Situation-bound utterances in Chinese as a foreign language: the effectiveness of the identification task
-
Sergio Conti
Sergio Conti is currently an adjunct professor of Chinese language at Roma Tre University (Italy), Siena University (Italy), and the University of Naples “L'Orientale”. He obtained his Ph.D. degree (with honors) at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), discussing an experimental thesis on Chinese idiom teaching. In 2019-2020, he was temporary research fellow at Roma Tre University. His research interests lie in the area of Chinese acquisition and teaching, with particular regard to formulaicity, vocabulary, and pragmatic competence.
and
Carmen Lepadat
Carmen Lepadat is a Ph.D. candidate at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), with a research project on right dislocations in spoken Chinese. She obtained her master’s degree (with honors) at Roma Tre University (Italy), discussing a thesis on the Chinese modal particle
ma 嘛. Her research interests include Chinese pragmatics, information structure and modality, and language modeling.
Abstract
This paper investigates the effectiveness of the identification task on the retention of situation-bound utterances (SBUs) in Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). The participants were Italian CFL learners with different lengths of learning experience, divided into an experimental and a control group. The target SBUs were selected by means of a discourse completion questionnaire previously submitted to Italian and Chinese native speakers and Italian CFL learners. During the treatment, the experimental group was provided with six communicative functions and was asked to identify the corresponding SBUs from eight short dialogues. Subsequently, a posttest was administered to both the experimental and the control groups. Overall, the statistical analysis of the test results suggests a significant effect of the task on the participants’ ability to recall the target SBUs, both from an immediate and a longitudinal perspective. However, the data also suggest that, while the participants’ length of learning experience and minor linguistic or cultural specificities of the target formulae did not significantly influence the effectiveness of this specific vocabulary learning task, the presence vs. absence of the SBUs in either the L1 or the L2 might be a crucial factor for their successful recall.
提要
本文探讨了一个词汇学习任务——识别任务在对外汉语中对于情境专用语(situation-bound utterances, 简称SBU)记忆的有效性。参加实验的为本科二至三年级的意大利汉语学习者,分为实验组和对照组。目标SBU是通过之前提交给意大利语母语者、汉语母语者及意大利汉语学习者的言谈情境填充问卷 (discourse completion questionnaire)来选取的。在实验处理的过程中,实验组被提供了6个特定情境,并被要求从8个短对话中找出相应的SBU。随后,我们对实验组和对照组都进行了两次后测。测试结果的统计分析表明,无论从即时角度还是从纵向角度来看,该任务对参与者回忆目标SBU的能力都有显著影响。数据也表明,参与者的学习时间长短或目标SBU的语种特殊性 (linguistic specificity)对这一特定词汇学习任务的效力没有显著影响,L1或 L2中某种SBU存在与否,即文化特殊性(cultural specificity),可能才是学习者能够成功地回忆出该SBU的关键因素。
About the authors
Sergio Conti is currently an adjunct professor of Chinese language at Roma Tre University (Italy), Siena University (Italy), and the University of Naples “L'Orientale”. He obtained his Ph.D. degree (with honors) at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), discussing an experimental thesis on Chinese idiom teaching. In 2019-2020, he was temporary research fellow at Roma Tre University. His research interests lie in the area of Chinese acquisition and teaching, with particular regard to formulaicity, vocabulary, and pragmatic competence.
Carmen Lepadat is a Ph.D. candidate at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), with a research project on right dislocations in spoken Chinese. She obtained her master’s degree (with honors) at Roma Tre University (Italy), discussing a thesis on the Chinese modal particle ma 嘛. Her research interests include Chinese pragmatics, information structure and modality, and language modeling.
Note: This paper is the result of the close collaboration between the authors. In particular, Sergio Conti takes responsibility for Sections 1, 2, 5, and 6, whereas Carmen Lepadat takes responsibility for Sections 3 and 4.
(Translated from Italian) Read the dialogues and find the expressions used in the following situations:
Greet a friend that you haven’t met for a long time: ______________________
Ask a stranger for a lighter: ___________________________________________
Apologize for answering the phone: ___________________________________
Ask if a seat is available: _____________________________________________
Greet a friend who is leaving when outside: ____________________________
Tell someone that they called the wrong number: ________________________
| 在开会中 During a meeting | |
| A: | 大家还有什么意见吗 ? |
| B: | 我想, 下个星期的活动…… |
| C: | 不好意思,我接个电话。 |
| A: | 好, 你接吧。 |
| B: | 开会还接电话, 太没礼貌了! |
| A: | 也没什么, 有可能是很重要的电话。 |
| C: | 好消息好消息啊! 我当爷爷了! |
| 在咖啡馆 At the cafeteria | |
| A: | 人太多了, 没位子,我们换一个地方吧。 |
| B: | 哦,你看,那边有空椅子, 你过去问问。 |
| A: | 您好,请问这儿有人吗 ? |
| C: | 没有。 |
| A: | 我可以拿走吗 ? |
| C: | 可以啊 |
| A: | 谢谢 ! |
| 给老师打电话 Calling a teacher on the phone: | |
| A: | 喂 ? |
| B: | 喂, 您好,请问是王老师吗 ? |
| A: | 我就是。 |
| B: | 我是您的学生谢志。 |
| A: | 谢志,你好, 你找我有什么事吗 ? |
| B: | 我有点不舒服, 想请一天假,可以吗 ? |
| A: | 好的, 那你好好休息。 |
| 在路上 In the street | |
| A: | 你是不是小李 ? |
| B: | 是啊, 你是小王吧?好久不见了! |
| A: | 真高兴再见到你!你最近好吗 ? |
| B: | 还好, 你呢 ? |
| A: | 不错, 我考上博士了! |
| B: | 太好了, 恭喜你 ! |
| A: | 谢谢 ! |
| 在餐馆外面 Outside the restaurant | |
| A: | 谢谢你请我吃饭。 |
| B: | 不客气 ! |
| A: | 下次我请。 |
| B: | 不用了! |
| A: | 好吧好吧, 天不早了, 我先回家了。 |
| B: | 那行, 你回去吧 !路上注意安全 ! |
| A: | 下次见, 拜拜。 |
| 在机场 At the airport | |
| A: | 小李 ! |
| B: | 小王, 你终于到了!怎么样, 累不累? |
| A: | 不累不累。 |
| B: | 飞了一天还不 累? |
| A: | 真的不累, 我在飞机上睡得很好。 |
| B: | 哈哈, 好吧!来, 我帮你拿行李吧 ! |
| A: | 不用啦 ! |
| 在电话中 On the phone | |
| A: | 喂, 是中意中心吗 ? |
| B: | 不好意思, 您打错了。 |
| A: | 哦,是吗 ?我打的是059122865387。 |
| B: | 不是, 我这里是159122865387。 |
| A: | 哦,真抱歉, 打扰了。 |
| A: | 没关系, 再见! |
| B: | 再见 ! |
| 在外面 Outside | |
| A: | 怎么了? |
| B: | 我又忘带打火机了! |
| A: | 你呀!那边有人在抽烟, 你去找人家借一下吧。 |
| B: | 朋友, 能借个火吗 ? |
| C: | 当然, 给。 |
| B: | 谢谢 ! |
| C: | 不客气。 |
References
Beebe, Leslie M. & Martha C. Cummings. 1996. Natural speech act data versus written questionnaire data: How data collection method affects speech act performance. In Susan Gass & Joyce Neu (eds.), Speech acts across cultures, 65–86. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110219289.1.65Search in Google Scholar
Bell, Nancy. 2012. Formulaic language, creativity, and language play in a second language. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 32. 189–205. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0267190512000013.Search in Google Scholar
Bi, Xiaofang & Chunhong Shi. 2013. Yukuai de xingzhi ji hanyu yukuai xitong de cengji guanxi [The nature of chunks and the gerarchical relationships in the system of Chinese chunks]. Dangdai Xiucixue 3. 32–46.Search in Google Scholar
Boers, Frank. 2001. Remembering figurative idioms by hypothesising about their origin. Prospect 16(3). 35–43.Search in Google Scholar
Boers, Frank & Murielle Demecheleer. 2001. Measuring the impact of cross-cultural differences on learners’ comprehension of imageable idioms. ELT Journal 55(3). 255–262. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/55.3.255.Search in Google Scholar
Boers, Frank & Seth Lindstromberg. 2005. Finding ways to make phrase-learning feasible: The mnemonic effect of alliteration. System 33. 225–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2004.12.007.Search in Google Scholar
Boers, Frank & Seth Lindstromberg. 2012. Experimental and intervention studies on formulaic sequences in a second language. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 32. 83–110. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0267190512000050.Search in Google Scholar
Boers, Frank, Murielle Demecheleer & June Eyckmans. 2004. Etymological elaboration as a strategy for learning idioms. In Bogaards Paul & Batia Laufer (eds.), Vocabulary in a second language, 53–78. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/lllt.10.07boeSearch in Google Scholar
Boers, Frank, June Eyckmans, Jenny Kappel, Hélène Stengers & Murielle Demecheleer. 2006. Formulaic sequences and perceived oral proficiency: Putting a lexical approach to the test. Language Teaching Research 10(3). 245–261. https://doi.org/10.1191/1362168806lr195oa.Search in Google Scholar
Boers, Frank, Seth Lindstromberg & June Eyckmans. 2012. Are alliterative word combinations comparatively easy to remember for adult learners? RELC Journal 43(1). 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688212439997.Search in Google Scholar
Conklin, Kathy & Norbert Schmitt. 2008. Formulaic sequences: Are they processed more quickly than nonformulaic language by native and nonnative speakers? Applied Linguistics 29(1). 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm022.Search in Google Scholar
Conti, Sergio. 2019. Chengyu. Caratteristiche e apprenndimento delle espressioni idiomatiche cinesi [Chengyu. Characteristics and learning of Chinese idioms]. Padua: libreriauniversitaria.it Edizioni.Search in Google Scholar
Conti, Sergio. 2020. Etymological elaboration in chengyu 成语 teaching: The role of opacity, type of instruction, and competence level. Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie Orientale 56. 411–438.10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2020/56/016Search in Google Scholar
Conti, Sergio & Carmen Lepadat. In preparation. Situation-bound utterances in italiano e in cinese: un cofronto tra parlanti nativi e apprendenti italofoni [Situation-bound utterances in Italian and Chinese: comparing native speakers and Italian learners]. In Chiara, Romagnoli & Sergio Conti (eds.), Didattica e acquisizione del cinese in Italia, Rome: Roma TrE-Press.Search in Google Scholar
Conti, Sergio & Carmen Lepadat. n.d. Discourse Completion Test (IT/中/EN). CFL Research Network. https://www.cflnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/test-conti-lepadat.pdf (accessed 15 July 2020).Search in Google Scholar
Dohrenwend, Barbara S. 1965. Some effects of open and closed questions on respondents’ awareness. Human Organization 24. 175–184. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.24.2.u5838w33858455u3.Search in Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2007. Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Durrant, Philip & Norbert Schmitt. 2010. Adult learners’ retention of collocations from exposure. Second Language Research 26. 163–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658309349431.Search in Google Scholar
Field, Andy, Jeremy Miles & Zoë Field. 2012. Discovering statistics using R. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.Search in Google Scholar
Jiang, Nan & Tatiana M. Nekrasova. 2007. The processing of formulaic sequences by second language speakers. The Modern Language Journal 91(3). 433–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00589.x.Search in Google Scholar
Jones, Martha & Sandra Haywood. 2004. Facilitating the acquisition of formulaic sequences: An exploratory study in an EAP context. In Norbert Schmitt (ed.), Formulaic sequences: Acquisition, processing and use, 269–300. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.10.1075/lllt.9.14jonSearch in Google Scholar
Kecskés, Istvan. 2000a. A cognitive-pragmatic approach to situation-bound utterances. Journal of Pragmatics 32. 605–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-2166(99)00063-6.Search in Google Scholar
Kecskés, Istvan. 2000b. Conceptual fluency and the use of situation-bound utterances in L2. Links & Letters 7. 145–161.Search in Google Scholar
Kecskés, Istvan. 2003. Situation-bound utterances in L1 and L2. Berlin: De Gruyter.10.1515/9783110894035Search in Google Scholar
Kecskés, Istvan. 2010. Situation-bound utterances as pragmatic acts. Journal of Pragmatics 42. 2889–2897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.06.008.Search in Google Scholar
Kecskés, Istvan. 2014. The evaluative function of situation-bound utterances in intercultural interaction. In Geoff Thompson & Laura Alba-Juez (eds.), Evaluation in context, 137–151. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/pbns.242.07kecSearch in Google Scholar
Kecskés, Istvan. 2016. Situation-bound utterances in Chinese. East Asian Pragmatics 1(1). 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.v1i1.29098.Search in Google Scholar
Kwon, Jihyun. 2004. Expressing refusals in Korean and in American English. Multilingua 23. 339–364. https://doi.org/10.1515/mult.2004.23.4.339.Search in Google Scholar
Labben, Afef. 2016. Reconsidering the development of the discourse completion test in interlanguage pragmatics. Pragmatics 26(1). 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.26.1.04lab.Search in Google Scholar
Laufer, Batia & Nany Girsai. 2008. Form-focused instruction in second language vocabulary learning: A case for contrastive analysis and translation. Applied Linguistics 29(4). 694–716. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amn018.Search in Google Scholar
Li, Hui. 2013. Jiyu guanlian leixing de hanyu yukuai fenlei tixi tantao [A study of Chinese language chunks classification system based on correlation type]. Xihua Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Zhexue Shehui Kexue ban) 2. 99–103.Search in Google Scholar
Lindstromberg, Seth & Frank Boers. 2008a. The mnemonic effect of noticing alliteration in lexical chunks. Applied Linguistics 29(2). 200–222. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amn007.Search in Google Scholar
Lindstromberg, Seth & Frank Boers. 2008b. Phonemic repetition and the learning of lexical chunks: The power of assonance. System 36. 423–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2008.01.002.Search in Google Scholar
Liu, Dilin. 2008. Idioms: Description, comprehension, acquisition, and pedagogy. New York & London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Mair, Patrick & Rand Wilcox. 2019. Robust statistical methods in R using the WRS2 package. Behaviour Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-019-01246-w (accessed 15 July 2020).Search in Google Scholar
Pang, Yang. 2020. The cognitive saliency of word associations of verbs of speech in English as a Lingua Franca interactions. Intercultural Pragmatics 17(4). 417–443. https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2020-4002.Search in Google Scholar
Pawley, Andrew & Francis H. Syder. 1983. Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Nativelike selection and nativelike fluency. In Jack C. Richards & Richard W. Schmidt (eds.), Language and communication, 191–226. New York: Longman.Search in Google Scholar
Pellicer-Sánchez, Ana & Frank Boers. 2019. Pedagogical approaches to the teaching and learning of formulaic language. In Anna Siyanova-Chanturia & Ana Pellicer-Sánchez (eds.), Understanding formulaic language: A second language acquisition perspective, 153–173. New York & Abingdon: Routledge.10.4324/9781315206615-9Search in Google Scholar
Peters, Elke. 2012. Learning German formulaic sequences: The effect of two attention-drawing techniques. The Language Learning Journal 40(1). 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2012.658224.Search in Google Scholar
Phakiti, Aek. 2014. Experimental research methods in language learning. London & New York: Bloomsbury.Search in Google Scholar
Riazi, A. Mehdi. 2016. The Routledge encyclopedia of research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research. Abingdon & New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781315656762Search in Google Scholar
Schmitt, Norbert. 2000. Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Schmitt, Norbert. 2010. Researching vocabulary: A vocabulary research manual. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1057/9780230293977Search in Google Scholar
Sinclair, John. 1991. Corpus, concordance, collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna & Ana Pellicer-Sánchez. 2019. Understanding formulaic language: A second language acquisition perspective. New York & Abingdon: Routledge.10.4324/9781315206615Search in Google Scholar
Stengers, Hélène, Frank Boers, Alex Housen & June Eyckmans. 2010. Does “chunking” foster chunk-update? In Sabine De Knop, Frank Boers & Antoon De Rycker (eds.), Fostering language teaching efficiently through cognitive linguistics, 99–117. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110245837.99Search in Google Scholar
Sun, Weizhang. 1989. Hanyu Shuyuxue [Chinese phraseology]. Changchun: Jilin Jiaoyu Chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar
Taguchi, Naoko, Shuai Li & Feng Xiao. 2013. Production of formulaic expressions in L2 Chinese: A developmental investigation in a study abroad context. Chinese as a Second Language Research 2(1). 23–58. https://doi.org/10.1515/caslar-2013-0021.Search in Google Scholar
Wilcox, Rand R. & Tian S. Tian. 2011. Measuring effect size: A robust heteroscedastic approach for two or more groups. Journal of Applied Statistics 38(7). 1359–1368. https://doi.org/10.1080/02664763.2010.498507.Search in Google Scholar
Wray, Alison. 2000. Formulaic sequences in second language teaching: Principles and practice. Applied Linguistics 21(4). 463–489. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/21.4.463.Search in Google Scholar
Wray, Alison. 2002. Formulaic language and the lexicon. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511519772Search in Google Scholar
Wray, Alison & Michael R. Perkins. 2000. The functions of formulaic language: An integrated model. Language & Communication 20. 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0271-5309(99)00015-4.Search in Google Scholar
Yang, Jiang. 2016. CFL learners’ recognition and production of pragmatic routine formulae. Chinese as a Second Language 51(1). 29–61. https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.51.1.02yan.Search in Google Scholar
Yeh, Shu-Han. 2016. The teachability of situation-bound utterances in modern Chinese as a foreign language context. New York: State University of New York at Albany Ph.D. thesis.10.1515/caslar-2016-0008Search in Google Scholar
Yin, Jiping. 2013. Jin nian lai yukuai yanjiu zai Zhongguo de fazhan, wenti yu quxiang: Jiyu CSSCI kanwu de wenxian fenxi [Development, issues and tendencies of recent researches of language chunks in China – A survey of the CSSCI journal articles]. Kunming Ligong Daxue Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban) 13(6). 102–108.Search in Google Scholar
Zhou, Honghui. 2012. A study of situation-bound utterances in Modern Chinese. Chinese as a Second Language Research 1(1). 55–86. https://doi.org/10.1515/caslar-2012-0004.Search in Google Scholar
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Situation-bound utterances in Chinese as a foreign language: the effectiveness of the identification task
- CFL learners’ Mandarin syllable-tone word production: effects of task and prior phonological and lexical learning
- Input enhancement improved L2 learners’ production of Chinese classifiers
- 句對閱讀中的連貫作用
- 汉语国际教育专业硕士语法教学能力评价: 基于对五位汉硕生趋向补语教学视频的剖析
- 香港大专生普通话学习中“了”的偏误分析: 对体习得普遍趋势和多语教学的启示
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Situation-bound utterances in Chinese as a foreign language: the effectiveness of the identification task
- CFL learners’ Mandarin syllable-tone word production: effects of task and prior phonological and lexical learning
- Input enhancement improved L2 learners’ production of Chinese classifiers
- 句對閱讀中的連貫作用
- 汉语国际教育专业硕士语法教学能力评价: 基于对五位汉硕生趋向补语教学视频的剖析
- 香港大专生普通话学习中“了”的偏误分析: 对体习得普遍趋势和多语教学的启示
