This thesis investigates the causes of fossilization in English writing among two groups of English majors as well as the measures to deal with it. The experiment was conducted among 62 English majors from National Un...This thesis investigates the causes of fossilization in English writing among two groups of English majors as well as the measures to deal with it. The experiment was conducted among 62 English majors from National University of Defense Technology, and both their questionnaires and written texts were collected as the source of data analyzed. With data collected from questionnaires and written texts, the study aimed to explore （a） the causal factors leading to fossilization in writing, （b） the strategies to deal with students＇ fossilization. Relevant information was elicited from the questionnaire, written texts. Quantitative data were treated with SPSS for descriptive analysis and correlation analysis. The results indicated that both external and internal factors can lead to fossilization in English writing. The external factors include input, instruction and environment in the learning, and the internal factors incorporate students＇ interest, learning strategy, motivation with their systematic knowledge. Based on the results of the experiment, the author attempts to discuss measures to deal with fossilization.展开更多
With more emphasis on the communicative and pragmatic function of Business English learning, the author discusses a case study of a Business English course based on projects conducted by the students in their communit...With more emphasis on the communicative and pragmatic function of Business English learning, the author discusses a case study of a Business English course based on projects conducted by the students in their community This curriculum aims at students experiencing and implementing their knowledge of Business and English in the real business environments, engaging community in the process, and avoiding isolation and separation of business English teaching and learning from communities. The research lays more importance on the students＇ experiencing and participating process by providing them with a series of guidelines as reference and assessment, but meanwhile the students have their freedom of choices and decision-making in many aspects. Integrative skills are practiced including linguistic skills, business-related skills, communicative skills, and technology-related skills. Specifically, the students are required to conduct a mini market research in their community. The topic of the research is negotiated, classified, and grouped in the entire class until each individual student belongs to a group. The project procedure and requirements are given to the students on weekly basis, including field of research, questionnaire, data collection and analysis, report, and the final group presentation. Based on their experience from the research, the students write down their reflections. Based on the observation of the instructor and students＇ feedback, the research found that students＇ expectations and teacher＇s roles varied in a number of aspects. A variety of knowledge and skills have been practiced. Problems have also been found in each step of the project.展开更多
This article develops an empirical an investigation on the errors in compositions written by students who are studying in Luzhou Vocational and Technical College （LVTC） and Luzhou Medical College （LMC） and contras...This article develops an empirical an investigation on the errors in compositions written by students who are studying in Luzhou Vocational and Technical College （LVTC） and Luzhou Medical College （LMC） and contrasts them in order to trace the source of the errors. It finally turns out to be that there exists strong correlation between students＇ academic quality and the number of errors of various types. Compared with ordinary university students, vocational and technical college （VTC） students＇ interlanguage （IL） errors seem to be more rudimental, and more negative-transferring, most of which are influenced by their mother tongue （MT）-Chinese. VTC students＇ general error in writing is misspelling, while university students ＇ major error lies in collocation. In this thesis, some practical enlightenment about learning and teaching English writing are also proposed.展开更多
The current study applied classic communication models to investigating 34 laureate impromptu speeches at the 2010 and 2011 ＂FLTRP （Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press） Cup＂ English Speaking Contest, one ...The current study applied classic communication models to investigating 34 laureate impromptu speeches at the 2010 and 2011 ＂FLTRP （Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press） Cup＂ English Speaking Contest, one of the most influential of its kind in China, to identify the features of public speaking skills of Advanced Chinese EFL learners. The speech scripts and video excerpts from the subsequent manuscript collection with the CD-Rom published by FLTRP were studied. Lucas＇ framework of speech communication process was borrowed to bridge elements of the communication models and speech delivery process. Three key aspects of the speakers＇ encoding endeavors were under close examination： the verbal preferences, the non-verbal preferences, and the topic selection for exemplification. It was found that successful speakers demonstrated a clear and strong audience orientation. They chose more first person pronouns, fewer abstract words, a controlled number of dependent clauses, clear transition words, and limited figures of speech. They used very few verbal fillers, slips of tongue, a moderate speech rate and varied tone inflections. The speakers also showed distinctive features in gestures, eye contact and facial expressions. They employed anecdotes which shared a common field of experience. Pedagogical implications on the teaching of public speaking were discussed.展开更多
The global spread of English as a Lingua Franca （ELF） has implications for practice in English Language Teaching （ELT） classrooms. This paper presents a study on attitudes toward ELF which is crucial to its incorp...The global spread of English as a Lingua Franca （ELF） has implications for practice in English Language Teaching （ELT） classrooms. This paper presents a study on attitudes toward ELF which is crucial to its incorporation because attitudes influence the learning output in ELT. It uses a mixed method approach through a questionnaire survey on attitudes toward ELF, which contains a modified Verbal Guise Technique （VGT）, complemented with semi-structured interviews. Seventy university students and 4 lecturers from three English departments in Japan （Waseda University and Sophia University） and Indonesia （Universitas Negeri Jakarta） were involved in filling out the questionnaire and semi structured interview sessions. The results highlight positive attitudes towards ELF and its incorporation into ELT （Japan： 3.71, and Indonesia： 3.51）. In addition, factors which influence these attitudes （aspects related to language learning experience） were proven significant. The interview sessions also suggest ways to incorporate an ELF perspective into the ELT classrooms. Further, it addresses the issue of the gap between theory and practice in research on Global Englishes in Language Teaching （GELT） where a ＂conceptual gap＂ is often found. The study is of value to those interested in ELT curriculum evaluation and design to meet the needs of both ELT and ELF community in countries like Japan and Indonesia.展开更多
文摘This thesis investigates the causes of fossilization in English writing among two groups of English majors as well as the measures to deal with it. The experiment was conducted among 62 English majors from National University of Defense Technology, and both their questionnaires and written texts were collected as the source of data analyzed. With data collected from questionnaires and written texts, the study aimed to explore （a） the causal factors leading to fossilization in writing, （b） the strategies to deal with students＇ fossilization. Relevant information was elicited from the questionnaire, written texts. Quantitative data were treated with SPSS for descriptive analysis and correlation analysis. The results indicated that both external and internal factors can lead to fossilization in English writing. The external factors include input, instruction and environment in the learning, and the internal factors incorporate students＇ interest, learning strategy, motivation with their systematic knowledge. Based on the results of the experiment, the author attempts to discuss measures to deal with fossilization.
文摘With more emphasis on the communicative and pragmatic function of Business English learning, the author discusses a case study of a Business English course based on projects conducted by the students in their community This curriculum aims at students experiencing and implementing their knowledge of Business and English in the real business environments, engaging community in the process, and avoiding isolation and separation of business English teaching and learning from communities. The research lays more importance on the students＇ experiencing and participating process by providing them with a series of guidelines as reference and assessment, but meanwhile the students have their freedom of choices and decision-making in many aspects. Integrative skills are practiced including linguistic skills, business-related skills, communicative skills, and technology-related skills. Specifically, the students are required to conduct a mini market research in their community. The topic of the research is negotiated, classified, and grouped in the entire class until each individual student belongs to a group. The project procedure and requirements are given to the students on weekly basis, including field of research, questionnaire, data collection and analysis, report, and the final group presentation. Based on their experience from the research, the students write down their reflections. Based on the observation of the instructor and students＇ feedback, the research found that students＇ expectations and teacher＇s roles varied in a number of aspects. A variety of knowledge and skills have been practiced. Problems have also been found in each step of the project.
文摘This article develops an empirical an investigation on the errors in compositions written by students who are studying in Luzhou Vocational and Technical College （LVTC） and Luzhou Medical College （LMC） and contrasts them in order to trace the source of the errors. It finally turns out to be that there exists strong correlation between students＇ academic quality and the number of errors of various types. Compared with ordinary university students, vocational and technical college （VTC） students＇ interlanguage （IL） errors seem to be more rudimental, and more negative-transferring, most of which are influenced by their mother tongue （MT）-Chinese. VTC students＇ general error in writing is misspelling, while university students ＇ major error lies in collocation. In this thesis, some practical enlightenment about learning and teaching English writing are also proposed.
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(2011WC033)the High Level Fundamental Research Funds for the Development of Foreign Language Discipline of HUST(Huazhong University of Science and Technology)
文摘The current study applied classic communication models to investigating 34 laureate impromptu speeches at the 2010 and 2011 ＂FLTRP （Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press） Cup＂ English Speaking Contest, one of the most influential of its kind in China, to identify the features of public speaking skills of Advanced Chinese EFL learners. The speech scripts and video excerpts from the subsequent manuscript collection with the CD-Rom published by FLTRP were studied. Lucas＇ framework of speech communication process was borrowed to bridge elements of the communication models and speech delivery process. Three key aspects of the speakers＇ encoding endeavors were under close examination： the verbal preferences, the non-verbal preferences, and the topic selection for exemplification. It was found that successful speakers demonstrated a clear and strong audience orientation. They chose more first person pronouns, fewer abstract words, a controlled number of dependent clauses, clear transition words, and limited figures of speech. They used very few verbal fillers, slips of tongue, a moderate speech rate and varied tone inflections. The speakers also showed distinctive features in gestures, eye contact and facial expressions. They employed anecdotes which shared a common field of experience. Pedagogical implications on the teaching of public speaking were discussed.
基金sponsored by Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education,The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia
文摘The global spread of English as a Lingua Franca （ELF） has implications for practice in English Language Teaching （ELT） classrooms. This paper presents a study on attitudes toward ELF which is crucial to its incorporation because attitudes influence the learning output in ELT. It uses a mixed method approach through a questionnaire survey on attitudes toward ELF, which contains a modified Verbal Guise Technique （VGT）, complemented with semi-structured interviews. Seventy university students and 4 lecturers from three English departments in Japan （Waseda University and Sophia University） and Indonesia （Universitas Negeri Jakarta） were involved in filling out the questionnaire and semi structured interview sessions. The results highlight positive attitudes towards ELF and its incorporation into ELT （Japan： 3.71, and Indonesia： 3.51）. In addition, factors which influence these attitudes （aspects related to language learning experience） were proven significant. The interview sessions also suggest ways to incorporate an ELF perspective into the ELT classrooms. Further, it addresses the issue of the gap between theory and practice in research on Global Englishes in Language Teaching （GELT） where a ＂conceptual gap＂ is often found. The study is of value to those interested in ELT curriculum evaluation and design to meet the needs of both ELT and ELF community in countries like Japan and Indonesia.
