高三英语学习者写作错误调查与分析

本文以错误分析理论为指导,对高三学生书面英语表达中出现的错误进行归类、统计、分析。研究结果显示：语法、词汇错误和中国式英语是学生书面表达中出现频率最多的三类错误。针对这一现状本文进一步讨论分析了错误诱因并提出有效的教学建议。     

The role of teacher’s corrective feedback in improving Iranian EFL learners’ writing accuracy over time: is learner’s mother tongue relevant?

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of feedback on writing accuracy over time and examine the relevance of the students’ mother tongue to the feedback effect. To this end, the study compared two groups of Iranian English majors (N = 56) over a period of four months: one with indirect grammar feedback and the other with no grammar feedback whatsoever. The results of the study did not show a significant effect for the teachers’ feedback. However, the results showed a main effect for practice and the interaction of practice and feedback as a result of which both groups improved their writing accuracy over the course of one semester, with the feedback group making more improvement. The results also showed significant differences between the two groups in reducing their errors in various grammatical categories. The study further revealed that the success ratio of error reduction in each category was highly sensitive to cross-linguistic differences. The students’ views, elicited after the study, support the findings obtained from the analysis of the quantitative data.     

Writing and reading knowledge of Spanish/English second-generation bilinguals

Written bilingualism represents a particular type of bilingualism that is not frequently approached. The aim of this study was to investigate the writing and reading abilities of second-generation immigrants, Spanish–English bilinguals in South Florida. 58 participants (36 females, 22 males; 18–39 years of age) were selected. Both parents were native Spanish speakers and the home language was Spanish; 37 were born in the United States and 21 were born in a Latin American country, but arrived to the US before the age of 10. Equivalent reading and writing tests were administered both in Spanish and English. Performance was significantly higher in English than in Spanish in the following tests: reading aloud (speed and errors), writing sentences, spontaneous writing number of words, and spontaneous writing errors (spelling and grammatical). When comparing those participants born in the US and abroad, no significant differences were found in Spanish, but in English; participants born in the US did better in reading aloud (errors), and spontaneous writing errors (spelling and grammatical). It was concluded that reading and writing abilities are in general higher in English than in Spanish in this group of bilinguals, which is correlated with the language used in the school they attended. This study emphasize the importance to analyze not only oral but also written bilingualism. Toward the future, it would be particularly important to study written bilingualism in other types of bilingualism.     

高职高专学生英语语法知识学习的现状分析与对策

采取与学生座谈和对学生作文语法错误进行调查的方式,探讨高职高专学生在英语学习方面出现的问题及其原因,在分析其原因的同时,提出了改变这种现状的对策。     

Use of predictive text in text messaging over the course of a year and its relationship with spelling,orthographic processing and grammar

An investigation into the impact of predictive text use upon the literacy skills of primary school, secondary school and university cohorts was conducted over the course of a year. No differences in use of text abbreviations (‘textisms’) were found between predictive text users and nonusers. However, secondary school children who used predictive text made more genuine spelling errors than nonusers. Predictive text was related to use of some specific grammatical violations in school‐age children's text messages but was not related overall to the tendency to make grammatical errors when texting. University students, however, made significantly fewer grammatical errors in their text messages when they used predictive text. Over the course of a year, predictive text use was variable for all age groups. Consistency of predictive text use was unrelated to grammatical understanding, spelling or orthographic processing for primary and secondary school cohorts. Predictive text use was negatively related to morphological awareness for adult participants.     

Speaking versus typing: a case-study of the effects of using voice-recognition software on academic correspondence

This paper contributes to the discussion about the effects of new technology on writing by assessing whether or not an experienced writer's style of writing changes when a new technology is introduced. 14 typed word-processed letters from ES to JH were compared with 14 dictated word-processed letters from ES after he had changed to using a voice-recognition system (Dragon Naturally Speaking). The results showed that, although there were large differences between the methods and experience of writing with the two technologies, there were no significant differences between the average letter lengths, numbers of paragraphs written and number of sentences used in each group of letters. Nor were there any significant differences in terms of readability, or typographical and grammatical errors. However, the dictated letters did have significantly shorter sentences, significantly fewer particularly long sentences (ie, those containing more than 50 words), and used the first-person pronoun more frequently. The overall results thus indicate that using the voice-recognition software had only marginal effects upon the written products, despite the fact that it had a strong effect on ES's experience of the writing process.     

Written language abilities in deaf Italians

Written texts produced by 10 Italian deaf native signers in four different writing tasks were analyzed. Data analysis focused on linguistic and orthographic nonstandard forms. The written production of deaf subjects with deaf parents (DD) was compared to the written production in two control groups: a group of 10 hearing subjects with deaf parents (HD) and a group of 10 subjects who have had no contact with deaf people or sign language (HH). The results duplicate findings from previous studies. Deaf subjects display a pattern of selective difficulty with Italian grammatical morphology, especially with free-standing function words. The four different writing tasks used in the present study yield results indicating that text type does influence our assessment of deaf writing abilities. A comparison of the texts written by deaf native signers with those of two hearing groups confirms the view that difficulties in the acquisition of written Italian are best explained by deafness itself, not by the influence of a previously acquired Sign Language, and that the specific difficulties with grammatical morphology displayed by our deaf subjects cannot be attributed solely to their limited experience with written Italian.     

Singapore Colloquial English and Standard English

Singapore English can be described as diglossic, that is, most of the proficient adult users of English in Singapore use two grammatically distinct varieties of English: (1) Singapore Colloquial English, which is used with close friends, to children, and informally in general and (2) Standard English, which is used in writing, in formal situations, and is associated with education. Singapore Colloquial English is informally learnt, while the teaching of Standard English is a primary responsibility of the school.

Students at the National University of Singapore, and especially those taking courses in the Department of English Language and Literature, can be expected to show the highest attainment levels in Standard English of those coming from the education system. The oral skills of these students are generally very good, both in comprehension and production. Their control of vocabulary is outstanding. While some students still have problems producing Standard English (especially in the area of tenses) most students make few grammatical errors. However, they do have problems with the organisation of material, report writing, and techniques of argumentation. Students also tend to write in a uniformly journalistic style, having little control over the use of different styles for different types of writing. Awareness of the functions of English in Singapore may help teachers to understand the importance of stylistic appropriacy.     

Analysis of written language of a language learning disabled (dyslexic) college student and instructional implications

This paper examines spontaneous writing of a college student with a history of language learning problems. Writing samples, collected from tests and papers in college courses, were analyzed for syntactic complexity, spelling, grammatical errors, semantic errors, and organization. Metacognitive factors were analyzed by examining student’s responses to questions about his perceptions about writing. Results showed: (a) the dyslexic student produced syntactically complex structures comparable to nondyslexic writers; (b) the student averaged 9% spelling errors per essay and 17 grammatical errors per essay; (c) primary semantic errors were inappropriate word choices, incorrect determiners, and overuse of “so” as a transition; (d) major problem with organization involved difficulties with expanding an idea beyond “saying the same thing in a different way;” (e) metacognitive strategies included difficulties with separating self from writing and recognizing ambiguity in writing. The paper then describes six instructional strategies to assist in remediation of the student’s writing problems. Paper presented at the Second Miami University Sentence Combining Conference, October, 1983.     

大学英语写作现状及教学对策

:大学英语四 ,六级考试统计表明写作题得分率极低 ,错误类型有写作内容贫乏、中式英语多、语法错误多等。造成这种局面的因素是教师写作能力低 ,学生基本功差 ,不会运用写作技巧 ,写作教材缺少系统性。对此首先要提高教师教学水平 ,改变评改办法 ,端正写作动机 ,提高写作教材的系统性     

模因论视角下的高职高专英语写作教学

高职高专学生在大学英语写作中存在着中式英语、语法错误等诸多问题。针对于此,在模因论的指导下,教师可以从词汇、句型、语篇三个方面对学生进行针对性的辅导与训练,纠正学生的错误,使之逐渐摆脱中文的影响,提高英语写作的能力。     

Improving Criminal Justice Students’ Writing Outcomes Through Systematic Writing Instruction

Criminal justice faculty members often express disappointment that their students are not meeting the writing expectations of the discipline. This study was a collaborative project between criminal justice and English faculty members to institute a writing pedagogy intervention to examine if criminal justice students’ writing would improve over the course of a semester. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine student attitudes toward writing, documentation style, grammatical correctness, academic diction, and paraphrasing/plagiarism. The results revealed statistically significant improvements in student writing when writing assignments were scaffolded and frequent feedback was provided. Additionally, this study used independent raters to compare student performance on papers from a previous semester, when minimal writing instruction was provided, to the papers from the current study. The results suggest the intervention may improve criminal justice student writing.     

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM PROGRAMS IN NEW JERSEY'S PUBLIC COLLEGES

Since 1976 in response to growing concern about college students’ writing abilities, faculty development programs on writing across the curriculum have arisen in a number of two‐ and four‐year colleges throughout the United States. This movement, for it seems to be one, has its roots in a similar movement that began more than 15 years ago in British secondary schools. This paper first reviews briefly the early history of the movement in England and compares the movement there to the one now under way in U.S. higher education. It then presents the results of a questionnaire survey of New Jersey's public two‐ and four‐year colleges undertaken in the spring of 1979. The purpose of the survey was to determine whether and to what extent New Jersey's public colleges had started or were planning to start development programs designed to bring groups of faculty together, across disciplines, to discuss problems relating to student writing performance and to develop specific interdisciplinary plans for solving these problems. In addition, information is presented about the nature of the steps taken in those institutions that reported having initiated such programs and about the efforts to evaluate the impact of these programs. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the state of writing across the curriculum programs in New Jersey public higher education and recommendations are made for further action in this direction.     

大学英语翻译错误归因探讨

翻译教学研究是翻译研究的重要组成部分,对提高翻译教学水平有着直接的推动作用。在某种程度上,翻译能力能够综合反映学生的听、说、读、写的语言技能,在英语学习上起着重要作用。我们实验发现,在学生的汉译英翻译中错误百出,其中多数甚至是一些低级的语法错误。文章对实际收集的例子的错误进行统计、分析,并探讨其错误归因,并对大学英语翻译教学提出建议。     

Executive functions in elementary school children with and without problems in written expression

This study examined the executive functioning of 55 elementary school children with and without problems in written expression. Two groups reflecting children with and without significant writing problems were defined by an average primary trait rating across two separate narratives. The groups did not differ in terms of chronological age, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, special education status, or presence of attention problems or receptive vocabulary capabilities; however, they did differ in reading decoding ability, and this variable was controlled for in all analyses. Dependent measures included tasks tapping an array of executive functions grouped conceptually in accordance with a model of executive functioning reflecting the following domains: initiate, sustain, set shifting, and inhibition/stopping. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) procedures revealed statistically significant group differences on the initiation and set shift domains, with the sustaining domain approaching significance. Children with writing problems performed more poorly in each of these domains, although the effect sizes were small. A multiple regression that employed these four factors and the reading decoding variable to predict the primary trait score from the written narratives revealed a statistically significant regression function; however, reading decoding contributed most of the unique variance to the writing outcome. These findings point out the importance of executive functions in the written language process for elementary school students, but highlight the need to examine other variables when studying elementary school-age children with written expression problems.     

Problems of beginning teachers: Comparing graduates of bachelor's and master's level teacher preparation programs

This study compares classroom problems of novice teachers who had completed either a traditional 4‐year baccalaureate or 1‐year graduate level preparation program. Problems encountered were remarkably similar. For both groups, the three most frequent problems are shared and identically ranked: (a) having adequate time for planning and preparation; (b) having every student work up to his or her ability; and (c) providing for individual learning differences. Of the 20 most frequently experienced problems for each group, 15 are common to both. Furthermore, problems these teachers encountered are highly comparable to those encountered by novice teachers of two decades ago. When viewed from a teacher development perspective, these results may indicate that beginning teachers have a similar set of problems to work through regardless of their preparation program. The results also indicate that graduates of a 1‐year master's level program are no more likely to encounter problems in their first years of teaching than are graduates of a traditional 4‐year baccalaureate program.     

Using immediate recall to assess language proficiency in deaf students.

We used an immediate recall paradigm to study the effects of list organization and semantic and grammatical features of printed stimuli on working memory capacity in deaf students with differing English language abilities. Thirty lists of five organizational types (random words, semantically related words, semantically paired words, scrambled sentences, and grammatical sentences) were presented to two groups of deaf students who differed in their proficiency in the English language. The students were required to recall the lists in writing. The results indicate that, overall, the students with higher levels of English language proficiency recalled significantly more than those with lower levels. Additionally, semantic and syntactic organization of the lists had different effects on the two groups of students. Semantic pairing aided the low-level group significantly more than the high-level group, whereas the syntactic organization of the grammatical sentences aided the high-level group significantly more. Implications for assessing language ability in deaf students are discussed.     

Using chipendale in the classroom

One of the most common complaints among criminal justice educators is that students have very poor writing and research skills. In particular, educators cite that students’ papers are poorly organized, are replete with grammar and spelling errors, are missing key elements in their discussions, and are often plagiarized. Despite the need for research and writing classes, very few social science faculty members teach writing‐intensive courses because of the amount of time such a course requires. Accordingly, this paper presents a model criminal justice writing class that outlines specific teaching methods to overcome the most common problems found in criminal justice writing and research.     

Evaluation of an Integrated Bridging Course on Academic Writing for Overseas Postgraduate Students

This study, supported by the Flinders University Research Budget, evaluated the effects of an integrated four‐week bridging course for postgraduate overseas students. It was funded by the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau and focused on the students' academic writing skills in terms of English grammar, expression and spelling as well as on structure, argument and critical analysis. Quantitative data was gathered from the training group and two control groups, one made up of overseas peers, the other of local postgraduate students. Further qualitative data were gathered from the training group through Journal entries and regular discussions. Results showed a significant improvement in expression and structure in the training group's writing from pre‐ to post‐training, with a significantly higher mark awarded by independent raters to post‐training writing. While significant differences between the two overseas groups and the local control group had been recorded on most variables before training, some of these were reduced between the training group and the local group after training. Although results were positive overall, students continued to produce high rates of errors in grammar and to display weaknesses in developing an argument. Journal entries suggested that students began their studies in a state of gross over‐confidence and moved through doubt and concern before reaching a more accurate estimate of their abilities at the end of the bridging course.