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On Problems And Strategies On Negative Language Transfer In English Writing By High School Students

Posted on:2013-04-17Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:R J DuFull Text:PDF
GTID:2247330374477531Subject:Subject teaching
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
With the development of the global cultural exchange, Englishwriting as an important communicative means, is universally used in agreat variety of fields. As a result, the new English curriculum for highschools demands highly on English writing ability of high school students.However, the sad truth is that teaching English writing has turned out tobe the most ineffective on the part of teachers and the weakest on thepart of students in language classroom so far. With that in mind, thethesis undertakes some researches with a focus on negative transfer ofmother tongue---Chinese---on senior high school students in Englishwriting, more specifically, their ability of using authentic expressionswhen they compose a piece of writing. Of course, other areas, such asorganization, grammar, choice of words, are also included. Thus, somecorresponding strategies for improving teaching writing work are putforward in the hope that the study will be useful to both teachers andstudents in language classroom.There were all together eighty-one students involved in thestudy as subjects, and they were asked to write a composition within120-150words on the topic of ‘What Weighs More in Choosing Majors?’Then, the author collected and classified the mistakes made in Englishwriting. Coupled with the questionnaires and the interviews done withthe subjects, the author analyzed and worked out the main causeleading to the current problem, that is, the negative transfer of Chineseon students’ inability in English writing. The instruments employed in thestudy are: students’ writing, questionnaires, and interviews.The findings resulting from the research indicate that because ofthe negative transfer, students tend to produce writings with too manygrammatical mistakes, unidiomatic expressions---Chinglish orChinese-sounding sentences---and other mistakes in spelling, and in the choice of words, all of which, without any doubt, prove that it is thenegative transfer of their mother tongue that blocks students frommoving forward in English learning process.Therefore, the significance of the study stands out that the researchfindings can not only make all the people concerned see where thereal problems are, but also throw light on how to improve the situationlater on by working out some practical teaching procedures. It is theauthor’s wish that the study on negative transfer could be helpful forboth teaching and learning, particularly, in English writing of senior highschool.
Keywords/Search Tags:native language transfer, Englishwriting, reading, corresponding strategy
PDF Full Text Request
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