ERIC Number: EJ1361402
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2667-6753
Young Chinese EFL Learners' Referential Strategies in Written Chinese and English Narratives
Wu, Hao-yu
Language Teaching Research Quarterly, v30 p1-17 2022
A good command of referential skills has been seen as an effective indicator that reveals learners' discourse-related competence. However, in the realm of second language learning, a scant of attention has been paid to investigate L2 learners' referential skills in narratives. Therefore, the present study aims to address the gap through examining young Chinese EFL learners' abilities in using referential forms in English narratives. Three Chinese EFL fourth graders in Taiwan were asked to produce English and Chinese written narratives, elicited through a wordless picture book "Frog, Where Are You?" (Mayer, 1969). The results showed that the participants made few mistakes and achieved high level of appropriateness in the use of referential expressions in English narratives. It was also found that they used similar referential strategies across different discourse contexts in both English and Chinese narratives. It was suggested that their near-proficient performance regarding the referential skills may be attributed to the positive transfer from L1 to L2. However, the analysis of some mistakes by the participants also demonstrated that L2 overgeneralization played a role that hinders the participants' performance. Finally, implications for pedagogy and suggestions for future research are made.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Elementary School Students, Grade 4, Writing (Composition), Personal Narratives, Picture Books, Chinese, Communication Skills, Writing Skills, Form Classes (Languages)
European Knowledge Development (EUROKD). e-mail: editorial@eurokd.com; Web site: https://www.eurokd.com/journal/jd/1
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A