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Japanese Students' Difficulties with Metadiscursive Nouns in Argumentation Essays

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Title: Japanese Students' Difficulties with Metadiscursive Nouns in Argumentation Essays
Language: English
Authors: Tahara, Nobuko
Source: English Language Teaching. 2022 15(6):88-101.
Availability: Canadian Center of Science and Education. 1595 Sixteenth Ave Suite 301, Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3N9 Canada. Tel: 416-642-2606; Fax: 416-642-2608; e-mail: elt@ccsenet.org; Web site: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2022
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Nouns, Persuasive Discourse, Phrase Structure, Essays, Computational Linguistics, Difficulty Level, Writing (Composition), Second Language Learning, Writing Difficulties, Syntax, Benchmarking, Language Usage, Connected Discourse, Comparative Analysis, Asians, North Americans, English (Second Language), Language Patterns, Second Language Instruction, Teaching Methods, Foreign Countries, Native Language, Contrastive Linguistics
Geographic Terms: Japan
ISSN: 1916-4742
1916-4750
Abstract: The present study attempts to identify difficulties that Japanese students encounter with metadiscursive nouns in writing second language (L2) argumentation essays. Metadiscursive nouns are abstract and unspecific nouns which can serve as cohesive markers by retrieving their meanings in the text where they occur. Using a selected number of nouns (i.e., "problem," "reason," "thing," "fact," "idea," "decision"), this study examines how the nouns, occurring in several syntactic patterns, expressed their meanings in the text and served as metadiscursive devices in L2 essays written by Japanese students, in comparison with essays by American students as a benchmark. The study also discusses the use of "problem" and "reason" in relation to rhetorical patterns such as cause-effect clauses and the Problem-Solution text pattern that occurred in the two corpora. A comparison of the ways in which the Japanese and American students use these nouns points to several difficulties the Japanese cohort faces in using metadiscursive nouns in argumentative essays: providing a focus in describing information, making an explicit meaning link, and using particular English rhetorical patterns. Suggestions are made for further inquiries which could broaden our understanding of the behavior of this class of nouns and inform the teaching of L2 argumentation essays.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2022
Accession Number: EJ1345574
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Japanese Students' Difficulties with Metadiscursive Nouns in Argumentation Essays
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  Data: Canadian Center of Science and Education. 1595 Sixteenth Ave Suite 301, Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3N9 Canada. Tel: 416-642-2606; Fax: 416-642-2608; e-mail: elt@ccsenet.org; Web site: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt
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  Data: 1916-4742<br />1916-4750
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: The present study attempts to identify difficulties that Japanese students encounter with metadiscursive nouns in writing second language (L2) argumentation essays. Metadiscursive nouns are abstract and unspecific nouns which can serve as cohesive markers by retrieving their meanings in the text where they occur. Using a selected number of nouns (i.e., "problem," "reason," "thing," "fact," "idea," "decision"), this study examines how the nouns, occurring in several syntactic patterns, expressed their meanings in the text and served as metadiscursive devices in L2 essays written by Japanese students, in comparison with essays by American students as a benchmark. The study also discusses the use of "problem" and "reason" in relation to rhetorical patterns such as cause-effect clauses and the Problem-Solution text pattern that occurred in the two corpora. A comparison of the ways in which the Japanese and American students use these nouns points to several difficulties the Japanese cohort faces in using metadiscursive nouns in argumentative essays: providing a focus in describing information, making an explicit meaning link, and using particular English rhetorical patterns. Suggestions are made for further inquiries which could broaden our understanding of the behavior of this class of nouns and inform the teaching of L2 argumentation essays.
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 88
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Nouns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Persuasive Discourse
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      – SubjectFull: Phrase Structure
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      – SubjectFull: Essays
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      – SubjectFull: Computational Linguistics
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      – SubjectFull: Difficulty Level
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      – SubjectFull: Writing (Composition)
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      – SubjectFull: Second Language Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Writing Difficulties
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      – SubjectFull: Syntax
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      – SubjectFull: Benchmarking
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      – SubjectFull: Language Usage
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      – SubjectFull: Contrastive Linguistics
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      – SubjectFull: Japan
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      – TitleFull: Japanese Students' Difficulties with Metadiscursive Nouns in Argumentation Essays
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