English Question Formation: A Comparison of Errors Made by English-Dominant Versus Mandarin-Dominant Learners in a Chinese Medium Primary School.
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| Title: | English Question Formation: A Comparison of Errors Made by English-Dominant Versus Mandarin-Dominant Learners in a Chinese Medium Primary School. |
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| Authors: | WONG AI LI1, SYED, AYESHAH1 ayeshahsyed@um.edu.my |
| Source: | 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies. Dec2023, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p244-263. 20p. |
| Subject Terms: | *English teachers, *School children, *Primary schools, English language, Chinese language |
| Abstract: | Students from different language backgrounds may face distinct difficulties when learning English, particularly in learning complex language structures such as questions. Therefore, identifying differences between learner groups can inform teaching practice. This paper presents the findings from a study on the production of English questions by 56 Year 4 national-type Chinese primary school students, categorised as Dominant Speakers of English (n=28) or Dominant Speakers of Mandarin (n=28). The objectives of the study were 1) to identify common errors in English questions produced by the students in a translation task and 2) to compare the errors made by Mandarin-dominant and English-dominant learners. The researchers obtained data via written language elicitation tasks, to examine the kinds of errors made by the learners. Data was analysed using an adapted version of Rowland's error analysis framework. Comparison of data from a 10-item translation task showed that Mandarin-dominant learners made more than twice the errors of English-dominant learners. Common errors across both groups were auxiliary tenses errors and omission errors in WH-questions and auxiliary errors in Yes/No questions. Furthermore, Mandarin-dominant learners made visibly more auxiliary, omission, andposition-of-question-word errors than English-dominant learners, while the latter had a higher proportion of double-marking errors. This study provides further evidence that learners from different backgrounds may face different challenges in acquiring features of English. Moreover, the findings could provide insights for English language teachers in Chinese-medium schools on how to better adapt the teaching of English questions to their students of different language backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies is the property of 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 174258414 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: English Question Formation: A Comparison of Errors Made by English-Dominant Versus Mandarin-Dominant Learners in a Chinese Medium Primary School. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22WONG+AI+LI%22">WONG AI LI</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22SYED%2C+AYESHAH%22">SYED, AYESHAH</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> ayeshahsyed@um.edu.my</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%223L%3A+Southeast+Asian+Journal+of+English+Language+Studies%22">3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies</searchLink>. Dec2023, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p244-263. 20p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+teachers%22">English teachers</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+children%22">School children</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Primary+schools%22">Primary schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+language%22">English language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chinese+language%22">Chinese language</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Students from different language backgrounds may face distinct difficulties when learning English, particularly in learning complex language structures such as questions. Therefore, identifying differences between learner groups can inform teaching practice. This paper presents the findings from a study on the production of English questions by 56 Year 4 national-type Chinese primary school students, categorised as Dominant Speakers of English (n=28) or Dominant Speakers of Mandarin (n=28). The objectives of the study were 1) to identify common errors in English questions produced by the students in a translation task and 2) to compare the errors made by Mandarin-dominant and English-dominant learners. The researchers obtained data via written language elicitation tasks, to examine the kinds of errors made by the learners. Data was analysed using an adapted version of Rowland's error analysis framework. Comparison of data from a 10-item translation task showed that Mandarin-dominant learners made more than twice the errors of English-dominant learners. Common errors across both groups were auxiliary tenses errors and omission errors in WH-questions and auxiliary errors in Yes/No questions. Furthermore, Mandarin-dominant learners made visibly more auxiliary, omission, andposition-of-question-word errors than English-dominant learners, while the latter had a higher proportion of double-marking errors. This study provides further evidence that learners from different backgrounds may face different challenges in acquiring features of English. Moreover, the findings could provide insights for English language teachers in Chinese-medium schools on how to better adapt the teaching of English questions to their students of different language backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies is the property of 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.17576/3L-2023-2904-16 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 20 StartPage: 244 Subjects: – SubjectFull: English teachers Type: general – SubjectFull: School children Type: general – SubjectFull: Primary schools Type: general – SubjectFull: English language Type: general – SubjectFull: Chinese language Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: English Question Formation: A Comparison of Errors Made by English-Dominant Versus Mandarin-Dominant Learners in a Chinese Medium Primary School. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: WONG AI LI – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: SYED, AYESHAH IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 12 Text: Dec2023 Type: published Y: 2023 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01285157 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 29 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies Type: main |
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