A Study Of Degree Adverbs Facing Teaching Chinese As A Foreign Language

Compared to other kinds of adverbs,the number of degree adverbs is relatively smaller, and their grammar is simpler.However,because of the intrinsical characteristics of degree adverbs and properties appearing in practical applications,foreign students are easy to make various errors which greatly affect their expression and communication.Recently,there is rarely research to degree adverbs.In this paper,by combining the errors of degree adverbs in foreign students' applications,we explain the mechanism of causing errors and discuss the teaching strategies to avoid these errors based on the linguistics,applied linguistics theory and the theory of biased errors.This paper selects fourteen A-grade degree adverbs which are referred to "Outline for Grade of Chinese Level Vocabulary" as the research objectives,and investigates both junior-grade and middle-grade foreign students' compositions of the mid-term and final exams in School of International Culture Exchange,Dalian University of Technology.Afterward,I study 288 error examples of degree adverbs sampled from the investigation to their compositions.In the view of grammar,I summarize the types of errors appearing in foreign students' applications,and point out that the reason to make these errors is because negative transfer of the mother tongue,especially because foreign students do not exactly grasp the characteristics of degree adverbs.According to results of the investigation,in order to let foreign students understand the exact reason to errors,I study degree adverbs with respect to "three planes" syntax,semantics and pragmatics,respectively.Finally,I propose a teaching strategy to help foreign students grasp the characteristics of degree adverb,where a diagram method is utilized to show the relationship between degree adverbs and the semantic field.I give a figure to show the six pairs of degree adverbs which are the easiest to mistake.My instructional design is based on the practical communication which can greatly enhance foreign students' grasp to degree adverbs.