Browsing by Author "Dai C"

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Adapting to Complexity: Teacher-Student Interactions in Synchronous Online Language Classes through a Dynamic Systems Lens
(Science Direct, 2025-06-02) Li S; Huang H; Dai C
Teacher-student interaction is widely recognized as critical to the success of language learning. However, there remains a significant gap in understanding these interactions from a non-linear systems perspective, particularly in online learning environments. This study applies Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) to investigate the co-adaptive patterns of teacher-student exchanges in online Chinese language classes. By examining real-time interactions and their dynamic nature, we analyzed how interactional patterns evolved and shaped the learning process, using a visualized coding scheme to focus on variations within and between teachers. The study involved 23 adult students studying Chinese as a second language in a Chinese university, with data collected from 12 lessons across a semester. Our analysis identified predominant patterns, such as a frequent reliance on closed questions followed by short responses. While students adjusted their answers based on question complexity, teachers often did not, revealing a lack of adaptability in their questioning techniques. The study calls for further exploration and improved training in adaptive questioning strategies, as this remains a challenge across both online and offline settings. These findings highlight the need for flexible and responsive teaching to meet the increasing demands of dynamic online learning environment.
Chinese Students Abroad during the COVID Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities
(21st Century Global Dynamics Initiative at the Orfalea Center of the University of California, Santa Barbara, 25/09/2020) Qi GY; Wang S; Dai C
COVID-19 is a human crisis that has hit international education particularly hard. International students have been directly affected by air travel cancellations and quarantine measures which have made border-crossing almost impossible. Like many, they are victims of this crisis—particularly those from China, who constitute the largest market within the global international education sector. Chinese international students have faced a double stigmatization since the outbreak of COVID-19. First, they have been discriminated against by the “Chinese virus” stigma while they were overseas in the early stage of the pandemic. Second, they have been targeted in multiple ways by the anti-China politics triggered by the coronavirus. Given the fluidity of the crisis and the impacts of COVID-19 on Chinese international students, it is worth discussing their plight. Policymakers need to think carefully about the new dynamics of international education in terms of the huge market share of Chinese international students as related to new destination options and changing international education policies that may further affect Chinese students now and during the post-pandemic recovery.