An Alignment-Based Approach to L2 Learning of Chinese Numeral Classifiers
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Chuming Wang
Chuming WANG is a professor at the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. His research interests include second language acquisition and teaching English as a foreign Language.
Wei HONG is an associate professor in the Department of Chinese at Sun Yat-sen University. His research interests include second language acquisition and processing, teaching Chinese as a second language.
Abstract
This study investigated the efficiency of learning the Chinese numeral classifiers by L2 Chinese learners by means of an alignment-oriented task. Participants were a total of 96 intermediate learners of L2 Chinese, who were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group, with each group consisting of 32 participants. The continuation task used in this study consisted of a picture-based Chinese text depicting a room with an array of objects, which necessitates the use of classifiers. The two experimental groups were both required to first read the text and then write to describe their own rooms in comparison with the one in the text. One group was instructed to use the classifiers from the text as much as possible in their writing, whereas the other was not required to do so. Participants in the control group were first given the picture to look at in the absence of the text and then asked to describe their own rooms. The results showed that the continuation task significantly enhanced participants’ retention of the Chinese numeral classifiers, suggesting that the alignment-based approach is an effective way to learn difficult linguistic categories such as the Chinese classifiers.
About the authors
Chuming WANG is a professor at the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. His research interests include second language acquisition and teaching English as a foreign Language.
Wei HONG is an associate professor in the Department of Chinese at Sun Yat-sen University. His research interests include second language acquisition and processing, teaching Chinese as a second language.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the MOE Project of the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, as well as by the Guangdong Foundation of Social Sciences project (Grant No. GD20CWY14).
左面的图画是玛丽的房间。请用20 分钟时间一边看图画，一边读下面的短文。读的时候请注意文中的量词。20 分钟后请接着短文描写你自己家里的房间，写得越长越好。请注意：写的时候要用短文里面的各种量词，用得越多越好。不会写的字可以写拼音。写作的时间是40 分钟。
这是玛丽的房间。她的房间里有一扇（shàn） 窗。窗的旁边挂着一面镜子和一条毛巾，镜子前面的桌子上放着一盆（pén）花和一瓶水。
房间的左边是一张大床，床上放着一个枕头、一床被子和一些脏衣服。床的旁边放着一盏（zhǎn）灯，灯的旁边放着一盘（pán）水果和一卷（juǎn）纸。
床的对面是玛丽学习用的桌子。桌子上放着一台电脑、一支笔、一包饼干、一杯咖啡和一串钥匙。桌子旁边的柜子里放着几双鞋，有运动鞋、皮鞋、高跟鞋……柜子上面是和一块手表。因为最近常常下雨，所以玛丽在柜子的旁边放了一把雨伞。
玛丽房间的墙上也有不少东西。除了镜子以外，左边和右边的墙上还分别挂着一幅（fú）画和一部电视机。她的房间没有放衣服的柜子，所以衣服挂在墙上，你看，电视机旁边就挂着一件衣服和一顶（dǐng）帽子。
对了，她还有一只可爱的小猫呢！玛丽有时喜欢坐在地上抱着小猫，一边看书一边吃东西。你看，房间的地上还放着一堆（duī）书和一盒（hé）巧克力呢！
过渡段：
玛丽的房间让我想到自己家里的房间，那里更舒适。我的房间里也有很多东西，但是摆放的位置与玛丽的不同。
© 2021 FLTRP, Walter de Gruyter, Cultural and Education Section British Embassy
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The Xu-Based Approach to Second Language Learning
- From Xu to the Development of L2 Interactional Competence: A Conversation Analytic Case Study
- L2 Syntactic Alignment in the Reading-Writing Integrated Continuation Task: Evidence From Chinese EFL Learners’ Description of Motion Events
- Effect of Interaction Intensity on Alignment and EFL Learners’ Oral Production in the Reading-Speaking Integrated Continuation Task
- An Alignment-Based Approach to L2 Learning of Chinese Numeral Classifiers
- Creative Imitation: An Answer to the Fundamental Issue of L2 Learning
- Investigating the Use of Translation Continuation Tasks in Commercial Translation Teaching: A Study on Translating User Manuals
- The Construct of the Story Continuation Writing Task: Insights From the China’s Standards of English Language Ability
- A Quantitative and Network Approach to Alignment Effects in L2 Continuation Tasks
- Effects of Reading-Listening Integrated Dictation on Chinese EFL Students’ Listening Performance
- Abstracts
- Chinese Abstracts
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The Xu-Based Approach to Second Language Learning
- From Xu to the Development of L2 Interactional Competence: A Conversation Analytic Case Study
- L2 Syntactic Alignment in the Reading-Writing Integrated Continuation Task: Evidence From Chinese EFL Learners’ Description of Motion Events
- Effect of Interaction Intensity on Alignment and EFL Learners’ Oral Production in the Reading-Speaking Integrated Continuation Task
- An Alignment-Based Approach to L2 Learning of Chinese Numeral Classifiers
- Creative Imitation: An Answer to the Fundamental Issue of L2 Learning
- Investigating the Use of Translation Continuation Tasks in Commercial Translation Teaching: A Study on Translating User Manuals
- The Construct of the Story Continuation Writing Task: Insights From the China’s Standards of English Language Ability
- A Quantitative and Network Approach to Alignment Effects in L2 Continuation Tasks
- Effects of Reading-Listening Integrated Dictation on Chinese EFL Students’ Listening Performance
- Abstracts
- Chinese Abstracts
