Stress And The Chinese Key Middle School

The Chinese key middle school is different from the non-key middle school in several ways. First, the key middle school enrolls students with higher examination scores. The students study in smaller classes—ordinarily there are 50 students in one key middle school class, fewer than the non-key middle school. Accordingly, each individual in the key middle school can get more attention from teachers. Second, outstanding graduate students from advanced normal universities are assigned to teach in the key middle schools. Third, better teaching facilities are provided to help the students with their studies

Analysis of Negative Transfer in Junior High Students’ English Writing Errors

It has become a very significant topic that how to help students overcome the Chinese negative transfer in English writing. This research attempts to investigate the main types of errors made by junior middle school students in their English writing, then to explore the causes of the identified errors, in order to avoid these types of errors. The research subjects are 107 students from two classes in grade eight of No.10 Middle School of Nanchong. Questionnaire and composition writing are used as instruments in this research. It hopes that, this paper can help teachers and students to overcome the influence of Chinese negative transfer, improve students’ English writing

Junior Middle School Students’ Perceptions of Mathematics Classroom Learning Environments and Their Approaches to Learning Mathematics in China

This study investigated Chinese junior middle school students’ perceptions of mathematics classroom learning environments and approaches to learning mathematics, among 1,640 students from 62 junior middle school classrooms in eight provinces in China. A Chinese-language version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) and Approach to Learning Mathematics (ALM) were used in this study and were proved reliable and valid in the Chinese context. Factor analysis, CFA, descriptive statistics, Independent-Samples T Test, and Bivariate Correlation were used to analyze data from the questionnaire survey. The results of this study indicate that Chinese students failed to perceive their classroom learning environment as relatively positive, and tended to use deep learning approach and surface motive in mathematics learning. In addition, significant urban-rural differences were identified in both perceptions of classroom learning environment, and approaches to learning. The findings reveal that deep approaches were positively associated with Chinese students’ perceptions of mathematics classroom learning environments (Personal Relevance, Uncertainty, Shared Control, and Student Negotiation)

The Effectiveness of English Writing Teaching in Junior Middle School Based on Production-Oriented Approach

Production-oriented Approach (POA) proposed by Chinese scholar Wen Qiufang has been widely used in English teaching in recent years, but there are few studies on its application in junior middle school English teaching. This study analyzed the impact of the application of Production-oriented Approach on junior middle school students’ English learning attitude and English writing performance. In the experimental design, both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted. Writing tests, questionnaire, interview were used as instruments. A total of 116 Chinese students from Year 8 of Yangzhou Shiyan Junior Middle School, Jiangsu Province in China were invited to participate in an 8-week pre- and post-test experiment. By comparing the writing scores before and after the test, it is found that the English writing scores of the students in the experimental class are higher than those of the students in the control class. Through the analysis of the results of questionnaires and interview, it is found that the students’ attitude towards English writing teaching in the experimental class has improved significantly. The implications and suggestions for dissemination and implementation of POA for junior middle school students are discussed

Mouth-Watering Mandarin

Middle and high school students learn to speak — and cook — Chinese at Startalk 2012 summer progra

A115: Revision of the Chinese Version of Physical Self-Description Questionnaire-Short for Middle School Students

Purpose: The Physical Self-Description Questionnaire -Short (PSDQ-S) is one of the world\u27s recognized effective tools for measuring Physical Self-Concept (PSC). However, Latent profile analysis of the physical self-description among Chinese adolescents only supported the 3-dimensional model of PSDQ-S, that is, it could only distinguish the Physical Activity (PA), Appearance, and Body Fat of Chinese children and adolescents, but could not effectively distinguish the 8 dimensions of Coordination, Flexibility, Strength, Endurance, Sport, Global Physical, Health, and Global Esteem. It cannot meet the needs of PSC measurement in the field of sports psychology in China. The purpose of this study was to revise the PSDQ-S for Chinese middle school students, and to test its reliability, validity, and gender measurement equivalence in Chinese middle school students. Methods: A stratified random cluster sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey on the Chinese version of PSDQ-S. 2505 middle school students in grades 7-12 (12-18 years old) were selected from seven administrative geographic regions of North China, Northeast China, East China, Central China, South China, Southwest and Northwest China, among which 1239 were male subjects, with an average age of (15.07±1.93) years, Female subjects were 1266, with an average age of (15.02±2.04) years. SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.3 were used for data analysis. Results: Eight common factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis, and the cumulative variance interpretation rate was 79.45%. Confirmatory factor analysis support 8 factor model hypothesis (χ2 / df = 1.846, CFI = 0.939, TLI = 0.929, SRMR = 0.050, RMSEA = 0.061). The 8 dimensions were Physical Activity, Appearance, Body Fat, Flexibility & Coordination, Endurance, Sport, Global Physical and Health. The average variance extraction of each factor of the Chinese version PSDQ-S convergence validity index was greater than 0.50, and the combination reliability was greater than 0.60. The gender equivalence hypothesis was established. Conclusions: The revised Chinese version of PSDQ-S has good reliability, validity, and gender equivalence. It can be used as a measurement tool of PSC of Chinese middle school students

A Comparative Study of Thinking Quality Between Chinese and American Junior Middle School Students From the Perspective of Key Competences of English Subject

The globalization and information tide in the 21st century have promoted the new demand for talents in social development, and the key competences education came into being under such an era. Subsequently, the “key competences” became the key word of the global educational reform under the background of the new era in the 21st century. The key competences documents promulgated by many countries have obvious consistency and similarity, but they are not completely identical. There may be some problems worthy of reflection behind the differences. As the largest developing country and the largest developed country in the world, the educational views of China and the United States have a profound impact on the world civilization and pattern. As far as English subject is concerned, although English education is foreign language education in China, not native English education or non-native English education in the United States, it is combined with the reality of English education in China. Comparing the similarities and differences in the field of thinking quality between Chinese and American junior middle school English education can promote the reform of domestic English education and improve its quality. Also, many teachers only pay attention to the cultivation of students’ language knowledge and skills in the English classroom at present, neglecting the cultivation of students’ thinking quality, so it is difficult to improve students’ thinking ability and thinking personality traits. Based on this, the paper aims to cultivate and develop thinking quality of junior middle school students from the perspective of key competences of English subject. Through a comparative study of the consistency and difference of thinking quality between Chinese and American junior middle school students by using the methods of literature research and comparative analysis, the paper pays more attention to the problems of thinking quality of junior middle school students in China. As a result, the corresponding solutions are discussed. The paper is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction. The research background, research purposes, research significance, research problems and research methods are briefly described. The second chapter is the literature review. It covers the research status and research trend of thinking quality at home and abroad. The third chapter is comparative study. This part briefly introduces the framework of Chinese and American key competences, discusses in detail the consistency and differences of Chinese and American junior high school students’ thinking quality in the three dimensions of logic, criticism and innovation, and points out the similarities and differences. The fourth chapter explores the essence of differences. From the perspective of English curriculum, this paper explains the reasons for the differences in thinking quality between Chinese and American junior high school students, including classroom teaching, reading and writing. The fifth chapter is a reflection. It discusses the limitations of the cultivation of thinking quality of junior middle school students in China, draws lessons from useful experience, and initially explores the methods of cultivating thinking quality of junior middle school students, in order to enhance the comprehensive strength of the key competences of junior middle school students

Nothing but being there matters: Expectancy-value motivation between U.S. and Chinese middle school students

Current literature theorizes that culture-induced expectancy beliefs and values in learning mayengage learners of varied cultures in differentiated motivational processes. The purpose of thestudy was to determine the extent to which U.S, and Chinese middle school students differedin expectancy-value motivation in physical education. Middle school students from the U.S. (n =813.14 schools) and China (n = 806, 8 schools) provided data on expectancy-value motivation inphysical education. A MANOVA with country as the independent factor and grade level ascovariate revealed that the U.S. students held higher expectancy beliefs (p =.001, ?2=.62), whilethe Chinese students showed stronger appreciation for the attainment (p =.001, ?2=33) andutility values (p =.001, ?2=.35). The students from both countries equally appreciated theintrinsic value (p -45). A canonical correlation analysis demonstrated that the expectancyvaluemotivation declined with age/grade increase at the same pace regardless of culture. Thesefindings clarity for us the cultural influence or non-cultural influence on the expectancyvaluemotivation in middle school students. They inform us about the potential to developintrinsic-value based across-cultural motivation strategies as well as the cultural sensitivity ofapplying motivation strategies focusing on expectancy of success, attainment value, andutility value

Estimate of adolescent alcohol use in China: a meta-analysis

Objective: A profile of adolescent alcohol use for China that specified gender, school type and a consistent definition of alcohol use. Method: A total of 1,646 papers were identified in the Chinese- and English-language literature published 2007–2015 that reported Chinese adolescent drinking rates. Selection criteria were established a priori. Thirty-two papers met all the selection criteria. Five papers were eliminated because they were found to be duplicate reports of the same data. Result: The resulting sample included 26 papers—24 in Chinese and two in English, 20 describing middle school students, 12 describing high school students, and six describing vocational high school students. Eleven papers described students in more than one type of school. Last 30 day use of alcohol was, as expected, highest among vocational high school students (44.7 % males, 28.8 % females) and drinking rates were higher for high school students (36.5 % males, 21.2 % females) than for middle school students (23.6 % males, 15.3 % females). Meta-regression identified factors associated with differences in drinking rates reported in individual studies as the definition of a drink and whether data were collected by trained personnel. Location appeared important, but its effects were inconsistent across different populations, which suggests that national estimates likely blur regional differences in patterns of alcohol use. Conclusion: Rates derived from this meta-analysis provide a useful reference for scholars interested in China, alcohol use, adolescents, and patterns of use. The meta-regression analysis suggested practical ways to improve adolescent alcohol surveys in China

Estimate of adolescent alcohol use in China: a meta-analysis

Objective: A profile of adolescent alcohol use for China that specified gender, school type and a consistent definition of alcohol use. Method: A total of 1,646 papers were identified in the Chinese- and English-language literature published 2007–2015 that reported Chinese adolescent drinking rates. Selection criteria were established a priori. Thirty-two papers met all the selection criteria. Five papers were eliminated because they were found to be duplicate reports of the same data. Result: The resulting sample included 26 papers—24 in Chinese and two in English, 20 describing middle school students, 12 describing high school students, and six describing vocational high school students. Eleven papers described students in more than one type of school. Last 30 day use of alcohol was, as expected, highest among vocational high school students (44.7 % males, 28.8 % females) and drinking rates were higher for high school students (36.5 % males, 21.2 % females) than for middle school students (23.6 % males, 15.3 % females). Meta-regression identified factors associated with differences in drinking rates reported in individual studies as the definition of a drink and whether data were collected by trained personnel. Location appeared important, but its effects were inconsistent across different populations, which suggests that national estimates likely blur regional differences in patterns of alcohol use. Conclusion: Rates derived from this meta-analysis provide a useful reference for scholars interested in China, alcohol use, adolescents, and patterns of use. The meta-regression analysis suggested practical ways to improve adolescent alcohol surveys in China