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Transfer Influences On Verbal Lexical Collocations In Chinese EFL Writing

Posted on:2008-07-07Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:Z Y ZhangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155360215996676Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Over a long period of time, mother tongue transfer has remained a controversialissue in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). The present study aims to examinelanguage transfer from contextual perspective of the Compensation Hypothesis (Wang,2003a, 2003b, 2003c). According to the Compensation Hypothesis, lack of authenticL2 context compatible with L2 incurs a mismatch of L2 forms with L1 contextualknowledge, thus giving rise to L1 transfer. That is, L1 contextual knowledge mediatestransfer from L1 to L2. This conceptualization differs from the traditional notion oflanguage transfer in that L1 transfer is due more to contextual knowledge than toignorance of L2 forms. However, few attempts have thus far been made to investigatethe process of language transfer from this contextual perspective.This study sets out to verify the Compensation Hypothesis by investigating errorsresulting from L1 and L1 context in verbal lexical collocations in Chinese EFL writing.For this purpose, a qualitative study is conducted on participants representing threedifferent English levels. Moreover, a corpus-based Error Analysis approach is adoptedto collect and analyze the writings by the Chinese EFL learners. According to the ErrorAnalysis scheme and procedures proposed by Corder, all the data in SCLEC,particularly the errors in verbal lexical collocation in terms of L1 context-driventransfer, are coded and analyzed statistically by using ConCapp.The results based on SCLEC reveal that in their English writings Chinese EFLlearners have made a multitude of verbal lexical collocational errors arising from L1transfer, and that L1 contextual knowledge actually plays an influential role ininducing L1 transfer among Chinese EFL learners. The higher English level theChinese EFL learners are at, the fewer verbal lexical collocational errors they willmake due to the influences of L1 and L1 context. Put it another way, compared withtheir intermediate and advanced counterparts, elementary English learners are moreliable to commit verbal lexical collocational errors in terms of L1 context-driventransfer. We have also found that, while the advanced Chinese EFL learners tend to usemore complicated verbal lexical collocations, their elementary counterparts prefer to use simpler and more general verbs such as de-lexical verbs in their writing.Overall, by providing empirical evidence for the Compensation Hypothesis, thisstudy verifies that the influence of L1 contextual knowledge is likely to constitute aremarkable factor in inducing language transfer. This study has some pedagogicalimplications on English teaching and learning: EFL learners 'should be exposed tosufficient and contextually appropriate L2 input in their foreign language learning.Raising students' awareness of L2 collocational expressions, a more important andrepeatedly stressed point in this study, should never be neglected in the future EFLteaching process.
Keywords/Search Tags:first language transfer, the Compensation Hypothesis, verbal lexical collocation, corpus-based, interlanguage
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