On The Transfer Of Mother Tongue In Second Language Writing

Language transfer is an important factor that must be taken into account in the study of SLA. In China, students learn English as a foreign language rather than a second language, which indicates a greater influence of Chinese on students'English learning. Thus, the study on L1 transfer works as a guide on effective foreign language teaching and learning in China.In this thesis, an empirical study on Chinese students'EFL writing is conducted with language transfer, contrastive analysis and markedness theory as its theoretical basis, considering both linguistic and non-linguistic factors, such as linguistic differences, cultural differences, thought pattern differences and so on.The samples collected in this study are 90 different argumentative writings from three groups of students with different English levels, 30 samples each group: the"I-level"group composed by first-year non-English majors from Jiangsu University of Science and Technology; the"A-level"group by second-year English majors from Jiangsu University of Science and Technology; and the"N-level"group by American college students.The method adopted in this study is a combination of quantitative and qualitative studies. Contrastive analysis is first carried out between these three groups respectively concerning the use of relative clause, passive voice, thesis statement, topic sentence and so on, aiming to find out whether language transfer occurs at syntactic and discourse level. Later on, an interview with the subjects is conducted to get more precise knowledge of the students'writing process, writing strategy and the reasons accounting for transfer as well.Based on the analysis and discussion of the study, it is found that mother tongue exerts a great influence on the Chinese students'EFL writing concerning syntactic structures and discourse patterns, both positive and negative. Also, it is indicated that L1 transfer and L2 proficiency are closely related. In general, the higher the L2 proficiency is, the less likely L1 transfer is to take place. In specific, Chinese college students, especially those with lower L2 proficiency, intend to avoid using some complex syntactic structures while overusing simpler structures instead and fossilization occurs as a consequence. Chinese students are also found to employ Chinese discourse patterns in their EFL writing due to the unavoidable influence of the culture and thought patterns peculiar to their native language. It also suggests that there is a dialectic relationship between positive transfer and negative transfer, and they can be converted into each other under certain circumstance.Based on those findings, some pedagogical implications are raised: proper attitude toward L1 transfer, neither totally depending on positive aspects nor in fear of negative aspects; increase of comprehensive language input; cultivating and strengthening inter-cultural awareness; thinking in English; and emphasis and revision on writing courses for Chinese students, non-English majors in particular.