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An Experimental Study Based On The Effects Of Lexical Approach On English Writing In Higher Vocational College Students

Posted on:2014-03-03Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:L N ChenFull Text:PDF
GTID:2255330425984268Subject:Subject teaching
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
With the development of linguistic research, more and more linguists put forward theconcept of “lexical chunks”. Lexical chunk, stored as a whole form/function composite,reflects the interaction of semantics, syntax and pragmatics, which can help learners toachieve accuracy and appropriacy of expressions. Lexical approach, with lexical chunks asthe core, attaches importance not only to grammar, but also to the appropriate use of thecontext in the teaching process. It breaks the concept held by traditional approach that lexisand grammar are separated, makes a compromise between grammar-centered approach andcommunicative approach, and offers a new way for language teaching. In this paper, LexicalApproach is introduced as a new way to improve EFL(English as a foreign language) writingin vocational college.Responding to the objective of cultivating practical talents in higher vocational education,one of the goals of vocational English teaching is to cultivate students’ ability of practicalwriting. With the superiority of lexical chunks and the characteristics of vocational Englishwriting, the experimental study in this thesis tries to explore the effects of lexical approach onEnglish writing teaching in vocational colleges. The author attempts to explore the followingquestions:(1) Is there any significant improvement in the composition scores of students inEG compared with those in CG after the application of lexical approach?(2) Do the studentsin the EG use more lexical chunks in the compositions than those in the CG after theimplementation of the experiment?(3) What is the relationship between the number of lexicalchunks and the quality of their English writing?The experiment involves90freshmen coming from two regular classes in ZhangzhouHealth Vocational College,45students in each class. The two classes are designed randomlyas one experimental group (EG) and one control group (CG).The EG is given the instructionsbased on lexical chunks. Activities related to identifying, inputting and consolidating lexicalchunks are aiming at helping the students establishing lexical concepts. The CG is taught with the traditional teaching method. Both of EG and CG students are asked to write a compositionrespectively according to PRETCO-B writing requirements at the beginning and the end ofthe first semester as the contents of the pretest and the posttest. The statistical analysis in thepretest and posttest are obtained with the help of SPSS by comparing the composition scoresand the number of lexical chunks used in the students’ writing in EG and CG. The resultsindicate that the students of the EG get higher scores and use more lexical chunks in writingthan students of the CG do. The results give support to the author’s hypothesis that the lexicalapproach has positive effects on improving students’ writing proficiency.
Keywords/Search Tags:Lexical Chunks, Lexical Approach, Vocational College English Writing, Experimental Study
PDF Full Text Request
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