Research on Avoidance Behavior in the English Writing of English Majors

This thesis conducts a study of avoidance phenomenon in the English writing of English majors in Shandong University ofTechnology. Instruments used in the study are 180 English writing samples of the 2 ndgrade English majors, questionnaires and in-terviews. Based on the data collected, different kinds of avoidance are analyzed. Further, reasons behind avoidance are exploredand corresponding implications are given.

An Analysis of the Causal Reasoning Deficiencies in English Majors' Argumentative Writing

The Syllabus for English Majors at Universities and Colleges(2000) makes it clear to further strengthen the English majors' critical thinking and logical reasoning ability.But how to effectively incorporate the cultivation of critical thinking skills into English majors' core courses,such as the writing courses,remains one of the most important tasks of teaching reform for English majors.The present study is aimed at having a systematic analysis on the causal reasoning deficiencies in English majors' argumentative writing.Furthermore,the reasons resulting in the causal reasoning deficiencies and the implications for the teaching of second language writing are explored.

The Research on the Problems of Writing in English Majors

In this semester, through an experience of teaching advanced writing for English majors, I have got all-around observation of the process of learning English writing in third year English majors. The problems of vague and general content and absent critical thinking ability in their writings have been found, and the practical teaching methods and practices have been adopted to help them to write substantively. In this paper, absent critical thinking ability in students' writing, the phenomena of the problem have been analyzed, the reasons of the absence have been summarized, and the better solutions have been discussed.

An Investigation of English Writing Anxiety Among English Majors

With Daly,Horwitz and Y-S-Cheng's theoretical model of second language writing anxiety as research framework,this thesis surveyed English majors'English writing anxiety.Findings of the present study show that all of the English major stu dents experience English writing anxiety.There is no significant difference in English anxiety among students from three different grades.There is significant difference in English writing anxiety between the students who hold positive attitudes towards English writing and those who hold negative attitudes towards English writing and there is significant difference in English writing anxi ety among students who rated their English writing good,average and bad.Results from the qualitative study show the reasons why there is little difference in English writing anxiety among students from three different grades.What's more,it is shown that the poor writing skills,cognitive anxiety,test anxiety and erroneous beliefs toward English writing are the main sources of Eng lish writing anxiety.

Analyzing the Factors and Corresponding Measures for English Majors' Writing

As we know,English writing is an important part of communicative competence.But for many English majors,it is hard to express their thoughts clearly.In order to find out the main problems and corresponding measures,the author analyzes many compositions written by English majors.With some academic opinions and the author’s own analysis,some problems existing in students’writing are listed.According to the problems,the author summarizes some influencing factors.Finally,the author gives some relevant solutions.Through analyzing those samples,the author hopes it has some help for English majors’writing.

Anxiety in the Process of Writing M.A. Theses in English Majors

In terms of second language acquisition or learning, research on anxiety has primarily focused on foreign language classroom anxiety or test anxiety, with little attention paid to anxiety in the process of writing academic theses. This study aims to explore to what extent anxiety affects the whole process of three English majors writing their M.A. theses, as well as testing the relationships between anxiety and self-regulation in the whole process. The findings indicate that anxiety appears with high degree atthe preparation stage, slumps at the writing stage and reaches another high level at the revision stage. Anxiety also exists when negotiating with supervisors. What’s more, self-regulation has been proved to alleviate anxiety in the process of writing. This studycontributes new knowledge to the field by relating anxiety to self-regulation in the process of writing M.A. theses, yielding a deepened understanding of self-regulation that reduces anxiety in terms of the progress gradually achieved in the writing process. It alsohas implications for supervisors to pay attention to the way of negotiating with students that may cause anxiety during the academictheses writing process.

The Effects of Writing Portfolio on English Writing Performance of Chinese Non-English Majors

This study aimed to explore the effects of writing portfolio on English writing performance of non-English majors. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. 127 second-year students in the major of international business participated in this study. They were divided into the experimental group and the control group. The methods of data collection consisted of writing tests and interview. Writing portfolios were implemented in the experimental group while the control group did not use them. The quantitative data suggested that there was no significant difference between experimental group and control group in English writing performance after the treatment. However, the qualitative data indicated that most of the participants had positive attitudes towards writing portfolios.

A Study of the Efficacy of the Teacher's Guidance to Collaborative Writing in Non-English Major Class

The present study aimed at examining the effectiveness of the teacher's guidance to collaborative writing in non-English major class.Subjects were 150 Chinese freshmen from two natural classes which served as an experimental class(88 students) and a control class(62 students) at a normal college.Data of the present study was collected from two questionnaires,two CET-4 writing tests,students' written comments on collaborative writing in the post-questionnaire.Data were analyzed by SPSS(Statistics Package for Social Science) 11.5 in which CET holistic grading was used to analyze students' writing performance of pre-test,post-test.Statistic results indicated that the teacher's guidance to collaborative writing does influence students' writing performance.In addition,qualitative analysis showed that students in the two classes had their respectively positive perceptions towards collaborative writing with different guidance of the same teacher.

A Qualitative Study of Non-English Majors' Learner Autonomy in Out-of-class English Learning Contexts

The aim of the study was to explore non-Engish majors' actual practice of out-of class English learning activities and the relationship between out-of-class English learning and language proficiency. Data were gathered through qualitative methods by semi-structured interviews and observation with 6 non-English majors from Tianjin Foreign Studies University. Students' CET-4 scores were collected as well. Out-of-class observation was conducted with two participants who represent respectively high and low scores in CET. The results indicated that high scorers generally showed higher level of learner autonomy in out-of-class learning context. than low scorers. Most of the participants hoped to obtain more guidance and recommendations for learning materials and learning strategies so as to improve their language skills.

PAD Class教学模式对英语专业学生写作焦虑影响的实证研究

本研究以英语专业大一120名学生为实验对象,进行了为期16周的实证研究,以探讨PAD class教学模式对英语专业学生写作焦虑的影响。基于《二语写作焦虑量表》调查问卷结果表明:英语专业学生总体焦虑处于中等焦虑水平,PAD Class能有效降低学生的写作总体焦虑,其中课堂焦虑、构思焦虑、自信焦虑明显降低,但回避焦虑没有达到显著水平;PAD Class模式对高中低不同写作水平学生的写作焦虑都有影响,对中、低水平学生的写作焦虑缓解比对高水平学生的影响效果更明显。

The Effective Strategies in Teaching English Writing in a Large Class

Based on research done in the United States,China and other countries on how to teach ELF writing,along with the teachers' experience to train students' aesthetic response, writing skills and critical thinking, which is involved in combining course content, it is proved to be feasible to improve English writing ability among college students of a large class,and then the effective strategies in teaching English writing in a large class are summarized.

On Peer Feedback Strategies of Process Writing in College English Class

Peer feedback is an indispensable part in process writing. However, in college English class, students pay less attention to peer feedback than teachers' feedback. What's more, without teachers' guidance, most of students don't know how to give feedbacks and what feedbacks should be given. Therefore, some strategies should be used to help students to make more effective feedbacks and stimulate students' interest to actively learn from their peers.

The Exploration of the Helpful Roles Teacher Can Play to Help non-English Major Students Improve Their English Writing

It is commonly known that writing is an advanced skill which is essential in language learning but at the same time the most difficult task for learners. This paper is with the aim to explore helpful roles that teacher can play to help non-English major students improve their English writing, so as to help improve their writing ability in the author's context.

The Application Study on Genre-based Approach in the English Exposition Writing Teaching for Professional College English Major Students

The previous studies show that the major problems faced by the students in writing can be classified into two categories, that is, they don't know"what to write"and"how to write". The researchers found that the specific problems existing in their writings are identified as poor content, incomplete generic structure and misuse of cohesive devices. Therefore, on the basis of the previous studies, this study attempts to use Martin's genre theory to resolve the existed problems of the Professional College English major's students in writing and enhance students' discourse writing ability. Meanwhile, this study tries to answer the following questions:(1) Compared with the traditional writing teaching methods, whether the genre-based writing method has a significant effect to improve students' writing skills;(2) Whether the genre-based writing method is possible to increase students' interest in writing. The experimental result and the questionnaire show that genre-based approach in ESL writing teaching really can improve students' writing achievement and enhance students' interest in English writing.

Main Problems and Countermeasures in Writing English Major Papers

According to the Degree Regulations of the People’s Republic of China,our country implements a three-level Bachelor’s,Master’s,and Doctoral degree system,graduates at all levels must pass the course examination and thesis defense before they can obtain a degree certificate.It can be seen that writing academic papers is a very important skill.For English majors,academic papers need to be written in English to illustrate their academic achievements.However,judging from the current papers of English majors,there are prominent problems in thesis writing,such as:blind selection of topics,empty content,scattered research,and improper attitudes of students.This study mainly adopts the literature method,on the basis of reading academic writing-related literature and English majors’paper,the author finds out the commonalities of English major students’academic writing and puts forward effective countermeasures.This study will provide new strategy for English majors to improve their thesis writing ability,avoid making general mistakes,and to a certain extent,reduce the tutoring pressure for essay instructors,so as to improve the academic writing quality of English majors.