ERIC Number: EJ805514
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jun
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1094-3501
EISSN: N/A
Raising Students' Awareness of Cross-Cultural Contrastive Rhetoric in English Writing via an E-Learning Course
Xing, Minjie; Wang, Jinghui; Spencer, Kenneth
Language Learning & Technology, v12 n2 p71-93 Jun 2008
This study investigated the potential impact of e-learning on raising overseas students' cultural awareness and explored the possibility of creating an interactive learning environment for them to improve their English academic writing. The study was based on a comparison of Chinese and English rhetoric in academic writing, including a comparison of Chinese students' writings in Chinese with native English speakers' writings in English and Chinese students' writings in English with the help of an e-course and Chinese students' writings in English without the help of an e-course. Five features of contrastive rhetoric were used as criteria for the comparison. The experimental results show that the group using the e-course was successful in learning about defined aspects of English rhetoric in academic writing, reaching a level of performance that equalled that of native English speakers. Data analysis also revealed that e-learning resources helped students to compare rhetorical styles across cultures and that the interactive learning environment was effective in improving overseas students' English academic writing. (Contains 13 tables and 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Rhetoric, Cultural Awareness, Data Analysis, Educational Environment, English (Second Language), Contrastive Linguistics, Second Language Learning, Educational Technology, Academic Discourse, Online Courses, Second Language Instruction, Questionnaires, Chinese, Foreign Countries
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center. 1859 East-West Road #106, Honolulu, HI 96822. Tel: 808-956-9424; Fax: 808-956-5983; e-mail: llt@hawaii.edu; Web site: http://llt.msu.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A