M. H. Chau

• PhD (Birmingham)
• Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education at Zhejiang International Studies University

It is now well recognized that language learning does not take place in a vacuum. Contextualization is the key word here and it is realized, as proposed in this article, through familiarity with the language and message content in known, meaningful contexts afforded by a topic- and genre-specific pedagogic corpus. Through sustained exposure to, exp...

Corpus linguistics is one of the most exciting approaches to studies in applied linguistics today. From its quantitative beginnings it has grown to become an essential aspect of research methodology in a range of fields, often combining with text analysis, CDA, pragmatics and organizational studies to reveal important new insights about how languag...

International Perspectives on Education draws on the knowledge and experience of a distinguished team of international educationists, including Howard Gardner and Kristján Kristjánsson. Each chapter can be accessed as a resource on a specific topic, but the chapters are also grouped into three sections to provide an invaluable source of thinking an...

Alternative protein foods, which provide significant quantities of protein but do not use conventional animal sources, can be an important component of sustainable diets. This paper presents the results of an autoethnographic study by an activist reflecting on their efforts to move people in Singapore closer to animal-free diets, with an emphasis o...

Decentring the growing field of ecolinguistics from its historically Western orientation, this book offers a comprehensive exploration of the intricate relationship between language and the environment in the Global South. It brings forward new perspectives and voices to broaden our understanding of the role of language in addressing ecological cha...

Despite its popularity as a recommended practice in the literature of writing instruction, peer review training seems to be more of an idea promoted than a common practice in the classroom. The reason is obvious: review training often requires considerable time and effort from the instructor and students. This study seeks to examine whether and to...

This is a preface to an ecolinguistics book published by Springer about children's drawing

This article advocates for the use of cooperative learning by students and others toward the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First, the Goals are explained. Second, background is provided on cooperative learning, including explanation of eight cooperative learning principles and exemplification of how one co...

This free online book, created with input from teachers in four Asian countries, provides educators with information on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and explanations of teaching techniques from cooperative learning. The SDGs are combined with complementary cooperative learning techniques in adaptable modular lesson plans...

Despite its powerful influence on student learning, assessment feedback has received relatively less attention in translation education. The mainstream assessment practices in translation education have relied mainly on a static approach to translation competence. The consequences of a static approach include a partial representation of translation...

English features prominently in global communication as part of the knowledge economy in Indonesia and worldwide. Meritocracy represents a key concept within the rhetoric of this economy, as it promises that how well people do in life is not determined by external matters, but mostly by how hard they try. Included here is how hard they study Englis...

Introduction to promoting diversity and inclusion in language education through research and practice in Global Englishes and translanguaging.

Until very recently, much of the educational and applied linguistics discourse about students and their learning was based on a deficit view (e.g., “low proficiency,” “they should know this,” “they need to improve their command of English”). Such a view justifies the traditional role of teachers imparting knowledge and students passively absorbing...

This article offers insights from a case study into teacher beliefs and practices regarding assessment feedback in remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. While previous studies have suggested that teacher feedback is useful for assessing and enhancing student learning, what we have learnt from this case study, based on interviews and feedbac...

This is the introduction to a special journal issue on ecolinguistics. In addition to very brief summaries of all the articles in the special issue, the introduction argues that work in ecolinguistics should aim to be comprehensible to educated lay readers and, most importantly, to have a clear practical focus toward reducing the damage of the anth...

While many articles have reported on 'success stories' of projects, innovations or programmes, it is much less common to read about specific circumstances and demands involving teachers which shed light on their responses in relation to the sustainability of innovations. This article is a reflection on one such case. It was based on an initiative o...

This article considers potential impacts the study of language, including ecolinguistics, can have on important real-world issues, and how linguists and others can involve themselves in addressing these issues for a sustainable future. The article is divided into two parts. The first part provides an illustrative study in which computer tools were...

Appendix

This study adopts a local grammar approach to investigate exemplification in Chinese English-major MA student writers' and expert writers' academic writing. Using corpora compiled of Chinese English-major MA students' degree dissertations and expert writers’ published research articles in the field of Applied Linguistics as the data, the investigat...

This article argues that language students and teachers are changemakers and that, in keeping with progressivist philosophy and the bottom-up social paradigm, they can play a powerful role in creating a better world. As our understanding of the world continues to increase, both students and teachers can use this increased understanding to initiate...

Despite the recent interest in student feedback literacy, few studies have considered how students can be guided to develop this literacy in language learning. This article reports on a study that aims to develop student feedback literacy through a series of training activities. These activities were introduced to a cohort of students to explore th...

The past 20 years have witnessed major shifts in language and education policy in Malaysia. This reflects a range of social, economic, and political forces that influence and shape the policymaking in this multi-ethnic and multicultural country. Past research has suggested that language and education policies in Malaysia tend to have two main stanc...

This article has one theme and two parts. The theme is that we humans can do more and do it more enjoyably when we cooperate. The first part of the article explains eight principles from cooperative learning, a methodology that facilitates students learning in groups of two-four members, along with the learning they do with teachers and by studying...

This article examines changes in Singapore diets, from diets in which meat was perhaps only a weekly occurrence, to meat and other animal-based foods, such as eggs and dairy, being a fixture at almost every meal. Now, diets may be changing again, as for many reasons, people may be turning to alternative protein foods, some of them which were only r...

Just as language has changed in response to changing views of the place of females in some societies, so too has language changed in response to changing views of the place of nonhuman animals in some societies. Some of these changes related to language and nonhuman animals include the use of idioms and pronouns. This article discusses such changes...

This article reflects on how we as global citizens and applied linguists might more effectively advocate for addressing issues of injustice to nonhuman animals, particularly a move toward alternative protein diets. It begins by recounting the journey of one activist for nonhuman animals, Paul Shapiro. As can be seen in a series of TED Talks he gave...

In this article, we explore teacher agency through the notion of teacher as changemaker by drawing upon our experiences in both school and university contexts. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we present a personal account of our combined professional experiences of over half a century with how agency is exercised and achieved in our...

This article links two approaches to promoting less competitive, more positive, and more student centered learning environments for language learners: cooperative learning and positive psychology. The article begins by explaining each of these two approaches. First, the article provides background, including research support, for cooperative learni...

When most people picture reading, they picture someone sitting alone holding a book or a screen of some type, such as a smartphone or tablet. In other words, reading is not seen as a social activity. Just the opposite, reading can be seen as an antisocial act; instead of talking with others, people go off alone to read, maybe even as a means of esc...

This commentary explains the issue of the use of the relative pronoun "who" with nonhuman animals, and urges the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association to change its stand against such use.

en To promote a more open and more self‐aware Applied Linguistics, we can consider how the many current and developing initiatives and resources in the field can be instruments for achieving a better world. For instance, applied linguists have examined such issues as inclusiveness (e.g., avoiding generic he) and the interface between language and e...

Teacher feedback is of little use without student engagement. Few studies have, however, empirically considered how direct interventions may enhance student engagement with feedback. This study explored whether and to what extent the use of a rebuttal-writing task can serve as a learning tool to promote student engagement with teacher feedback. Dat...

The advent of technology has facilitated the study of language development and writing development in the form of learner corpora. While learner corpus studies have flourished in recent years, few consider evaluative language development. This paper reports on a study which examines the use of evaluative that-clauses, a linguistic structure that is...

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has been extensively studied. While prior research has investigated the development and validity of the CoI theoretical construct, few studies have focused on the interdependent Cognitive, Social and Teaching Presences of the framework and none have been conducted based on a positive framing of Global Englis...

This article challenges applied linguists and other academics to think and act outside of the box to help society confront COVID-19, future pandemics, and other crises that humans and other earthlings currently face and that lie on the horizon. These outside-the-box actions by applied linguists can involve not only the research we do but also the w...

This study seeks to understand how bilinguals process texts with lexical cues in their first language (L1) and second language (L2) using an eye-tracking methodology. Quantitative data were obtained from an eye-tracker and a post-test, while qualitative data were gathered through interviews with the participants. The findings from the eye-tracking...

The ability to use translation technology is considered a key component of a translator's translation competence. However, few studies have investigated the extent of use of translation technology, especially among student translators. This paper reports on a survey of translation technology adoption among 441 students enrolled on a Master-level Pr...

In this paper, I discuss one possible line of approach towards enabling learners to develop their appreciation of the linguistic resources that contribute to the creation of discourse as well as their control of language use at the discourse level. I argue that texts, spoken or written, are critical language learning resources and that they need to...