An Investigations into The Preference for Discourse Patterns in the Chinese EFL Learning Context  

Oleh:

Chen, Jianping

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Full Text) vol. 18 no. 2 (2008), page 188-211.
Topik: preference of discourse patterns; inductive vs. deductive discourse patterns; EFL learning in China; cross-cultural understanding; cognitive experience and EFL learning
Fulltext: Volume 18, issue 2 (July 2008), p. 188-211.pdf (395.77KB)

Isi artikel

The present paper reports on an investigation which compared the preferences of Chinese EFL students at different learning stages and of native speakers of English concerning different patterns of discourse in the EFL learning context in China. Many previous studies have suggested that different cultures have different preferential patterns of discourse; there appears to be a Western preference for the deductive pattern, and a Chinese preference for the inductive pattern in discourse. The questions addressed here are whether Chinese EFL learners at different learning stages are different from native speakers of English in their preferential attitudes towards different discourse patterns as shown in the EFL learners’ essays, and what implications can be drawn from this investigation for EFL learning in the Chinese context. The investigation therefore aims at looking at a specific dimension in order to find out the preference for different discourse patterns among three groups of informants, through analysing their straightforward responses to a questionnaire designed for the study. The results reveal that the decreasing preference for the inductive pattern among Chinese EFL students corresponds with an increase in their English level, showing that the degree of preference for either the inductive or deductive pattern in written discourse corresponds with the variation of cognitive/cultural experience, and cross-cultural awareness of the EFL students. This suggests that language learning, cross-cultural understanding, and social-cognitive development interact with each other throughout the EFL learning process.

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