Enhancing Middle School Students’ Discourse Competence in Efl Writing

论文摘要

本研究尝试采用系统功能语言学与体裁理论框架,以语篇特征为切入点研究以英语为第二语言写作。设计探索以下三个研究问题:(1)在学生写作中高效与相对低效的语篇特征;(2)在课堂教学中提高学生对语篇能力意识的有效方法;(3)语篇能力训练的效果。研究分析了来自广东省东莞市的两个初级中学的班级。研究对象为104个初中学生。这个项目检验了影响决定非本族语学习者成功英语书面表达的因素。来自研究提示了(1)具备语法正确率较高的学生并不一定可以得到理想的写作得分;(2)在对学生作文的评价中,缺乏连贯被认为是不成功作品的主要弱点;(3)评分人员在水平相当的写作上,较倾向以语篇特征为依归,而不是语法准确率,尤其体现在连贯问题上。研究的主要结果显示如下:(1)高效写作者比低效写作者更多使用元语言特征来表达意思,而且7种语言特征时常出现在学生作品中,文章连接和态度标记在作文中出现最多。它们的出现令作者更能表达他们的观点,而且把文章连成一个整体。(2)在语篇能力训练和学生写作成绩之间有一个相对显著的联系,尤其是衔接和连贯方面。然而,语法问题也在评价中有显著影响力。(3)运用语篇特征的能力在一定程度上对整体写作得分有影响。

论文目录

• Table of contents
• List of tables
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Abstract
• 摘要
• CHAPTERⅠ INTRODUCTION
• 1.1 Statement of the problem
• 1.2 Purpose of the study
• 1.3 Research questions
• 1.4 Methods of the study
• 1.5 Significance of the study
• 1.6 Organization of the thesis
• CHPATER Ⅱ LITERATURE
• 2.1 Background research on ESL/EFL students’ writing
• 2.1.1 Audio-lingual method on ESL/EFL compositions in 1970s and early 1980s
• 2.1.2 The Expressive and the Cognitive Schools
• 2.1.3 Contrastive rhetoric framework
• 2.2 Theoretical framework
• 2.2.1 The definition of discourse competence
• 2.2.2 Cohesion theory
• 2.2.2.1 The issue of meta-discourse features
• 2.2.2.2 On examining the writing quality
• 2.2.2.3 Implications of writing through coherence and cohesion analyses
• 2.2.2.4 Teaching coherence to EFL/ESL in writing classes
• 2.2.3 The genre theory
• 2.3 Reflection on the teaching of writing
• CHAPTER Ⅲ METHODOLOGY
• 3.1 Aim of the study
• 3.2 Subjects of study
• 3.3 Experiment procedures
• 3.4 Instruments
• 3.4.1 Qualitative analysis
• 3.4.2 Quantitative analysis
• 3.5 The Implementation of the experiment
• 3.5.1 Research priority of each phase
• 3.5.2 Setting for the final-examination
• CHAPTER Ⅳ ANALYSIS AND
• 4.1 Coherence in Chinese EFL students: the cause of deviation at the level of discourse
• 4.2 Enhancing students’awareness of meta-discourse features with teaching techniques
• 4.3 Teaching coherence in writing activities
• 4.4 Genre-based approach practice
• 4.5 Case study for writing with discourse features and genre-based knowledge
• 4.5.1 The case of Chen Baihong
• 4.5.2 The case of Li Yingfang
• 4.5.3 The case of Deng Guo’an
• 4.5.4 The case of Yang Xiaoyun
• 4.6 Data analysis of the students’ writing scores
• CHAPTER Ⅴ CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
• 5.1 Summary of the results for each research question
• 5.2 Implications for L2 writing research
• 5.3 Limitations of the study
• 5.4 Recommendation for further research
• Bibliography
• Appendix A
• Appendix B