A Comparative Study of the Oral Proficiency of Chinese Learners of English across Task Functions: A Discourse Marker Perspective

Autor/in	Wei, Ming
Titel	A Comparative Study of the Oral Proficiency of Chinese Learners of English across Task Functions: A Discourse Marker Perspective
Quelle	In: Foreign Language Annals, 44 (2011) 4, S.674-691 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0015-718X
DOI	10.1111/j.1944-9720.2011.01156.x
Schlagwörter	Video Technology; Advanced Students; Speech Communication; Discourse Analysis; Foreign Countries; Comparative Analysis; Language Proficiency; Chinese; Native Language; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; College Students; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Classification; Task Analysis; Context Effect; Oral Language; Second Language Instruction; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Fortgeschrittener; Diskursanalyse; Ausland; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; China; Chinesen; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Collegestudent; Qualitative Forschung; Statistische Analyse; Classification system; Klassifikation; Klassifikationssystem; Aufgabenanalyse; Oral interpretation; Mündlicher Sprachgebrauch; Fremdsprachenunterricht
Abstract	This study investigated the use of discourse markers (DMs) by college learners of English in China. It compared the use of DMs for four discourse functions by students at different proficiency levels. An audio-video instrument called Video Oral Communication Instrument was conducted to elicit ratable speech samples. Fraser's (1999) taxonomy was adopted to identify DMs. Quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated that while both intermediate and advanced students showed certain sensitivity to different task functions in DM use, advanced students resorted to DMs not only to construct hierarchical structures of meanings for more transactional tasks, but also to fulfill more interactive purposes for the more interactional task. Intermediate students tended to use DMs, sometimes in a confusing way, to organize their spoken discourse sequentially at minor discourse divisions, regardless of task functions. The findings overall suggest that proficiency level relates to the way DMs are used across contextual variations. (Contains 3 notes and 10 tables.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10