Using a “child's‐eye view” of social success to understand the importance of school readiness at the transition to formal schooling

Recent research into school readiness has highlighted the importance of not only children's cognitive and socio‐emotional skills, but also the degree to which they have family support in the home. The current study examines the association between social success upon school entry and teacher‐ratings of school readiness as assessed by the Brief Early Skills and Support Index (BESSI), controlling for language ability. Importantly, social success was assessed using a “child's‐eye view” with peer‐reported assessments of both social preference and reciprocated friendships. A total of 244 children (131 boys, M_age = 61 months, SD = 4.78 months) in their first year of formal schooling participated. Child school readiness was found to be important for social preference, with the association being more marked for boys versus girls. Family support was the only independent predictor of children's reciprocated friendships. The use of the BESSI, with its broad scope compared to other measures of school readiness, highlights the importance of focusing both on a child's cognitive and socio‐emotional skills at school entry and their family support when exploring the association of school readiness to children's social success at the transition to formal schooling.     

Social development quartet: When is parental supportiveness a good thing? The dynamic value of parents' supportive emotion socialization across childhood

This introduction to the Social Development Quartet summarizes four articles that examine age‐related and contextual shifts in the utility of parents' emotion socialization responses for children's social‐emotional development. The first two articles present evidence for age‐related changes in the benefits of parents' supportive responses and consequences of parents' nonsupportive responses to children's negative emotions between early and middle childhood. The next two articles consider contextual variations in this developmental shift by examining teacher reports of children's competence and family patterns of response among mothers and fathers. Together, these studies question the unilateral assumption that parental support of children's negative emotions is always a good thing, and provide a more nuanced understanding of when and in what contexts parents' responses are adaptive for children.     

模糊理论对英语专业学生翻译能力培养的启示

模糊理论使人们认识到语言模糊性的客观存在。模糊性是语言的自然属性。在翻译中，对于语言模糊性的认识，是正确理解原文并用译文准确表达的基础。在翻译教学中，教师应该指引学生识别和运用模糊语言，从而有效地从整体上提升学生的翻译能力。     

Effects of critical incident tasks on the intercultural competence of English non-majors

ABSTRACT

In this internationalised world, graduate employability in terms of intercultural communication skills needs to be taken into account in higher education. The present study aims to explore the effects of critical incident task instruction on English non-majored undergraduates’ intercultural competence. One group of students received ten weeks of instruction with one critical incident task per week and another group received standard English classes. Data were collected from the students’ pre- and post-test. The results showed a significant and strong effect of the intervention with critical incident tasks. Implications for educational practice are presented for further teaching with critical incident tasks.     

残疾文化胜任力:一个理论概念的嬗变研究

残疾文化胜任力是残疾研究领域的一项重要议题,为残疾研究开辟了全新的视野。残疾文化胜任力的嬗变过程经历了研究视角的转型、概念内涵的探明、实践目标的定型三个发展阶段。研究视角的转型包括从“同质化”向“文化多元化”的转型,以及从“文化胜任力”向“残疾文化胜任力”的转型。残疾文化胜任力的内涵包括意识胜任力、态度胜任力、知识胜任力和技能胜任力。残疾文化胜任力的实践目标包括观念性目标、机制性目标与能力性目标。残疾文化胜任力对我国残疾人事业高质量发展具有启示价值,并在残疾人工作研究、残疾人工作实务和残疾人工作策略方面具有视角创新、工具创新与思路创新的价值。     

论《齐民要术》新生复合词中的同义词

《齐民要术》是中古时期口语性较强的一部农业科技著作，书中使用了较多复合词，有的复合词意义相近或相关，彼此聚合成群，形成了不同的同义词词场。这些同义词词场中的复合词在构词上都有相同的特点：即构成复合词的两个语素单用时意义相近或相关，这样的复合词应是当时的语言社团根据已有的并列式构词法创造的新词。在汉语词汇的历时发展中，《齐民要术》中使用的同义复合词呈现出不同的发展结果：由曾经常用的单音词作语素构成的复合词或易于通过隐喻机制形成新义的复合词使用频率相对较高，生命力相对较强，在竞争中也相对较容易发展成汉语中的常用复合词；使用频率低或难以产生隐喻引申义的复合词很容易退出语言交际领域，从而成为汉语词汇历史发展中某阶段的陈迹。     

Perceived emotional intelligence and social competence in neglected adolescents

This research work analyses the emotional intelligence (EI) and the social cognitive attitudes and strategies in adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age in residential care. The aim of the work is to identify those aspects that hinder their socio-emotional competence, requiring a more urgent intervention. We explore the presence of significant differences between the variables under study according to gender and age range (12–14 and 15–17) and we analyse the relationship between the dimensions of their EI and their social competence. The results show a lack of EI in these adolescents, with all three dimensions being affected: emotional attention, clarity of feelings and emotional repair. As for social competence, it can be seen that the adolescents are characterised by a lack of confidence and firmness in their interactions. Worthy of note is the impulsive cognitive style, as are the rigidity of thought and the tendency towards social mistrust and suspicion. There are many difficulties concerning the strategies for resolving social problems. This research highlights the need to design training programmes for the residential care centres that will favour their socio-emotional development.     

Assessment of study abroad outcomes in Chinese as a second language: gains in cross-cultural adaptability,language contact and proficiency

Participants were 109 American college students studying Chinese in a study-abroad programme in Beijing. Following Kelley and Meyer, intercultural competence was defined as cross-cultural adaptability involving four dimensions (emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity and personal autonomy) and was measured with a survey. A language contact questionnaire was used to document the amount of time spent on social activities. Language proficiency was measured with a standardised Chinese test. Results revealed that intercultural competence and language contact combined explained 37.7% of the proficiency gains. Language contact had direct effects on proficiency, but intercultural competence had indirect effects, mediated by language contact.     

认知语言学的隐喻观对介词隐喻义的教学启示

在传统语言学中，隐喻被看作是一种修辞方式，但认知语言学家则认为隐喻不仅是一种修辞手段，而且还是一种重要的认知世界的思维方式。它还被看作是人们思维、行为和表达思想的一种系统的方式，即隐喻概念或概念隐喻。根据这一隐喻概念理论，分析一些空间介词所体现的隐喻概念及其存在的经验基础，可为英语介词隐喻义的教学提供一些方法。     

Maternal Autonomy- and Connectedness-oriented Parenting Behaviors as Predictors of Children's Social Behaviors in China

The purpose of the study was to examine the contributions of maternal encouragement of autonomy and maternal encouragement of connectedness to the prediction of children's social behaviors. A sample of children (N  =  94), initially aged two years, and their mothers in China participated in the two-year longitudinal study. Child autonomy and connectedness and maternal goal-oriented behaviors were assessed at two years of age through the observation of mother–child interactions. Data on children's social participation, prosocial behavior, aggression, and organization/leadership in peer interactions were collected in a follow-up study when the children were four years of age. It was found that maternal encouragement of connectedness significantly predicted children's sociability and organization/leadership behavior, especially for children who were relatively high on autonomy. The results indicated the developmental significance of socialization goal-oriented behaviors in cultural context.