Individual differences in learners play a major role in second language learning. For teaching to be effective it needs to take account of individual learner factors. While a number of individual learner factors have been studied, two in particular have been found to influence learning – language aptitude and motivation. This seminar will focus on motivation. It will explore how motivation has been researched, its contribution to L2 learning and how teaching can best take account of what we know about motivation .

Without motivation, an aptitude for learning an L2 is of little value. Learning a second language involves hard work. Therefore, no matter how able the learner is, if he/she is not prepared to put in the necessary hard work, little will be achieved. Motivation is arguably the single most important factor influencing learners’ success in learning an L2. It attracted the attention of both researchers and teachers and has spawned huge interest from researchers.

It will present opportunities and challenges in big data era.

What is comparative sociolinguistics? How is it different from sociolinguistics? This talk tries to answer these questions. It first introduces the concept of comparative sociolinguistics, its origin, its methodology, and its significance for sociolinguistic research. It will look into three types studies of comparative sociolinguistic studies. The first is a comparative study of variations within the same language among different socioeconomic status. The second is a comparative study of a language contact situation where two generations of learners of English adopted different strategies, resulting in different phenomena in variations in the target language. The third is a comparative study of three different types of variations in language contact and its significance beyond sociolinguistics. In conclusion, this talk demonstrates the significance of theoretical conceptual frameworks in sociolinguistic research.

In this talk I will discuss, in my capacity as a guest editor of international scholarly journals, member of editorial boards and referee of such journals, how to research and publish for the international scholarly community
First, I will demonstrate how to write abstracts for international conferences. We will review six anonymous abstracts submitted to recent international conferences. I will ask the workshop participants to read and rate those six abstracts in terms of clarity and scholarly merits, and than I will compare the participants’ ratings with the conferences’ anonymous ratings. I will show how English abstracts are different from Chinese abstracts so that translation of Chinese abstracts into English does not work. Further I will guide the participants through the steps to write a good conference abstract.
Second, I will focus on how to write a manuscript for international scholarly journals by reviewing two submitted anonymous manuscripts with the workshop participants. We will discuss the merits of the research and writing of these two manuscripts and give ratings to them as referees. We will compare the participants’ ratings with anonymous referees’ ratings and examine in what ways the two groups deviate. We will further compare the accepted manuscript and the rejected one to see the correct steps in research and writing up the research for publication.
In conclusion, I will stress that writing actually starts as we plan to do a research in the following steps: (1) identifying the problem/issue, (2) bibliography research, (3) finalizing the methodology, (4) carrying out the research, (5) analyzing the data and exploring its significance, and (6) drawing the conclusion. Writing an abstract and the whole manuscript is to document and represent the above truthfully and skillfully in writing.

一个民族精神生活的基础不外乎以下几种选择：第一，在现世生活的对面，构筑一个神居的彼岸世界，借助现世生活世界与彼岸世界的紧张对立，力求完成文化生活的自我改造；第二，在现世生活之上，构建一个纯粹天然的理念世界，力求借助理性统摄现世生活的欲求；第三，在现世生活之中，引入自然的感性与感性的自然，希望与自我生命的内在本质达成和解。
有趣的是，基于独特的历史境遇与时代背景，美国文化在其开端之处，同时兼具以上三种相悖而又并行的文化精神。它们相互渗透，互为表里，共同构建了美国文化精神的独特气质。美国文明在其“轴心时代”形成的文化精神遗产，深深影响了美国历史的发展进程，并在当代美国政治生活中发挥着潜移默化的作用。

Looking at why Chinese came to Canada - specifically British Columbia in the 1850s – the Gold Rush in the 1880s to build the national railway Negative attitudes held by people in BC.
Attempts by the Federal government to stop Chinese immigration:
1. By imposing a head tax which most Chinese workers could not afford
2. By outright exclusion in 1923
Changes that came after WWII
Chinese community mobilizing to end the Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Canadian activists working for equality
Modern movement to ask the Canadian government to apologize for the Head Tax and compensate them

英国的全称是大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国，包括英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰等主要四个部分和其他海外领地组成。然而，在我们国内的英国研究中，英格兰几乎是英国的代名词，英国的民族地区研究占的比例非常小。从二十世纪七十年代开始，英美的学者已经开始在更广阔的民族和世界背景中研究英国，英国内部民族间的相互关系逐渐被重视。上个世纪下半叶兴起的地方分权也推高了英国民族地区的研究热潮。了解英国作为国家整体的发展脉络及不同民族间的相互关系，无论从政治层面看，还是从文化角度讲，都对研究英国有着重要的意义。对这一历史发展过程的厘清，也有利于理解当下英国的内部民族问题。本次讲座的主要内容是梳理不列颠列岛上以英格兰为主导的发展史，及英国作为现代民族国家的建立与发展，同时兼论英国当下的民族问题及相互间的关系。

参考书目：
1、R.R. Davies , The First English Empire : Power and Identities in the British Isles 1093 – 1343 , Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2000.
2、Keith Robbins , Great Britain : Identities , Institutions and the Idea of Britishness , London and New York : Longman , 1998.
3、Linda Colley , Britons : Forging the Nation 1707-1837 , Yale University Press , 2009.
4、Krishan Kumar, The making of English national identity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
5、Keith Robbins, History, Religion and Identity in Mordern Britain, London and Rio Grande: The Hambledon Press, 1993.
6、Christopher G. A. Bryant, The Nations of Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
7、Hugh Kearney, The British Isles: A History of Four Nation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
8、Murray G. H. Pittock, Celtic Identity and the British Image, Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1999.
9、Tom Nairn, The break-up of Britain: crisis and neo-nationalism, Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd, 2003.
10、Helen Brocklehurst, History, Nationhood and the Question of Britain, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.