Creative Imitation: An Answer to the Fundamental Issue of L2 Learning
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Xiao Zhou
Xiao ZHOU is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Guangdong University of Technology. She received her PhD from the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. Her research interests include the continuation task, alignment and L2 writing.
Abstract
This paper reports on a study on the effects of reading-writing integrated tasks on vocabulary learning and explored the differential roles of creative construction and non-creative construction in promoting lexical learning. Participants were 90 first-year English majors, randomly assigned to two experimental groups (continuation and retelling) and one control group, with 30 students in each group. Results showed that the continuation group generated a substantial amount of creative construction and produced significantly more instances of creative imitation than the retelling group. The continuation group outperformed the retelling group for both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge gain and retention, but differences were only significant in terms of productive vocabulary retention. Finally, productive vocabulary knowledge retention among the continuation group was significantly and positively correlated with creative imitation (meaning creation coupled with language imitation), but not with linguistic alignment per se. As productive vocabulary knowledge constitutes the learner ’ s ability to use lexical knowledge to express ideas in dynamic contexts, the findings afforded evidence that creative imitation could be the answer to the fundamental issue of L2 learning (i.e., mapping static language onto dynamic idea expression). The pedagogical implications as well as future research directions are also discussed.
About the author
Xiao ZHOU is a lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Guangdong University of Technology. She received her PhD from the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. Her research interests include the continuation task, alignment and L2 writing.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a grant from the Department of Education of Guangdong Province (Effect of xu-argument on the development of writing abilities of top university students，Award reference: 粤教高函〔2018〕180 号). The author would like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this manuscript.
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© 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
