Foreground-background and transitivity are very important in discourse linguistics,the features of which vary from types of discourse.Chinese shiwu expository discourse has its own semantic features about foreground-b...Foreground-background and transitivity are very important in discourse linguistics,the features of which vary from types of discourse.Chinese shiwu expository discourse has its own semantic features about foreground-background;and this type of discourse is characterized by low transitivity,especially in foreground.展开更多
This study was an attempt to determine the effect of task-based approach vs. traditional approach on the narrative and expository writing of the EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners. This study also tried to...This study was an attempt to determine the effect of task-based approach vs. traditional approach on the narrative and expository writing of the EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners. This study also tried to see if there is any difference between the narrative and expository writing of the advanced EFL learners＇ when the task-based approach is the instruction of methodology. It was concluded that teaching writing to EFL learners through task-based approach is more effective than teaching writing to the advanced EFL learners traditionally. But, it was found that task-based approach is not biased toward one of the two narratives vs. expository writing modes. For EFL contexts in many countries, there is a strong need for learners to develop their EFL writing ability.展开更多
This study investigates the effects of alignment in the narrative and expository continuation tasks.Two groups of English learners(N=50)in a Chinese university were required to continue one narrative essay and one exp...This study investigates the effects of alignment in the narrative and expository continuation tasks.Two groups of English learners(N=50)in a Chinese university were required to continue one narrative essay and one expository essay,both of which had an English version and a Chinese version.The analysis of the data using the Antconc software demonstrated that the effects of alignment occurred in the two types of continued compositions to some extent.And learners committed fewer errors when continuing the English-version task.In addition,learners were required to complete a questionnaire.The questionnaire results showed that the continuation task,as a practical teaching mode,can facilitate the students’writing and learning.展开更多
The present study investigated the impact from GOs （Graphic Organizers） upon reading comprehension ability. To this end, an OPT （Oxford Placement Test） was administered to a research population （N = 354） in orde...The present study investigated the impact from GOs （Graphic Organizers） upon reading comprehension ability. To this end, an OPT （Oxford Placement Test） was administered to a research population （N = 354） in order to homogenize it. On the basis of the test results, the population was sorted into three groups of reading-low, reading-mid, and reading-high students. Sixty participants with the lowest level of reading comprehension proficiency were randomly selected and assigned to an EG （Experimental Group） （N = 30） and a CG （Control Group） （N = 30）. Afterwards, a TOEFL （Test of English as a Foreign Language） reading comprehension pretest was administered to both groups in order to determine their current level of reading proficiency. Then, the EG received 10 successive 90-minute sessions on GOs as post-reading strategies for expository text comprehension, while the CG received the same amount of treatment on other post-reading strategies. In the end, another TOEFL reading comprehension posttest was administered to the research groups to measure their reading comprehension performance level after the treatment. The results revealed that GOs were statistically more significant and effective for the low-skilled readers than other post-reading strategies.展开更多
Rhetorical features of Chinese writers’essays have been studied for decades but inconsistent interpretations of deduction and induction lead to controversial results.Taking a comparative rhetoric perspective,this pap...Rhetorical features of Chinese writers’essays have been studied for decades but inconsistent interpretations of deduction and induction lead to controversial results.Taking a comparative rhetoric perspective,this paper clarifies the notions of deduction and induction and investigates what rhetorical features characterize Chinese expository paragraphs besides deduction and induction and whether Chinese EFL learners’English paragraphs have similar features.Two kinds of data sources were used—29 full-score Chinese expositions in College Entrance Examinations and 29 English expositions written by Chinese EFL learners.The results show that deduction is preferred in both Chinese and EFL writing,and that rhetorical paragraphs and coordinate paragraphs are particular to Chinese writing while the EFL learners’paragraphs display hybrid rhetoric such as semi-coordination.It is concluded that neither Chinese paragraphs nor EFL ones are similar to the modern English rhetorical paradigm,and English rhetoric instruction will facilitate the introspection of the two kinds of rhetoric.展开更多
文摘Foreground-background and transitivity are very important in discourse linguistics,the features of which vary from types of discourse.Chinese shiwu expository discourse has its own semantic features about foreground-background;and this type of discourse is characterized by low transitivity,especially in foreground.
文摘This study was an attempt to determine the effect of task-based approach vs. traditional approach on the narrative and expository writing of the EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners. This study also tried to see if there is any difference between the narrative and expository writing of the advanced EFL learners＇ when the task-based approach is the instruction of methodology. It was concluded that teaching writing to EFL learners through task-based approach is more effective than teaching writing to the advanced EFL learners traditionally. But, it was found that task-based approach is not biased toward one of the two narratives vs. expository writing modes. For EFL contexts in many countries, there is a strong need for learners to develop their EFL writing ability.
文摘This study investigates the effects of alignment in the narrative and expository continuation tasks.Two groups of English learners(N=50)in a Chinese university were required to continue one narrative essay and one expository essay,both of which had an English version and a Chinese version.The analysis of the data using the Antconc software demonstrated that the effects of alignment occurred in the two types of continued compositions to some extent.And learners committed fewer errors when continuing the English-version task.In addition,learners were required to complete a questionnaire.The questionnaire results showed that the continuation task,as a practical teaching mode,can facilitate the students’writing and learning.
文摘The present study investigated the impact from GOs （Graphic Organizers） upon reading comprehension ability. To this end, an OPT （Oxford Placement Test） was administered to a research population （N = 354） in order to homogenize it. On the basis of the test results, the population was sorted into three groups of reading-low, reading-mid, and reading-high students. Sixty participants with the lowest level of reading comprehension proficiency were randomly selected and assigned to an EG （Experimental Group） （N = 30） and a CG （Control Group） （N = 30）. Afterwards, a TOEFL （Test of English as a Foreign Language） reading comprehension pretest was administered to both groups in order to determine their current level of reading proficiency. Then, the EG received 10 successive 90-minute sessions on GOs as post-reading strategies for expository text comprehension, while the CG received the same amount of treatment on other post-reading strategies. In the end, another TOEFL reading comprehension posttest was administered to the research groups to measure their reading comprehension performance level after the treatment. The results revealed that GOs were statistically more significant and effective for the low-skilled readers than other post-reading strategies.
基金supported by the Social Science Department of the Ministry of Education of China[Grant No.:16YJA740022].
文摘Rhetorical features of Chinese writers’essays have been studied for decades but inconsistent interpretations of deduction and induction lead to controversial results.Taking a comparative rhetoric perspective,this paper clarifies the notions of deduction and induction and investigates what rhetorical features characterize Chinese expository paragraphs besides deduction and induction and whether Chinese EFL learners’English paragraphs have similar features.Two kinds of data sources were used—29 full-score Chinese expositions in College Entrance Examinations and 29 English expositions written by Chinese EFL learners.The results show that deduction is preferred in both Chinese and EFL writing,and that rhetorical paragraphs and coordinate paragraphs are particular to Chinese writing while the EFL learners’paragraphs display hybrid rhetoric such as semi-coordination.It is concluded that neither Chinese paragraphs nor EFL ones are similar to the modern English rhetorical paradigm,and English rhetoric instruction will facilitate the introspection of the two kinds of rhetoric.
