Guoxing Yu and Yan Jin (eds): Assessing Chinese Learners of English: Language Constructs, Consequences and Conundrums.

2016 ◽  
pp. amw036
Author(s):  
Jian Xu ◽  
Barley Mak
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Language Constructs ◽  
Chinese Learners Of English

scholarly journals Classification, analysis and prevention of phonetic mistakes made by Chinese learners of English language

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Polunina
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Classification Analysis ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Oral Speech ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Chinese Learners Of English

This article is intended for English language professors working with junior Chinese students. The publication is devoted to the classification, analysis and prevention of phonetic mistakes made by students from China. The author defines the concept of "error", highlights the typical types of errors, presents their classification in the speech of students from China, and also emphasizes the special importance of teaching them English phonetics. The purpose of the article is to prevent common mistakes in the spoken language of Chinese students, to identify the main reasons for mistakes, to correct and prevent them. The author compares two language systems – English and Chinese. The impact of language interference is substantiated in the article. Particular focus is put on the task faced by the professor – to provide students with practical assistance in the development of their oral speech skills in the English language.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Pronunciation among Chinese Learners of English from Malaysia and China: The Case of Voiceless Dental Fricatives /θ/ and Alveolar Liquids /r/

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Hilmi Hamzah ◽  
Aini Ahmad ◽  
Mohd Hasren Yusuf
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Target Sound ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Chinese Learners Of English

This study took up a socio-phonetic investigation among Chinese learners of English by comparing English pronunciation produced by Chinese learners from two different countries: (1) Malaysia and (2) China. Two segmental sounds in English were chosen for comparison: (1) voiceless dental fricatives /θ/ and (2) alveolar liquids /r/; these sounds were known to be problematic for both groups of learners. The key motivation was to explore the extent to which these two groups of English learners behaved differently in terms of the selected sounds, given the differences in their nationalities, language exposure and social backgrounds. Production data were gathered from 10 Chinese learners each from Malaysia and China. They were all undergraduate students at Universiti Utara Malaysia. Two types of reading materials were used to elicit the data: (1) discreet items (i.e., an English wordlist each for /θ/ and /r/) and (2) connected speech (i.e., an English poem each for /θ/ and /r/). The data were auditorily analysed by three evaluators using a likert-scale evaluation form. The findings show that the Chinese learners from Malaysia were able to produce the /θ/ tokens more successfully as compared to those from China, particularly in the connected texts. Those who failed to produce the target sound substituted it with /t/ (for the learners from Malaysia) and /s/ or /z/ (for the learners from China). As for the /r/ tokens, it was found that both groups of learners could produce the target sound correctly across both reading materials; only a few of them substituted /r/ with /l/. The study highlights the importance of understanding the difficulties faced by specific groups of learners when mastering English pronunciation for different purposes. It also calls for further experimental research in language instructions that can effectively cater the needs of English language learners with diverse backgrounds.

Transfer and unlearning of topic prominence by Chinese learners of English

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Chang ◽  
Lilong Xu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
English Only ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Topic Constructions ◽  
Chinese Learners Of English

Abstract Chinese allows both gapped and gapless topic constructions without their usage being restricted to specific contexts, while English only allows gapped topic constructions which are used in certain contexts. In other words, Chinese uses ‘topic prominence’, whereas English does not. The contrast between English and Chinese topic constructions poses a learnability problem for Chinese learners of English. This paper uses an empirical study investigating first language (L1) transfer in the case of Chinese learners of English and the extent to which they are able to unlearn topic prominence as they progress in second language (L2) English. Results of an acceptability judgment test indicate that Chinese learners of English initially transfer Chinese topic prominence into their English, then gradually unlearn Chinese topic prominence as their English proficiency improves, and finally unlearn Chinese topic prominence successfully. The results support the Full Transfer Theory (Schwartz, Bonnie & Rex Sprouse. 1996. L2 cognitive states and the Full Transfer/Full Access model. Second Language Research 12. 40–72) and the Variational Learning Model (Yang, Charles. 2004. Universal Grammar, statistics or both? Trends in Cognitive Sciences 8. 451–456), but contradict the proposal that the topic prominence can never be transferred but may be unlearned from the beginning in Chinese speakers’ acquisition of English (Zheng, Chao. 2001. Nominal Constructions Beyond IP and Their Initial Restructuring in L2 Acquisition. Guangzhou: Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Ph.D. dissertation). In addition, the type of topic constructions that is used and whether or not a comma is added after the topic have an effect on learners’ transfer and unlearning of topic prominence. It is proposed that the specification of Agr(eement) and T(ense) as well as the presence of expletive subjects in English input can trigger the unlearning of topic prominence for Chinese learners of English.

scholarly journals Becoming Global Citizens through Bilingualism: English Learning in the Lives of University Students in China

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangguang Chen
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
World Language ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
The World ◽  
English Classroom ◽  
L1 And L2

The ongoing globalisation has led to a tremendous expansion of the English language. With China striving to become part of the world economy since the late 1970's, there has been a great emphasis placed on the education of young people to become a world citizen with fluent English. “Being a global citizen” is having strong interests in global issues, cultivating the understanding and appreciation of diverse values, and enhancing country's competitiveness. All this however needs to be realized through communication in English, the world language. Improving communicative competence among Chinese learners of English depends on how English is learnt in the FL classroom and how it gets practiced outside the classroom. Data drawn from English corners, English clubs and English church all show that those informal learning settings have a complentary role to play especially when the formal English classroom is found having various deficits. Data also confirm that informal settings offer the opportunity to close the gap between L1 and L2 learning processes, and nurtutre learners' communicative competence through social intercourse and intercultural exchanges. Moreover, EFL learning is inherently intercultural, which facilitate cross cultural perspectives through bilingualism and bridges over the indigenous cultural traditions and the western democratic values.

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