A learner’s stages of L2 development are connected by his or her L1 and culture.It is,accordingly,of paramount importance to understand the second language learners’culture and learning process and better assist the...A learner’s stages of L2 development are connected by his or her L1 and culture.It is,accordingly,of paramount importance to understand the second language learners’culture and learning process and better assist them through this process in the way of teaching them English.Similarly,inter-language theory(IL)and contrastive rhetoric are affected by factors,such as learner’s L1,learning experiences,and culture.This paper talks about these two theory’s characteristics,constructs,and importance,so language instructors may better understand the L2 learning phenomena and think out better methods to help language learners improve their language skills.展开更多
Writing fluently and expressively in English is a necessary skill for communication, as well as a required skill for Chinese students at the tertiary level. Since college students have already been trained on their Ch...Writing fluently and expressively in English is a necessary skill for communication, as well as a required skill for Chinese students at the tertiary level. Since college students have already been trained on their Chinese writing skills for a considerable length of time and are able to write in Chinese quite successfully, the application of contrastive rhetoric in the teaching of English writing is very effective. This paper explores the possibility of teaching English writing to Chinese students at the tertiary level and proposes an approach to this teaching model.展开更多
This paper explores the extent to which Chinese rhetorical patterns influence EFL writing, the reasons behind such an influence, and how Chinese EFL learners think about this influence. A multivariate method was used ...This paper explores the extent to which Chinese rhetorical patterns influence EFL writing, the reasons behind such an influence, and how Chinese EFL learners think about this influence. A multivariate method was used to achieve this purpose： discourse analysis, text-based interviews, a questionnaire, and an analysis of high school textbooks in China. The findings show that only one third of the 26 students who participated the study exhibited ＂circular＂ or ＂indirect＂ characteristics （Kaplan, 1966）, and, more interestingly, these characteristics were not directly influenced by the ＂eight-legged essay＂ pattern （Matalene, 1985） but rather derived from the modern Chinese prose. The learners held that it is beneficial to know English rhetorical structures, but it is also important to preserve Chinese writing conventions.展开更多
Most studies that contrast EFL writings of Chinese authors with writings of native English speakers （NES） have pinpointed various differences in terms of their organizational and interpersonal propensities. Fewer st...Most studies that contrast EFL writings of Chinese authors with writings of native English speakers （NES） have pinpointed various differences in terms of their organizational and interpersonal propensities. Fewer studies, however, have looked into the types of substance that the authors incorporate into their writings, and this poses the question of whether Chinese and NES authors tend to capitalize on different types of content to flesh out their topics. This paper is concerned with the potential difference between writings of Chinese authors and NES authors in their inclination to include narratives into their writings. For this purpose, a method of quantifying narratives has been proposed that involves the identifying and tallying of ＂events＂, ＂narrative sequences＂ and several other elements of narrative discourse. The writings which were studied and compared were English career autobiographies supplied by 24 Chinese and 21 NES authors. The study has found that the English writings of Chinese authors are significantly more narrative than those of their counterparts.展开更多
文摘A learner’s stages of L2 development are connected by his or her L1 and culture.It is,accordingly,of paramount importance to understand the second language learners’culture and learning process and better assist them through this process in the way of teaching them English.Similarly,inter-language theory(IL)and contrastive rhetoric are affected by factors,such as learner’s L1,learning experiences,and culture.This paper talks about these two theory’s characteristics,constructs,and importance,so language instructors may better understand the L2 learning phenomena and think out better methods to help language learners improve their language skills.
文摘Writing fluently and expressively in English is a necessary skill for communication, as well as a required skill for Chinese students at the tertiary level. Since college students have already been trained on their Chinese writing skills for a considerable length of time and are able to write in Chinese quite successfully, the application of contrastive rhetoric in the teaching of English writing is very effective. This paper explores the possibility of teaching English writing to Chinese students at the tertiary level and proposes an approach to this teaching model.
文摘This paper explores the extent to which Chinese rhetorical patterns influence EFL writing, the reasons behind such an influence, and how Chinese EFL learners think about this influence. A multivariate method was used to achieve this purpose： discourse analysis, text-based interviews, a questionnaire, and an analysis of high school textbooks in China. The findings show that only one third of the 26 students who participated the study exhibited ＂circular＂ or ＂indirect＂ characteristics （Kaplan, 1966）, and, more interestingly, these characteristics were not directly influenced by the ＂eight-legged essay＂ pattern （Matalene, 1985） but rather derived from the modern Chinese prose. The learners held that it is beneficial to know English rhetorical structures, but it is also important to preserve Chinese writing conventions.
基金supported by the Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences from the Ministry of Education of China (11YJC740076)
文摘Most studies that contrast EFL writings of Chinese authors with writings of native English speakers （NES） have pinpointed various differences in terms of their organizational and interpersonal propensities. Fewer studies, however, have looked into the types of substance that the authors incorporate into their writings, and this poses the question of whether Chinese and NES authors tend to capitalize on different types of content to flesh out their topics. This paper is concerned with the potential difference between writings of Chinese authors and NES authors in their inclination to include narratives into their writings. For this purpose, a method of quantifying narratives has been proposed that involves the identifying and tallying of ＂events＂, ＂narrative sequences＂ and several other elements of narrative discourse. The writings which were studied and compared were English career autobiographies supplied by 24 Chinese and 21 NES authors. The study has found that the English writings of Chinese authors are significantly more narrative than those of their counterparts.
