First language transfer in Chinese undergraduates’ use of connectors in English narratives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss2pp131-159Abstract
Background and Purpose: Connectors are vital tools for cohesive discourse, significantly influencing the writing proficiency of learners. In Chinese educational contexts, many learners grapple with the correct application of connectors, due to potential first language (L1) influence. Previous research primarily delves into lexical and syntactic aspects, overlooking discourse-level considerations. This study aims to assess the frequency and accuracy of connector usage in English narratives among Chinese learners. It also seeks to investigate the extent of language transfer concerning connectors among Chinese learners and discern how this transfer evolves as learners' second language (L2) proficiency advances.
Methodology: This study employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to analyze 150 English narratives written by 30 Chinese undergraduate English majors over two years. Data were collected through picture-elicited narrative writing tasks and retrospective journals, followed by qualitative coding of connector types using Halliday and Hasan's (1976) scheme and grammatical tagging. The qualitative analysis was complemented by quantitative frequency analysis to assess the accuracy, frequency, and patterns of first language transfer in connector usage.
Findings: The findings underscore temporal words as the most frequently employed connectors, closely trailed by additives and causal words. Notably, temporal words and adversatives exhibited higher accuracy when compared to other connector types. Positive transfer manifested more frequently than negative transfer. Moreover, positive transfer displayed a noticeable inflectional change across the five-time narratives, whereas little variation was observed in negative transfer.
Contributions: This study suggests that stakeholders, including educators, learners, and policymakers, should leverage positive transfer as a strategic resource when instructing connectors to enhance L2 writing proficiency.
Keywords: First language, language transfer, connector, narratives, Chinese undergraduates.
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