Following a cross-sectional design, the present study investigated the acquisition of English requests by Chinese learners at three proficiency levels with open production questionnaires. It was found that L2 linguist...Following a cross-sectional design, the present study investigated the acquisition of English requests by Chinese learners at three proficiency levels with open production questionnaires. It was found that L2 linguistic proficiency, L1 pragmatic transfer and classroom instruction have interactive effect on learners' L2 pragmatic development. A range of acquisitional features were found-learners' employment of direct request strategies decreased, the employment of conventionally indirect strategies increased and the number and variety of internal modifiers increased with the increase of proficiency. It was also found that L1 pragmatic transfer worked on various aspects of learners' requestive behavior and that inadequate or inappropriate input from the teaching materials and the EFL classroom arrangements might constrain their pragmatic development.展开更多
This paper reports an empirical study that examined the widespread practice of using songs in language teaching for young learners. The study may represent the first methodologically rigorous assessment of vocabulary ...This paper reports an empirical study that examined the widespread practice of using songs in language teaching for young learners. The study may represent the first methodologically rigorous assessment of vocabulary acquisition through songs as used in language teaching. Over a seven-week period including fifteen 40-minute classes, three groups of students from two private kindergartens in Beijing were taught five short English phrases of 4-8 words through each of three conditions （songs, choral repetition, control） in a within-subject repeated measures design. Vocabulary acquisition was measured by the number of meaningful morphemes produced by the students in a picture description task administered before and after the teaching period. Results indicated significant acquisition for items learned through songs and choral repetition, but not for control items. The implication is that songs may indeed contain important pedagogical value.展开更多
文摘Following a cross-sectional design, the present study investigated the acquisition of English requests by Chinese learners at three proficiency levels with open production questionnaires. It was found that L2 linguistic proficiency, L1 pragmatic transfer and classroom instruction have interactive effect on learners' L2 pragmatic development. A range of acquisitional features were found-learners' employment of direct request strategies decreased, the employment of conventionally indirect strategies increased and the number and variety of internal modifiers increased with the increase of proficiency. It was also found that L1 pragmatic transfer worked on various aspects of learners' requestive behavior and that inadequate or inappropriate input from the teaching materials and the EFL classroom arrangements might constrain their pragmatic development.
文摘This paper reports an empirical study that examined the widespread practice of using songs in language teaching for young learners. The study may represent the first methodologically rigorous assessment of vocabulary acquisition through songs as used in language teaching. Over a seven-week period including fifteen 40-minute classes, three groups of students from two private kindergartens in Beijing were taught five short English phrases of 4-8 words through each of three conditions （songs, choral repetition, control） in a within-subject repeated measures design. Vocabulary acquisition was measured by the number of meaningful morphemes produced by the students in a picture description task administered before and after the teaching period. Results indicated significant acquisition for items learned through songs and choral repetition, but not for control items. The implication is that songs may indeed contain important pedagogical value.
