A Study On The Written Output Of Possessive Determiners By English Learners

Based on the Discourse Cohesion Theory and Language Transfer Theory,with the error analysis,this paper studies the written output of PD(possessive determiners)by EFL(English as a Foreign Language)learners.It is a case study conducted to investigate the use of PD by DMU(Dalian Maritime University)Navigation majors.It attempts to explore the potential reasons for their misuse.100 freshmen from Navigation majors are chosen as the subjects.The main instrument of the study is a test designed to examine how students understand and use PD.And the test consists of three parts:multiple choice,word-filling and translation.Besides,the test results are analyzed by SPSS and excel.After analyzing the test results carefully,the conclusion is drawn as follows:1.EFL learners do have problems in learning to use PD.And there are seven types of errors categorized by the author;they are Overuse of the for PD,Missing of PD,The wrong use of indefinite articles,Confusion about personal pronouns and PD,Confusion in gender,In-consistence in number and Other errors especially in collocation of determiners.Among which the error rate of Overuse of the for PD ranks first,which occupies 51.37%;Missing of PD ranks second,and which occupies 43.06%.2.The factors affecting the output of PD include two main parts,one is lack awareness of discourse cohesion in interpreting context;the other is cultural context,because the structural differences between English and Chinese,generally speaking,English is a hypotactic language,all the relations are achieved by language form.Thus,the cohesion of the text focuses on the use of functional words,such as PD.However,Chinese is a paratactic language;the cohesion of the text is implied in the context,hence functional words like PD could be omitted by EFL learners most of the time.By investigating the written output of PD by Navigation Majors,and exploring the possible factors behind the errors,this paper offers a brand-new perspective of viewing discourse cohesion.In addition,some feasible suggestions in pedagogical implications and learning are put forward for students to avoid misuse of PDs.