The Influence of Chinese Rhetorical Patterns on EFL Writing: Learner Attitudes Towards This Influence
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Ji Kangli
Abstract
This paper explores the extent to which Chinese rhetorical patterns influence EFL writing, the reasons behind such an influence, and how Chinese EFL learners think about this influence. A multivariate method was used to achieve this purpose: discourse analysis, text-based interviews, a questionnaire, and an analysis of high school textbooks in China. The findings show that only one third of the 26 students who participated the study exhibited “circular” or “indirect” characteristics (Kaplan, Language Learning 16: 1-20, 1966), and, more interestingly, these characteristics were not directly influenced by the “eight-legged essay” pattern (Matalene, College English 7: 789-808, 1985) but rather derived from the modern Chinese prose. The learners held that it is beneficial to know English rhetorical structures, but it is also important to preserve Chinese writing conventions.
本文探讨母语修辞模式对中国学生英语写作的影响、其原因及学生对此的态度。调查手段包括语篇分析、访谈、问卷和初中语文课本分析。结果显示，只有三分之一学生作文存在论题滞后、衔接不当和离题等问题。这些影响不直接来自 “八股文” 等中国古代散文模式，而与中学语文课本中现代汉语散文的写作模式相关。受调查学生认为，了解英语写作规范很有益处。但同时保持中国人的写作习惯也十分重要。因为这种传统已经深入我们的血液，具有独特价值。
© 2011 Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press Co. Ltd., Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston and Cultural and Education Section British Embassy
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- Job Burnout of English Teachers in Secondary Schools in Western China
- The Use of Amplifiers in the Doctoral Dissertations of Chinese EFL Learners
- An Investigation into the L2 Mental Lexicon of Chinese English Learners by Means of Word Association
- The Influence of Chinese Rhetorical Patterns on EFL Writing: Learner Attitudes Towards This Influence
- An Investigation of Teacher and Learner Beliefs About English Teaching and Learning for Mongolian University Student
- A Contrastive Study of American and Chinese University Students' Complaining Strategies
- Chinese Abstracts
Articles in the same Issue
- Changes and Characteristics of EFL Teachers' Professional Identity: The Cases of Nine University Teachers
- Conceptions of Oral English Teaching: A Case Study of Teacher Cognition on Oral English Teaching and Classroom Practice
- Job Burnout of English Teachers in Secondary Schools in Western China
- The Use of Amplifiers in the Doctoral Dissertations of Chinese EFL Learners
- An Investigation into the L2 Mental Lexicon of Chinese English Learners by Means of Word Association
- The Influence of Chinese Rhetorical Patterns on EFL Writing: Learner Attitudes Towards This Influence
- An Investigation of Teacher and Learner Beliefs About English Teaching and Learning for Mongolian University Student
- A Contrastive Study of American and Chinese University Students' Complaining Strategies
- Chinese Abstracts
