News

A group from UIC consisting of of two Year 4 and four Year 3 students were at Xi’an Jiaotong University from 7 to 9 June to present papers at the International Conference on Effective Learning and Development of Diverse English Language Learners. The conference was co-organised by the School of Foreign Studies at Xi’an Jiaotong University and the Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association (CAERDA), which featured seven keynote speeches and around 40 paper presentations. The UIC delegates were among these paper presenters.

UIC delegates

The two Year 4 students, Yi Xiaohan (Cindy) and Fang Zhengyun (Kristin), were from the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) programme. The research papers they presented were their final-year projects on teaching and learning strategies.

TESL Year 4 students, Fang Zhengyun (left) and Yi Xiaohan (right), and Programme Director for ELLS, Dr Edith Yan (middle)

The four Year 3 students were Zhang Lu (Lucy), Li Yitong (Rachel), Zhang Huimin (Elsie), and Zhu Runyu (Grace) of the Applied Psychology (APSY) programme. Four of them together presented the findings about academic self-efficacy on English-as-a-foreign-language learners, which was an extension of one of their term papers.

APSY Year 3 students, Zhang Huimin (1st from left), Zhang Lu (3rd from right), Zhu Runyu (2nd from right) and Li Yitong (1st from right), and DST Associate Professor Dr Alan Lai (3rd from left)

The paper titles of their presentations can be found in the conference handbook, which is downloadable here.

Student perpectives:

Yi Xiaohan (TESL)

Since it was my first time to attend an international conference, the 2019 CAERDA Xi’an Conference was an unforgettable experience for me. Generally, the topics were centred on one theme, namely Effective Learning and Development of Diverse English Language Learners; yet each paper session was very diverse. This not only discussed the relationship between education and technology, but also demonstrated a series of research from the perspectives of teachers. At this conference, I shared my Final Year Project with other researchers, while also learning a lot from their presentations. I would like to thank CAERDA for their kind invitation, and especially express my deep appreciation to my supervisor, Dr Edith Yan.

Yi Xiaohan (TESL)

Fang Zhengyun (TESL)

I feel honored and want to thank CAERDA for giving me this opportunity to present my Final Year Project in front of many experts and researchers. This was also my first time presenting my own study to the conference. During the three-day conference, not only did I attend many excellent presentations given by fellows of different fields in education, but also received valuable feedback from experts and members of the audiences. Their comments inspired me to improve. Meanwhile, I quite enjoyed the presentations of keynote speakers as well. Their research was thorough and meticulous, which gave me a lot of inspiration and widened my ideas. I believe what I learned at the conference will be of great help to my future study. Finally, I want to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr Jackie Yeoh, who has supported me tirelessly throughout my project.

Fang Zhengyun (TESL)

Zhang Lu (APSY)

It was my first time to attend an international conference organised by CAERDA. As a Year 3 Applied Psychology student, it is my honor to have this wonderful opportunity to listen to the scholars and professors’ presentations. It was inspiring and guided me to a clearer direction for my further study. I learned more about education fields especially in language learning, which I was very interested in. The research was conducted by four group members in total. Our cooperative learning skills have improved during this process. Finally, I want to give my sincere appreciation for the detailed help and valuable guidance from Dr Yi-lung Kuo.

Zhang Lu (APSY)