The functional roles of lexical devices in second language learners’ encoding of temporality: A study of Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners
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Li Ma
,
Gita Martohardjono
Abstract
The present study investigates the functional roles of two lexical devices, past-time temporal adverbials and frequency adverbs, in Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners’ encoding of temporality in their English interlanguage. The results of the present study indicate that past-time temporal adverbials are facilitative in Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners’ encoding of past time. Meanwhile, the existence/absence of the matrix agreement, which is a linguistic device that has not been discussed in previous studies, may also lead to learners’ different reactions. The results of the present study also show that the introduction of frequency adverbs is associated with a higher usage rate of the present tense and causes more difficulty in a past tense context. This association is found to exist not only in learners’ data, but also in English native speakers’ data. The present study contributes to our understanding of the development of second language learners’ expression of temporal locations and relations.
Appendix: Sample passages in the cloze test
1. Mary had an appointment with Dr Smith whom her health insurance plan covers as an in-network doctor. Mary _____________ (to visit) Dr Smith because of her ear infection.
2. The man gave a speech which contains long, boring explanations for simple questions. Helen often _____________ (to interrupt) the man with harsh questions.
3. John moved into his new apartment which has a shiny wood floor. John _____________ (to wipe) the floor with a new mop last night.
4. Mary has an appointment with Dr Smith who cured her heart disease. Dr Smith _____________ (to charge) lower price for patients without health insurance.
5. Mary loves this singer who became famous in the 1990’s. She _____________ (to wait) for five hours outside of his hotel for his signature.
6. John carries his girlfriend who fell off the horse on his back. The horse often _____________ (to injure) inexperienced horse riders.
7. Peter attends the music school where he received $5,000 financial aid. Peter _____________ (to practice) singing the new song ten times yesterday.
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© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- A double-edged sword: Metaphor and metonymy through pictures for learning idioms
- The functional roles of lexical devices in second language learners’ encoding of temporality: A study of Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners
- The same cloze for all occasions?
- The effect of written text on comprehension of spoken English as a foreign language: A replication study
- Cut-offs and co-occurring gestures: Similarities between speakers’ first and second languages
- Bilingual patterns of path encoding: A study of Polish L1-German L2 and Polish L1-Spanish L2 speakers
- Concordancing in writing pedagogy and CAF measures of writing
- D-linked and non-d-linked wh-questions in L2 French and L3 English
- Effects of pragmatic instruction on EFL teenagers’ apologetic email writing: Comprehension, production, and cognitive processes
- Music training and the use of songs or rhythm: Do they help for lexical stress processing?
- Second language processing of English past tense morphology: The role of working memory
- Recasts versus clarification requests: The relevance of linguistic target, proficiency, and communicative ability
- The role of self-construal in EFL vocabulary learning
- The cross-sectional development of verb–noun collocations as constructions in L2 writing
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- A double-edged sword: Metaphor and metonymy through pictures for learning idioms
- The functional roles of lexical devices in second language learners’ encoding of temporality: A study of Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners
- The same cloze for all occasions?
- The effect of written text on comprehension of spoken English as a foreign language: A replication study
- Cut-offs and co-occurring gestures: Similarities between speakers’ first and second languages
- Bilingual patterns of path encoding: A study of Polish L1-German L2 and Polish L1-Spanish L2 speakers
- Concordancing in writing pedagogy and CAF measures of writing
- D-linked and non-d-linked wh-questions in L2 French and L3 English
- Effects of pragmatic instruction on EFL teenagers’ apologetic email writing: Comprehension, production, and cognitive processes
- Music training and the use of songs or rhythm: Do they help for lexical stress processing?
- Second language processing of English past tense morphology: The role of working memory
- Recasts versus clarification requests: The relevance of linguistic target, proficiency, and communicative ability
- The role of self-construal in EFL vocabulary learning
- The cross-sectional development of verb–noun collocations as constructions in L2 writing
