ZhaoHong Han

(Teachers College, Columbia University)

Education

Ph.D., Applied Linguistics, Birkbeck College, University of London

Academic/Administrative Positions

2018~2020 Chair of the Department of Arts and Humanities at Teachers College, Columbia University. Director of the Center for International Foreign Language Teacher Education

Awards:

Dr. Han is the recipient of the 2003 International TESOL Heinle and Heinle Distinguished Research Award as well as a repeated recipient of the Teachers College, Columbia University Outstanding Teacher Award.

Topics:

TCSOL in the 21st Century: Connecting Teaching and Learning to Real and Virtual Worlds

Abstract:

In today's increasingly interconnected world, TCSOL must achieve a singular goal: to develop learners' functional competence, which is usable in the real world, one that enables learners to meet their communicative needs accurately, fluently, and appropriately. To ensure that teaching and learning are accountable to the goal, instructors should create conditions conducive to such an endeavor.

In this keynote speech, I outline the conditions that second language acquisition (SLA) research has proven crucial for instructional efficacy and highlight the importance of connecting these conditions to the real and virtual worlds so that the essential conditions can be optimized and learning can be maximized. I also provide sample strategies for achieving this

Chun-yin Doris Chen

National Taiwan Normal University

Chun-yin Doris Chen, a Distinguished Professor at NTNU, earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1991. Her research focuses on language acquisition, teaching Chinese as a second language, and the syntax–semantics interface. Passionate about teaching, she received NTNU Outstanding Teaching Awards in 2014 and 2022. She has made extensive contributions to linguistics, serving as President of the Taiwan Linguistic Society (2012-2014) and Convener of the Linguistics Division of the National Science and Technology Council (2016-2018). She also held editorial roles for Concentric: Studies in Linguistics and Chinese Teaching and Learning.

Topics:

Exploring the Interface Hypothesis: Challenges and Insights in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

Abstract:

In this talk, I will discuss the Interface Hypothesis (IH), introduced by Sorace and Filiaci in 2006. The IH posits that while learners can acquire narrow syntactic properties, the interfaces between syntax and other linguistic components present greater challenges. The focus will be on three specific interfaces: novel noun-noun compounds, relative clauses, and anaphora resolution. Drawing on Polinsky’s 2012 classification, languages are categorized into Japanese (rigid head-final), German (non-rigid head-final), Indonesian (SVO head-initial), and English (SVO sundry). Intermediate L2 Chinese learners were recruited, including native speakers of Japanese, German, Indonesian, and English, as well as native Chinese controls. Participants engaged in various interpretation tasks, including picture identification, truth value judgment, and question-and-answer exercises. This research aims to deepen the understanding of how linguistic interfaces are acquired in a second language and to critically evaluate the Interface Hypothesis. I look forward to sharing the methodology, findings, and discussing the broader implications of the study.