A Corpus-based Study On The Use Of Reformulation Markers By English Majors In Written English

As one of the cohesive devices,discourse markers have attracted many scholars' attention.However,there are few studies on reformulation markers.Due to the importance of reformulation markers in the process of communication,this research is conducted on the usage of reformulation markers.In this study,the timed argumentative writings from 79 English majors of Harbin Engineering University during their six terms are used for the exploration,and the Written Corpus of Native Speakers is selected for comparison.With quantitative and qualitative data analysis of the corpora studied,it is found that high intensity and variety are the features of Chinese English majors in using reformulation markers in comparison with native English speakers.There also exist significant differences in the positions and patterns in the use of reformulation markers.In addition,it seems to be a common phenomenon in improper use of reformulation markers in the composition of English majors.However,with the rise of grade,the differences shrink between Chinese English majors and native speakers.At last,possible reasons of causing the differences are explored and some pedagogical implications are offered.