Era.
The cultivation of language professionals is the fundamental guarantee for the development of national language capacity. Taking Russia as an example, this paper focuses on the training system of three types of language professionals, namely general-purpose language professionals, military-purpose language professionals and area studies professionals. The paper further discusses the implications that Russia's experience provides for China's language professionals development. China can build a three-tier foreign language education system, dynamically optimize the allocation of strategic language resources, enhance the interdisciplinary training of general-purpose language professionals, formulate a systematic plan for improving military language capabilities, and promote the training of area studies professionals, thereby supporting the implementation of national development strategies.
Based on the practical attributes and existing inadequacies of international communication in China, this paper expounds four core competencies, namely patriotism and global vision, language proficiency and cultural literacy, communication skill and digital-intelligent technology capability, as well as practical application and innovative ability. Guided by the concept of practice-oriented education, the paper then explores the practical paths of foreign language talent cultivation for international communication from the dimensions of curriculum system, on-campus practice teaching, social practice research, and evaluation system. It aims to provide practical enlightenment for universities and colleges to optimize the cultivation modes of international communication talents and improve the quality of talent cultivation, thereby strengthening talent support for China's building of international communication capacity in the New Era.
It is a crucial mission of foreign language discipline to cultivate high-quality international communication talents to serve national strategic needs. This study proposes a “One Core, Three Stages, Dual Cycles” framework for cultivating international communication talents. With foreign language discipline as the core, a “classroom learning practical engagement communication” micro-cycle of training stages is established, while a “training objectives training stages talent competency development” cycle operates at the macro level, thus forming a synergistic dual-cycle driving mechanism. Based on the framework, foreign language discipline can adopt five pathways in cultivating international communication talents, namely consolidating the foundation of humanities education, empowering the cultivation practice with artificial intelligence, implementing differentiated cultivation tailored to national contexts, institutional strengths, and student profiles, enhancing the integration of the cultivation process and international communication practices through micro-narratives, and expanding an international collaborative education network. The study is intended to improve the quality of international communication talent cultivation, and facilitate the development of China's international communication capacity.
Formative assessment in foreign language teaching is faced with major problems including ambiguous definitions, insufficient evidence, and lack of systemic integration, along with practical dilemmas such as high costs, delayed feedback, and one-dimensional metrics. This paper reviews the theoretical and policy evolution of formative assessment, elaborates on research progress, advantages and challenges of AI-empowered formative assessment, and presents typical applications to writing evaluation, oral assessment, and learning diagnosis. AI-empowered formative assessment enables multi-dimensional real-time capture of learning processes, construction of learner competency profiles, and prediction of developmental trajectories, thereby promoting precision-oriented foreign language teaching.
This study investigated the effects of student instructor co-constructed rubrics on second language (L2) writing proficiency. Two classes of sixty-eight participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (co-constructing rubrics with an instructor) and a control group (receiving constructed rubrics). A pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-test were administered to evaluate the intervention outcomes. Results indicated that while both the experimental group and the control group showed significant improvements in the immediate post-test, the experimental group sustained their performance whereas the control group exhibited a significant decline in the delayed post-test. This suggests that co-constructed rubrics can contribute to the long-term development of L2 writing proficiency. Further analyses revealed that metacognitive and social-affective strategies significantly moderated the intervention effects and the students with higher strategy levels benefited more. The study provides evidence-based insights and pedagogical guidelines for instructors combining rubric co-construction with targeted strategy training in writing classrooms.
