中国高水平英语学习者建设性回馈意见的策略运用研究

Study of High-Proficiency Chinese EFL Learners’ Strategy Applications in Constructive Feedback

在跨文化和中介语语用学中,鲜有学者研究建设性回馈意见(CF),其包含“指出问题和给出反馈意见”(Nguyen & Basturkmen, 2010, p. 125)两个要件。本文旨在研究中美两国母语者和中国高水平英语学习者在给出CF时策略运用上的差异。数据通过问卷填充(DCT)的形式收集,因为DCT不仅可以控制变量还能有效地在短期内收集到丰富的数据(Leech, 2014)。研究者随机抽样42位参与者,平均分布在三个组别:中、美母语者和中国高水平英语学习者各14位。结果显示,三个组别在CF的策略使用上有显著性差异,最显著的体现在Hedge策略的运用。在八项hedge策略的使用中,高水平英语学习者有六项和英语母语者相似。然而,他们在Compliments的使用上却和中文母语者相同。在supportive moves上,三组语言使用者没有呈现出显著的差异。作为一项初步探究,本文希望将来有更多研究者关注CF的研究。

In cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics, constructive feedback(CF), defined as “the identification of a problematic action and advice on how to change or correct the problem”(Nguyen & Basturkmen, 2010, p. 125), has received little attention. To fill this gap, similarities and differences between native Chinese speakers, native American speakers, and high-proficiency Chinese EFL learners’ CF are explored in this study. In particular, how these learners’ strategy applications in CF differ from those of American and Chinese speakers is examined. Data were collected through discourse completion tests(DCTs) owing to their advantages in controlling social variables and their efficiency in eliciting rich data within a limited time(Leech, 2014). In total, 42 participants were randomly selected from three groups: 14 native Chinese speakers, 14native American speakers, and 14 high-proficiency Chinese EFL learners. The results revealed significant differences in strategy employment in CF among the three groups, with the highest disparity elicited in hedge strategies. Here, EFL learners resembled American speakers in six of the eight hedge strategies. However, they had the same percentage in terms of compliments as the Chinese speakers. With regard to supportive moves, there were no significant differences among the three groups. As a pioneering investigation, the aim of this study is to call for further research on CF.