摘要
One of the characteristics of good writing is appropriate use of cohesive devices, which many learners often find difficult to do. Although there is a substantial body of research on cohesion in writing, little has been documented on how to teach it to EFL students. The present study was an attempt to address this under-researched issue by taking a terminological approach, as the diverse and vague terminology used to describe link words has been found to be more of a hindrance than a facilitator in the teaching/learning process. A total of 16 cohesion-related terms were surveyed to find out about the quality and quantity of their use in a self-built corpus of 14 grammar books of different levels. Furthermore, a test was run to measure students＇ familiarity with these terms, and field-notes were taken while scoring the students＇ papers in their presence. The findings, in addition to giving insights into the usage points regarding each of the 16 terms, led to drawing a terminological network, which, if used consistently, could help in teaching and learning to use cohesion effectively.
好作文的特征之一就是作者能准确贴切地使用连接词来表达思想。然而,不少外语学习者会觉得真正恰当地使用连接词并不容易。尽管有关连接词本身的研究文献已经非常丰富,但是,对如何在英语写作中行之有效地给学生教授连接词的使用鲜有研究。本研究用术语学的方法就这一研究问题做一次探讨。笔者认为,现存的对连接词术语各种各样的称谓对英语学习尤其是写作教学极其不利。为了梳理澄清‘连接词’的核心内核,我们把已经出版并广泛使用的14本不同的语法书里所提到的16个和连贯相关的术语通过自建的语料库就其使用的质和量进行分析。我们也就学生对这些术语的熟练程度及使用情况通过查阅和核实他们的作文其进行了测评。基于对每个术语使用的情况的研究发现,我们勾勒出有视觉清晰感的术语网络图,以便说明不同术语的使用频率,也为课堂教师如何更加有效地教授连接词的使用提供了可供参考的教学资源。
