Asian Studieshttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/11902024-03-28T19:29:49Z2024-03-28T19:29:49Z181A conceptual restructuring of spatial motion expressions in Chinese L2Sparvoli, Carlottahttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/92102023-04-04T12:16:41Z2018-11-07T00:00:00Zdc.title: A conceptual restructuring of spatial motion expressions in Chinese L2
dc.contributor.author: Sparvoli, Carlotta
dc.description.abstract: This paper focuses on the patterns in the encoding of spatial motion events that play a major role in the acquisition of these type of expressions. The goal is to single out the semantic contribution of the linguistic items which surface in Chinese locative constructions. In this way, we intend to provide learners with an account of the spatial representation encoded in the Chinese language. In fact, Chinese grammar is often perceived as idiosyncratic, thus generating a frustration that turns into learned helplessness (Maier and Seligman 1976). We will analyse Talmy’s (2000) framework under the light of investigations such as Landau and Jackendoff (1993), Svenonius (2004, 2006, 2007), Terzi (2010). It will be shown that in Chinese locative structures, the Axial Part information is signalled by localizers and can be specified only when the Ground is considered as an object with “axially determined parts” (Landau and Jackendoff 1993). Thus, we will elaborate on present account on the localizer’s function (Peyraube 2003, Lamarre 2007, Lin 2013) by showing that the localizer highlights an axially determined part within a reference object, consistently with Terzi (2010) definition of Place, and with Wu (2015) decomposition of Place into Ground and Axial Part. Moreover, it will be shown that the preposition zài ‘at’ encodes a Locative type of Motion event (Talmy 2000), thus, it is not semantically vacuous. Other categories will be presented, such as the semantic class of positional verbs (Huang 1987). We will indicate the contexts wherein such notions can trigger the conceptual restructuring which enables adult learners to switch from L1 “thinking for speaking” to L2 “thinking for speaking” (Slobin 1987).
2018-11-07T00:00:00ZA study of the Zhiqing identityWu, Weiyihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/13082023-04-04T07:01:52Z2013-01-01T00:00:00Zdc.title: A study of the Zhiqing identity
dc.contributor.author: Wu, Weiyi
dc.description.abstract: More than seventeen million Chinese urban youth (Zhiqing in Chinese) went to the countryside, lived and engaged in agricultural work there during the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement (1967-1981). Although this movement was officially terminated in 1981, it has left an imprint on these people – the Zhiqing identity by which they are still characterized as a unique group in Chinese society and a special generation in Chinese history. Historical and sociological perspectives are combined in this study. By applying Glen H. Elder’s life course approach, the study reveals how Zhiqing’s life trajectories are embedded in the social history and identifies a series of interrelated factors that made Zhiqing into a unique generation. With the guidance of Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory, the study uncovers the emergence of the Zhiqing group and the Zhiqing identity, explains individuals’ acquisitions of the Zhiqing identity and analyzes how it has kept influencing individuals’ lives during and after the UMDC Movement. Using Zhiqing’s life stories allowed the researcher to combine the historical and sociological aspects in her examination of Zhiqing’s identity issues. In each life story, the narrator reviewed his/her life experience, reflected on socio-historical changes and expressed his/her emotions and ideas about identity issues. Utilizing methods of in-depth interview and thematic analysis, the researcher completed the study and presents this thesis as one interpretation on the Zhiqing identity, which, as according the researcher’s hermeneutic stance, is open to further discussion and future research.
2013-01-01T00:00:00ZChinese companies as “takers” and “makers” of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in ChinaHolzer, Constantinhttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/34992023-04-04T12:16:37Z2015-12-01T00:00:00Zdc.title: Chinese companies as “takers” and “makers” of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility in China
dc.contributor.author: Holzer, Constantin
dc.contributor.editor: Vajpeyi, Dhirendra K.; Oberoi, Roopinder
2015-12-01T00:00:00ZChinese second language learners' speaking development during study abroad: Complexity, accuracy and fluencyGuo, Rongronghttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/155872024-02-28T02:07:47Z2024-02-21T00:00:00Zdc.title: Chinese second language learners' speaking development during study abroad: Complexity, accuracy and fluency
dc.contributor.author: Guo, Rongrong
dc.description.abstract: The purpose of this study was to contribute to the literature on second language oral Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) development by assessing English-speaking learners of Chinese during Study Abroad (SA) in China, which have rarely been investigated in an Irish context. Moreover, relationships between the CAF constructs and those between the sub-constructs impacted by Study Abroad (SA) were discussed. Data were collected from ten English-speaking undergraduates of an Irish university from two curricular oral tests during pre- and post- 10 months’ SA. Performance was elicited by topics, which were relative to the learning content when the learners were in the formal instruction context. To exhibit an in-depth evaluation of oral performance of instructed L2 Mandarin learners, fourteen CAF measures were analysed. The effects of SA on oral performance were explored by paired-samples t-tests. The results showed that the SA benefits oral gains in terms of speech fluidity, syntactic complexity (length and subordination), and lexical sophistication. Generalized from the analysis, trade-off effects are observed prevailingly between CAF constructs, while simultaneous improvements are present within CAF. This is attributable to the study abroad experience as well as the use of rehearsed monologue tasks in the study (Wright, 2020). It has shown that complexity and fluency were enhanced by pre-task planning (Skehan, 2009c; Skehan & Foster, 2001). Based on the findings, the study also provides pedagogical implications for the development of L2 Chinese oral performance in a university teaching setting.
2024-02-21T00:00:00ZCreating a community of praxis: integrating global citizenship and development education across campus at University College CorkCotter, GertrudeBonenfant, YvonButler, JennyCaulfield, MarianDoyle Prestwich, BarbaraGriffin, RosariiKhabbar, SanaaMishra, NitaHally, RuthMurphy, MargaretMurphy, OrlaO'Sullivan, MaevePhelan, MarthaReidy, DarrenSchneider, Julia C.Isaloo, Amin SharifiTurner, BrianUsher, RuthWilliamson Sinalo, Carolinehttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/141752023-04-04T12:16:40Z2022-12-13T00:00:00Zdc.title: Creating a community of praxis: integrating global citizenship and development education across campus at University College Cork
dc.contributor.author: Cotter, Gertrude; Bonenfant, Yvon; Butler, Jenny; Caulfield, Marian; Doyle Prestwich, Barbara; Griffin, Rosarii; Khabbar, Sanaa; Mishra, Nita; Hally, Ruth; Murphy, Margaret; Murphy, Orla; O'Sullivan, Maeve; Phelan, Martha; Reidy, Darren; Schneider, Julia C.; Isaloo, Amin Sharifi; Turner, Brian; Usher, Ruth; Williamson Sinalo, Caroline
dc.description.abstract: The Praxis Project, established at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, in 2018, seeks to assess possible models of best practice with regard to the integration of global citizenship and development education (GCDE) into a cross-disciplinary, cross-campus, interwoven set of subject area pedagogies, policies and practices. This study – the first part of an eventual three-part framework – asserts that the themes, theories, values, skills, approaches and methodologies relevant to transformative pedagogical work are best underpinned by ongoing staff dialogue in order to build communities of support around such systemic pedagogical change. This article is based on a collaborative study with the first cohort of UCC staff (2020–1), which demonstrates many ways in which staff and students realised that smaller actions and carefully directed attention to specific issues opened doors to transformative thinking and action in surprising ways. From this viewpoint, the striking need emerged for taking a strategic approach to how GCDE is, and should be, integrated into learning across subject areas.
2022-12-13T00:00:00ZEffects of training methods on second language learning of Mandarin tonesLi, Wanlinhttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/136622023-04-04T10:42:08Z2022-06-28T00:00:00Zdc.title: Effects of training methods on second language learning of Mandarin tones
dc.contributor.author: Li, Wanlin
dc.description.abstract: This dissertation investigates the teaching and learning of Mandarin tones. Specifically, it focuses on pedagogical issues relating to the third tone (T3), which developed from different theoretical assumptions concerning the default feature of T3. There are two main assumptions regarding the standard form of T3. The first argues that the Full-T3 (a dipping contour, [214]) is the standard form (Chao, 1930, 1968). In contrast, the second proposes that the Half-T3 (a low-level tone, [21]) is the standard form (Yip, 1980, 2002; Duanmu, 1990; Cao, 2002; Sparvoli, 2011, 2017; Zhang, 2013). In this study, the former is labelled as the ‘Full-T3 assumption’ and the latter as the ‘Half-T3 assumption’.
Two pedagogical practices have been developed based on the two assumptions, respectively. The traditional pedagogy is built on the Full-T3 assumption, in which Full-T3 [214] is usually introduced to second language (L2) learners first. A more innovative method is developed from the Half-T3 assumption: the Half-T3 [21] is presented to L2 learners first. They are known as the ‘Full-T3 First’ (FT3-First) method and the ‘T3 [21]-First’ method, respectively (Zhang, 2013, 2017). The T3[21]-First method can significantly reduce difficulties in distinguishing between the second tone (T2: rising, [35]) and the Full-T3 for L2 learners (Moore & Jongman, 1997; Jongman et al., 2006; Sparvoli, 2011, 2017; Zhang, 2013, 2018).
According to the Half-T3 assumption, the Mandarin tone inventory that includes the first tone (T1), the second tone (T2), the third tone (T3) and the fourth tone (T4), can be presented as a system of contrasts that involve two pairs of functional opposites: low level vs. high level [T3 vs. T1] and falling vs. rising [T4 vs. T2]. To help L2 learners to build discrete categories for each tone, it is suggested that the T3/T1 tone contrast should be taught before the T4/T2 tone contrast (Sparvoli, 2011, 2017). This is referred to as the ‘31/42’ training method. In contrast, under the Full-T3 assumption, the Mandarin tone system can only be presented in an isolated sequence and the corresponding pedagogy is labelled as the ‘1/2/3/4’ training method.
I conducted a training study to compare the two conditions and to find out which one is more beneficial for L2 learners whose native language is non-tonal. Twenty-seven L2 learners of Mandarin at the beginner level participated in this study and were divided into two groups: Group 1 (G1) was trained with the 31/42 training method (which implies the T3[21]-First method), whereas Group 2 (G2) was trained with the 1/2/3/4 training method (in line with the FT3-First method).
The results show that the 31/42 training method can improve the tone perceptual ability of L2 learners across all tones and tonal combinations. Moreover, facilitative effects of the 31/42 training were also observed in the L2 learners’ production data. L2 tonal contours were compared with the native speakers’ pattern. The present study is innovative in investigating the theoretical assumptions of the pedagogical methods on T3 in a systemic way. Our findings have significant implications for how Mandarin tones should be taught to learners whose native language is non-tonal.
2022-06-28T00:00:00ZGlobalization and basketball in China: governance, market and cultureHuang, Fuhuahttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/15712023-04-04T07:00:59Z2014-01-01T00:00:00Zdc.title: Globalization and basketball in China: governance, market and culture
dc.contributor.author: Huang, Fuhua
dc.description.abstract: Chinese sports are developing under very complex and unique political, economic, and cultural circumstances in the global age. This study aims to investigate the process of globalization in basketball through an examination of its multidimensional manifestations. The study aligns itself with Ritzer’s (2003, 2007b) conceptualization of dichotomizing the process of globalization into grobalization and glocalization. On that basis, the trajectory of basketball globalization in China is identified as the result of a contextual and competing interplay between the penetration of the NBA and the consequent engagement of Chinese basketball. A qualitative methodological approach was conducted to achieve the research aim. Data were collected from a number of sources, including official documents and semi-structured interviews with relevant basketball participants. The study reveals that globalization and basketball in China, in the political and institutional dimension, is a conflicting process. The universalization of the NBA’s governance model could not be fully assimilated due to the centralization of power in the Chinese government, which is hindering the further professionalization and marketization of basketball. In the economic dimension, the globalization process is seen to interplay with the local basketball market, which is growing thanks to the adaption of the NBA’s marketing strategies. In the cultural dimension, the study demonstrates that the NBA has to some extent cosmopolitanized and consumerized Chinese basketball culture, while resistance from both the state and the Chinese people has risen, creolizing the globalization of basketball culture in China.
2014-01-01T00:00:00ZL2 Chinese character recognition: exploring the developmental patterns and benefits of radical awareness training via lexical decision priming tasksZeng, Yunhttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/135962023-04-04T10:55:44Z2022-03-01T00:00:00Zdc.title: L2 Chinese character recognition: exploring the developmental patterns and benefits of radical awareness training via lexical decision priming tasks
dc.contributor.author: Zeng, Yun
dc.description.abstract: Due to the features of the Chinese writing system, character reading is a challenging task for L2 learners with an alphabetic background. In the field of Chinese character acquisition, numerous studies (Feldman and Siok 1999; Zhou and Marslen-Wilson 2000; William and Bever 2010; Wu et al. 2012; Zhou et al. 2013; Yeh et al. 2017; Tong et al. 2021) focus on the process of L1 character recognition and, to a far less extent, on L2 learners’ character decoding (Williams 2013). However, the development of L2 character processing patterns has not yet been singled out. This research is intended to contribute to this endeavour by outlining developmental stages of the intermediate and advanced level. The goal is to identify the patterns of L2 learners’ character processing at these two proficiency levels and compare them to the processing pattern activated by L1 readers. The study also aims to explore the modelling effect of a radical awareness training. The prediction is that (a) by increasing the knowledge of the semantic and phonetic information carried by character subcomponents, L2 learners can develop a more native-like word recognition pattern, and (b) that such improvement is also conditioned by L2 learners’ proficiency level. The method employed is a lexical decision task based on the (semantic or phonological) activation of primes on target characters at the lexical and sublexical levels.
The present study analyses the process of visual character recognition by an experimental group of 29 L2 learners (13 in the critical group and 16 in the pilot group), compared to the performance of 37 native speakers (the control group), via priming experiments based on a set of 336 pairs of prime and target characters. The cycle test includes four stages of an average span of 10 days, including one week of formal Chinese study (about 18 hours) in between two priming tests. The second test is a repetition of the first test. More specifically, the cycle test consists of a radical knowledge test (only for L2 groups), the first priming experiment (for both L1 and L2 groups), a radical awareness training and the second priming experiment (only for the L2 critical group). The statistical significance of the data has been primarily calculated using the t-Test.
Concerning the control group of native speakers, the data are consistent with previous literature and show that (i) they read single characters at about the same speed as compound characters; (ii) the default processing is associated with the semantic information retrieval; (iii) semantic radicals are prioritised over phonetic radicals.
Compared to the native speakers, intermediate learners displayed a different processing pattern and advanced learners displayed a similar processing pattern showing a developmental trend: (iv) intermediate learners read single characters faster than compound characters while advanced learners read them at a similar speed to native speakers; (v) intermediate learners used more phonological strategy than semantic strategy while advance learners prioritised the semantic strategy like native speakers; (vi) intermediate learners read phonetic radicals faster than semantic radicals while advanced learners read semantic radicals faster and closer to native speakers; hence, (vii) the degree of similarity to the native speakers’ pattern increases with the level of proficiency. Lastly, (viii) the Radical Awareness Training contributes to a more native-like processing at the sublexical level for both intermediate and advanced learners. In sum, it proves a shift from phonological- and phonetic-radical- oriented processing to semantic- and semantic-radical- oriented processing. This shift took place during the third year of formal Chinese study (between 240-360 hours). The data has shown that L2 character recognition is a developing and modifiable process.
As for pedagogical implications, the research has also proven that class instruction and individual study, even for a relatively short period, can speed up the development of character processing towards a more efficient, native-like pattern. In addition, the overall results have suggested the importance of formal instruction on sublexical decomposition. They also indicate the importance of presenting the phonetic information carried by the subcomponents rather than limiting the scope to their semantic value, as typically done in classroom activities on radicals.
2022-03-01T00:00:00ZPeople and place in the new frontier: an examination of Han and Uyghur ethnic identitiesO'Brien, David Josephhttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/11892023-04-04T07:07:32Z2013-01-01T00:00:00Zdc.title: People and place in the new frontier: an examination of Han and Uyghur ethnic identities
dc.contributor.author: O'Brien, David Joseph
dc.description.abstract: This thesis demonstrates how Han and Uyghur ethnic identities are constructed in urban Xinjiang, how they have evolved over time and how both identities gain their meaning largely from a process of interaction with the ‘other’. It shows that the boundaries that exist between Uyghur and Han hugely influence the identity content of both. Based on over 120 interviews carried out over 3 years, it brings a clear analytical framework and conceptual clarity to the questions of how ethnic identities are constructed and maintained in Xinjiang
2013-01-01T00:00:00ZReinforced hetero-normativity: gender constructs in Chosŏn (朝鮮) KoreaCawley, Kevin N.https://hdl.handle.net/10468/72802023-04-04T12:16:42Z2018-01-01T00:00:00Zdc.title: Reinforced hetero-normativity: gender constructs in Chosŏn (朝鮮) Korea
dc.contributor.author: Cawley, Kevin N.
dc.description.abstract: During Korea’s Chosŏn dynasty (朝鮮; 1392-1910), strictly codified heteronormalising gender constructs emerged, which for all intents and purposes undermined the possibility of homosexuality to exist in either private or public spaces. By drawing on contemporary critical theorists such as Hélène Cixous and Luce Irigaray, this paper critiques the socio-historical constructs of gender identity in Korea shaped during this period. Such critiques expose the inherent inequalities of hierarchical ‘gender traditions’ that are reinforced through patriarchies, which in the case of Chosŏn, commemorated the patrilineal genealogies of (supposedly) heterosexual men from the past. I will begin by dismantling notions of gender during this period, which was manipulated and rigidly constructed by (mis)using Neo-Confucian texts and metaphysics, inherited from the Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi (朱熹, 1130-1200). Zhu’s Reflections on Things at Hand, sought to regulate the family, while his Lesser Learning, reiterated rules that facilitated the suppression of women as daughters, wives, and even mothers. While commemorating ‘great men’ and emphasising ideals of ‘good women’, a gender ideology was implanted within the social matrix and recorded from one generation to the next in genealogical records known as chokpo (族譜). This hetero-normative way-of-being was enforced in legal texts and through literature by men, which yoked women into artificially orchestrated modes of behaviour that would also be transmitted by women themselves via texts that they themselves sometimes wrote and distributed. These ideas continue to influence modern Korean society, where women still struggle to dismantle out-dated modes of social expectations, and where the LGBTQ community is only starting to assert themselves and reject ‘compulsive’ hetero-normativity.
2018-01-01T00:00:00Z