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Article History

Received: 17 October 2024

Accepted: 14 October 2025

First Online: 24 November 2025

Competing interests

: The author declares no competing interests.

: All procedures performed in this study adhere to the ethical standards of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. At the time of research implementation, Nanjing University’s School of Foreign Languages operated without a dedicated institutional ethics committee. Ethical oversight was administered through the Research Proposal Defense Committee and the Research Defense Committee, which served as the authorized academic review bodies. This approach is consistent with the institutional framework then in effect, as evidenced by the absence of formal ethics review regulations in the official index of the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences and the fact that the “Nanjing University Code of Conduct for Scientific Research” (Article 16; ), while outlining general ethical principles, such as the protection of human subjects and informed consent, did not stipulate the establishment of a dedicated ethics committee, standardized approval procedures, or certification numbers. A notice on the issuance of the Nanjing University Science and Technology Research Ethics Committee Charter (Trial) , issued by the President’s Office with the official stamp of Nanjing University on September 15, 2022, confirms that no formal ethics committee or standardized ethical review process had been established prior to that date. Therefore, ethical approval for this study was granted through the official review and endorsement of the research proposal by the Defense Committee on May 8, 2018 (as formally documented by the signed approval of the committee chair), which included assessment of ethical aspects of the study design and data handling. The validity period of this approval spanned from May 9, 2018, to July 31, 2022. All participant interactions during this period, including informed consent procedures, adhered to the approved protocol. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants after a detailed explanation of the research objectives, procedures, and usage of anonymized data. Participants were assured of their voluntary involvement, unconditional right to withdraw at any time without penalty, and the absence of foreseeable risks. Cheryl provided consent on June 3, 2018, and Fred on May 17, 2019, both within the validity period of the ethical approval. Member-checking activities conducted after July 31, 2022, were covered under a subsequent ethical approval granted through the Jiangsu University Philosophy and Social Sciences Research Project (#2022SJYB1440, approved July 12, 2022) issued by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education. This approval specifically pertained to re-engaging participants for validation and feedback integration into this manuscript. The study involved no minors, vulnerable populations, sensitive personal data, commercial interests, or physical harm. All data were anonymized before analysis, and interview protocols posed no adverse effects to participants’ mental well-being. Scanned copies of all stamped and/or signed documents referenced above have been submitted to the editorial office as supporting documentation. The original signed documents are retained by the corresponding author in compliance with institutional data retention policies.

: Written informed consent was obtained from both participants after comprehensive disclosure of research objectives, procedures, and publication plans. Participants were explicitly informed of their voluntary participation, unconditional right to withdraw at any time without consequence, and guarantees of data anonymization through de-identification. The scope of consent included authorization for audio-recorded interviews, academic use of anonymized quotations in publications, and acknowledgment of risk-free participation. Cheryl signed the written consent on June 3, 2018, and Fred signed the written consent on May 17, 2019. The consent forms contained contact details of the investigator for inquiries and confirmed participants’ understanding of all research aspects. Documentation is retained by the corresponding author under institutional data protocols.