ERIC Number: EJ1075173
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1916-4742
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Survey on College English Writing in China: A Cultural Perspective
Ren, Junhong; Wang, Na
English Language Teaching, v8 n1 p21-30 2015
This survey investigates to what degree the Chinese learners know about the discrepancies between Chinese and English thought patterns and their possible effects on English writing. Eighty-one students from North China Electric Power University participate in the survey. Qualitative and quantities approaches, involving the adoption of both questionnaire and data analysis, underpin the survey. A questionnaire is used to examine five constructs, namely, students' writing condition, students' knowledge about discrepancies of the Chinese and English thought patterns and their effect on Chinese learners' English writing in terms of wording, sentence structure and discourse organization. Data collected from the questionnaires are then analyzed. Findings from the study reveal that a vast majority of Chinese students are surprisingly not fully aware of the important influence thought patterns exert on languages and how discrepancies in thought patterns are associated with differences in languages. As a consequence of this, their English essays preserve some features of Chinese despite years of English learning. The results of the study contribute to a good understanding of the Chinese learners' current writing condition in EFL teaching. Suggestions to alter this undesirable situation are put forward.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Surveys, English (Second Language), College Students, Questionnaires, Qualitative Research, Statistical Analysis, Writing (Composition), Knowledge Level, Language Proficiency, Language Usage, Grammar, Essays, Second Language Instruction, Cognitive Processes, Asian Culture, Cultural Influences, Language Patterns
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A