Writing is one of the difficulties that Chinese students come across during their English study. The differences between Chinese and English on thinking patterns and expressions are the main causes. This article discu...Writing is one of the difficulties that Chinese students come across during their English study. The differences between Chinese and English on thinking patterns and expressions are the main causes. This article discusses some problems existing in Chinese students＇ English writing, identifies the importance of cross-cultural awareness and ends with some measures in improving English writing teaching.展开更多
Langston Hughes displays a common incident of the common people and explores the eternal theme of love in his short story Early autumn. This paper discusses the writing skills employed by Hughes from his special point...Langston Hughes displays a common incident of the common people and explores the eternal theme of love in his short story Early autumn. This paper discusses the writing skills employed by Hughes from his special point of view, manipulation of characterization and deployment of setting.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
Teaching English composition has long been recognized as one of the most daunting tasks of college education in China. So this thesis is intended to investigate the applicability of the audience-oriented rhetorical ap...Teaching English composition has long been recognized as one of the most daunting tasks of college education in China. So this thesis is intended to investigate the applicability of the audience-oriented rhetorical appeals to the teaching of English composition.展开更多
Given that speaking plays a fundamental role in writing, this paper reports on a one-year program of the training of student writers. This training program consists of three parts： a pre-training investigation over l...Given that speaking plays a fundamental role in writing, this paper reports on a one-year program of the training of student writers. This training program consists of three parts： a pre-training investigation over learners＇ needs and expectations, various forms of the pre-writing discussions over different stages of the program, and a post-training investigation to get the feedback from the learners.展开更多
As a useful kind of writing, summarizing, aiming at improving students＇ ability to input information （reading） and output information （writing）, and should be emphasized at the advanced writing level, especially ...As a useful kind of writing, summarizing, aiming at improving students＇ ability to input information （reading） and output information （writing）, and should be emphasized at the advanced writing level, especially when postgraduates further their English studies. In order to have a deep understanding of the status quo of postgraduates＇ ability to summarize, this paper collected some data from the writing assignment and tried to give a detailed analysis of the problems, reasons and put forward some solutions.展开更多
The spelling mistakes in English writing are closely related to the incorrect pronunciation of the students, such as misuse of pronunciation rules of Chinese and English, overuse of the rules and coinage. This paper, ...The spelling mistakes in English writing are closely related to the incorrect pronunciation of the students, such as misuse of pronunciation rules of Chinese and English, overuse of the rules and coinage. This paper, on the basis of the analysis of the compositions of the college students, tries to find out how much mispronunciation affects misspelling, analyze the possible causes, and then put forward some suggestions on how to improve English spelling of the students.展开更多
Good writing is about making good choice of a thesis statement. A thesis statement is not only our source of writing but also our limit and measure. Based on the structure and function of a thesis statement, three cri...Good writing is about making good choice of a thesis statement. A thesis statement is not only our source of writing but also our limit and measure. Based on the structure and function of a thesis statement, three critical thesis statement formulating strategies are suggested. The thesis statement formulating strategies are targeted as the critical points in this paper because thesis statement formulating strategies can provide a learner with possibilities of selecting clear and concise thesis statements for writing purposes. These strategies ensure a learner to write effectively in English.展开更多
Metaphor, a rhetoric device which involves both stylistics as well as cognition, is really a hot theme in recent years of academic research. Thus this paper thinks that metaphor may help the language learners to write...Metaphor, a rhetoric device which involves both stylistics as well as cognition, is really a hot theme in recent years of academic research. Thus this paper thinks that metaphor may help the language learners to write creatively by a brief introduction and some personal experiences in language teachi ng.展开更多
Among the many possible ways to assessing writing by giving feedbacks, the peer evaluation method is viewed as a relatively effective one for students. Traditional one-way teacher feedback with which the teachers usua...Among the many possible ways to assessing writing by giving feedbacks, the peer evaluation method is viewed as a relatively effective one for students. Traditional one-way teacher feedback with which the teachers usually make great efforts to mark out all errors had been proved to be unscientific. In this article, based on the specific situation in two English major classes in Wenhua Institute attached to HUST, a series of training and experiments were designed with the aim of proving the effect of peer evaluation in writing class. It is emphasized that language teachers should recognize the practical value of peer evaluation, and try to help students be involved in making peer responses in the writing process actively, so that students can get meaningful experience from evaluating their peers＇ writing, which, in turn, will enhance their own ability to produce more satisfactory essays.展开更多
Language transfer has been a key issue in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, and language teaching for at least a century. Within the last few decades, however, its importance has been reassessed severa...Language transfer has been a key issue in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, and language teaching for at least a century. Within the last few decades, however, its importance has been reassessed several times. The paper focuses on the phenomena of language transfer in Chinese EFL writing, expecting to provide implications for Chinese English learners and teachers.展开更多
Letter writing is a major part of English practical writing. In their letter writing practice, English learners frequently commit all kinds of errors, quite a number of which are pragmatic errors. Since these errors s...Letter writing is a major part of English practical writing. In their letter writing practice, English learners frequently commit all kinds of errors, quite a number of which are pragmatic errors. Since these errors seem to be quite correct in terms of grammar, they are likely to be ignored by both English learners and instructors. This paper attempts to expose such errors, analyze the causes of them and propose some tentative measures to prevent and to correct these errors.展开更多
Critical thinking ability is the core skill of higher education. How to train the non-English major students＇ critical thinking ability in the English writing instruction plays an important role in the compound perso...Critical thinking ability is the core skill of higher education. How to train the non-English major students＇ critical thinking ability in the English writing instruction plays an important role in the compound personnel training. In this paper, the reading-discussion-writing approach which guarantees the innovative construction of writing is proposed to train college students＇ critical thinking ability, and specific suggestions on the practice are articulated such as designing diversified listening and speaking lead-in activities to activate or supplement the relative notion and background knowledge, using variety of challenging reading-discussion-writing tasks, and conducting mutual evaluation, etc., to let students deeply understand the text through discussion and promote their language competence and writing ability as well as their reflective thinking ability.展开更多
This paper argues for an overt innovational shift in praxis, as well as classroom configuration in the ESOL writing class by calling for a move away from the current foci on process-based pedagogies for newcomer popul...This paper argues for an overt innovational shift in praxis, as well as classroom configuration in the ESOL writing class by calling for a move away from the current foci on process-based pedagogies for newcomer populations, to an explicit teaching of modeling strategies with concomitant practice opportunities provided in the ESOL writing class. It is argued that explicit, sequenced instruction in the domains of rhetorical structure as well as grammatical accuracy provide ESOL （English for Speakers of Other Languages） learners in the emerging stages of language learning with a more concrete grasp of meaning, structure and grammar in rhetorical construction. The modeling strategies proposed in the paper focus on a simultaneous building of rhetorical fluency and grammatical accuracy via spotlighted and sequenced strategies which afford learners practice in smaller chunks of composition including but not limited to thesis statement writing, varied paragraph organization, multiple modes of exposition, and grammatical complexity all in a bid to generate rhetorical depth and grammatical detail in writing. In short, both form and function need to be explicitly taught in the ESOL writing class with adequate opportunities provided for rhetorical practice. Using a meticulous blend of meaningful, authentic and purposeful tasks combined with one-on-one instruction which incorporates a variety of visual and rhetorical modeling strategies, emerging writers, it is argued a move from controlled to automatic writing fluency within a short time span. The pedagogy proposed in the current paper spotlights the specific learner, rather than the writing process and entails a move away from traditional, teacher-fronted classrooms to targeted, workshop-centered configurations which permit for one-on-one conferencing in the ESOL writing class. The visually rendered modeling strategies proposed in this paper argue for writing instruction for ESOL students which is learner responsive, relevant and practical.展开更多
This article discusses four major transformations that took place in China during the Republican period from 1912 to 1949. The imperial institution fell and was replaced by a republican form of government. Changes in ...This article discusses four major transformations that took place in China during the Republican period from 1912 to 1949. The imperial institution fell and was replaced by a republican form of government. Changes in the writing style took place. The new colloquial style pulled people away from the idea of searching the past for answers to future questions. Popular culture changed. Men abandoned the queue and long gown, women forgot about footbinding. New technologies brought new ways of life to most Chinese and, surprisingly, many of the despotic warlords adopted telegraphs, railroads, and automobiles. By the 1950s, China had changed, but in a manner very similar to the rest of the world. In that sense China in the Republican period was in the mainstream of modern change.展开更多
文摘Writing is one of the difficulties that Chinese students come across during their English study. The differences between Chinese and English on thinking patterns and expressions are the main causes. This article discusses some problems existing in Chinese students＇ English writing, identifies the importance of cross-cultural awareness and ends with some measures in improving English writing teaching.
文摘Langston Hughes displays a common incident of the common people and explores the eternal theme of love in his short story Early autumn. This paper discusses the writing skills employed by Hughes from his special point of view, manipulation of characterization and deployment of setting.
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Teaching English composition has long been recognized as one of the most daunting tasks of college education in China. So this thesis is intended to investigate the applicability of the audience-oriented rhetorical appeals to the teaching of English composition.
文摘Given that speaking plays a fundamental role in writing, this paper reports on a one-year program of the training of student writers. This training program consists of three parts： a pre-training investigation over learners＇ needs and expectations, various forms of the pre-writing discussions over different stages of the program, and a post-training investigation to get the feedback from the learners.
文摘As a useful kind of writing, summarizing, aiming at improving students＇ ability to input information （reading） and output information （writing）, and should be emphasized at the advanced writing level, especially when postgraduates further their English studies. In order to have a deep understanding of the status quo of postgraduates＇ ability to summarize, this paper collected some data from the writing assignment and tried to give a detailed analysis of the problems, reasons and put forward some solutions.
文摘The spelling mistakes in English writing are closely related to the incorrect pronunciation of the students, such as misuse of pronunciation rules of Chinese and English, overuse of the rules and coinage. This paper, on the basis of the analysis of the compositions of the college students, tries to find out how much mispronunciation affects misspelling, analyze the possible causes, and then put forward some suggestions on how to improve English spelling of the students.
文摘Good writing is about making good choice of a thesis statement. A thesis statement is not only our source of writing but also our limit and measure. Based on the structure and function of a thesis statement, three critical thesis statement formulating strategies are suggested. The thesis statement formulating strategies are targeted as the critical points in this paper because thesis statement formulating strategies can provide a learner with possibilities of selecting clear and concise thesis statements for writing purposes. These strategies ensure a learner to write effectively in English.
文摘Metaphor, a rhetoric device which involves both stylistics as well as cognition, is really a hot theme in recent years of academic research. Thus this paper thinks that metaphor may help the language learners to write creatively by a brief introduction and some personal experiences in language teachi ng.
文摘Among the many possible ways to assessing writing by giving feedbacks, the peer evaluation method is viewed as a relatively effective one for students. Traditional one-way teacher feedback with which the teachers usually make great efforts to mark out all errors had been proved to be unscientific. In this article, based on the specific situation in two English major classes in Wenhua Institute attached to HUST, a series of training and experiments were designed with the aim of proving the effect of peer evaluation in writing class. It is emphasized that language teachers should recognize the practical value of peer evaluation, and try to help students be involved in making peer responses in the writing process actively, so that students can get meaningful experience from evaluating their peers＇ writing, which, in turn, will enhance their own ability to produce more satisfactory essays.
文摘Language transfer has been a key issue in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, and language teaching for at least a century. Within the last few decades, however, its importance has been reassessed several times. The paper focuses on the phenomena of language transfer in Chinese EFL writing, expecting to provide implications for Chinese English learners and teachers.
文摘Letter writing is a major part of English practical writing. In their letter writing practice, English learners frequently commit all kinds of errors, quite a number of which are pragmatic errors. Since these errors seem to be quite correct in terms of grammar, they are likely to be ignored by both English learners and instructors. This paper attempts to expose such errors, analyze the causes of them and propose some tentative measures to prevent and to correct these errors.
文摘Critical thinking ability is the core skill of higher education. How to train the non-English major students＇ critical thinking ability in the English writing instruction plays an important role in the compound personnel training. In this paper, the reading-discussion-writing approach which guarantees the innovative construction of writing is proposed to train college students＇ critical thinking ability, and specific suggestions on the practice are articulated such as designing diversified listening and speaking lead-in activities to activate or supplement the relative notion and background knowledge, using variety of challenging reading-discussion-writing tasks, and conducting mutual evaluation, etc., to let students deeply understand the text through discussion and promote their language competence and writing ability as well as their reflective thinking ability.
文摘This paper argues for an overt innovational shift in praxis, as well as classroom configuration in the ESOL writing class by calling for a move away from the current foci on process-based pedagogies for newcomer populations, to an explicit teaching of modeling strategies with concomitant practice opportunities provided in the ESOL writing class. It is argued that explicit, sequenced instruction in the domains of rhetorical structure as well as grammatical accuracy provide ESOL （English for Speakers of Other Languages） learners in the emerging stages of language learning with a more concrete grasp of meaning, structure and grammar in rhetorical construction. The modeling strategies proposed in the paper focus on a simultaneous building of rhetorical fluency and grammatical accuracy via spotlighted and sequenced strategies which afford learners practice in smaller chunks of composition including but not limited to thesis statement writing, varied paragraph organization, multiple modes of exposition, and grammatical complexity all in a bid to generate rhetorical depth and grammatical detail in writing. In short, both form and function need to be explicitly taught in the ESOL writing class with adequate opportunities provided for rhetorical practice. Using a meticulous blend of meaningful, authentic and purposeful tasks combined with one-on-one instruction which incorporates a variety of visual and rhetorical modeling strategies, emerging writers, it is argued a move from controlled to automatic writing fluency within a short time span. The pedagogy proposed in the current paper spotlights the specific learner, rather than the writing process and entails a move away from traditional, teacher-fronted classrooms to targeted, workshop-centered configurations which permit for one-on-one conferencing in the ESOL writing class. The visually rendered modeling strategies proposed in this paper argue for writing instruction for ESOL students which is learner responsive, relevant and practical.
文摘This article discusses four major transformations that took place in China during the Republican period from 1912 to 1949. The imperial institution fell and was replaced by a republican form of government. Changes in the writing style took place. The new colloquial style pulled people away from the idea of searching the past for answers to future questions. Popular culture changed. Men abandoned the queue and long gown, women forgot about footbinding. New technologies brought new ways of life to most Chinese and, surprisingly, many of the despotic warlords adopted telegraphs, railroads, and automobiles. By the 1950s, China had changed, but in a manner very similar to the rest of the world. In that sense China in the Republican period was in the mainstream of modern change.
