Professor Dongdong Chen Publishes Book and Book Chapter on the Teaching and Acquisition of Chinese Language

Dongdong Chen, Ph.D., professor of Chinese in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Seton Hall University, has published a new book and book chapter this year, expanding research on Chinese language education.

Published in August 2024, A Hybrid Approach to Teaching Chinese through Digital Humanities, CALL, and Project-Based Learning (Routledge) presents an exposition of current thinking, research and best practices in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Digital Humanities (DH) and Project Based Language Learning (PBLL) in the context of teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL). Chen proposes integrating CALL and DH into PBLL to form a Digital Humanities–Augmented Technology-Enhanced Project-Based Language Learning (DATEPBLL) model to transform student learning.

This is the first volume that covers all three fields and makes a strong case for the importance of incorporating CALL, DH and PBLL for effective language learning.

By combining DH pedagogy and CALL technology with PBLL, the proposal takes advantage of their synergies, enabling instructors to help students develop linguistic and cultural competency as well as 21st century skills. The book presents case studies and practical applications from experienced Chinese language teachers to help demonstrate the value of the DATEPBLL approach.

Written for professionals in language education, including educators, curriculum designers and developers, graduate students, publishers, government personnel and researchers, the book provides both theoretical insights and practical applications of CALL, DH and PBLL.

In addition to the book, Chen contributed a chapter titled “Psych Verbs” to The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, Morphosyntax, and Semantics, published in March 2024. In the piece, verbs like fear, love, care and disappoint, which denote psychological processes or mental states, are examined because they have drawn special attention from linguists and language acquisition researchers alike.

In particular, the arbitrary alignment of thematic roles with syntactic positions in these verbs, where experiencer arguments can function as subjects or objects, presents a challenge for second language learners. Chen offers a critical overview of the studies conducted to answer questions such as: What theoretical accounts have been proposed to explain these properties across languages? How are psych verbs represented in learners’ grammars? What difficulties do noncanonical semantic-syntactic mapping and other properties pose for second language learners? She proposes directions for future research on L2 acquisition of psych constructions.

Providing innovative and comprehensive coverage of research on the second language acquisition (SLA) of morphosyntax, semantics and the interface between the two, the handbook is indispensable to SLA researchers and students who work on any aspect of the SLA of morphosyntax or semantics.

Categories: Arts and Culture, Education