Chinese Students'Negative L1 Transfer in English Writing

Numerous researchers have studied the influence of L1 on the L2 composing process and consistently revealed that L2 writers may revert to their L1 when composing in L2(Cumming, 1989; Ellis, 2006;).The employment of L1 in L2 writing generally results in either facilitation(positive transfer) or impediment(negative transfer). The aim of this study is to investigate the specific errors and problems resulting from L1 interference within Chinese L2 writing and find possible solutions to minimize the negative effects of L1. In this respect, the focus of this paper is mainly on negative L1 transfer. Previous researches in this field have concentrated on how Chinese interfered L2 composing across different L2 proficiency levels or among different writing tasks. However, few studies have been carried out to analyze the details of how Chinese interfered with the students' English writing. This paper will conduct detailed analysis on the major negative transfer of L1 in terms of linguistic competence(from lexical, grammatical and syntactical level) and composing strategies(indirectness and organization style). The study will address and attempt to provide pedagogical suggestions for English writing instructors who particularly deal with Chinese L2 writers. The findings of the study has general applicability and will provide guidance for the teaching of L2 writing in other EFL/ESL settings.