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On the Negative Language Transfer and the Grammar Teaching in Higher Vocational Colleges

Author: ZhengXiaoHua
Tutor: JiangBin
School: Shandong Normal University
Course: Curriculum and Pedagogy
Keywords: negative language transfer English grammar teaching higher vocational colleges
CLC: H319
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2011
Downloads: 79
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Abstract

Language transfer has been a controversial topic in the second language acquisition, within the last few decades; its importance in foreign language learning has been reassessed several times. Recently, it has aroused scholars’interest again and been discussed from different perspectives. Language transfer can be classified as positive transfer and negative transfer. Positive transfer is the facilitation of the mother tongue through the similarities between the mother tongue and the target language; while negative transfer is the interference of the mother tongue, resulting from the dissimilarities between the mother tongue and the target language. As a system involving the comprehensive information, grammar is, in particular, constrained by the phenomenon of negative transfer. Chinese and English bear little in common because of their different origins. They have very different systems and features. The present study is an effort to explore the transfer problem of non-English majors in learning in higher vocational colleges when they learn English grammar as juniors.In recent years, more and more techinical and practical talents are needed with the development of economy and social development. Higher vocational colleges keep appearing and they account for a very large part of China high education. Most higher vocational college students began to learn English from junior middle school, who already have had some knowledge of it. However, they cannot handle English firmly. Some of them have difficulties of learning this language, and they always commit mistakes. Many scholars and researchers have carried out various researches on language transfer in English grammar learning, and many researches on negative language transfer in English grammar learning have been done in the universities, while few researches focused on the negative language transfer in English grammar teaching in higher vocational colleges. The experiment was carried out from October to December, 2008. Two intact classes were selected from Zibo High Vocational College. They were non-English majors. One class is specialized in Chemical Engineering and language-transfer-oriented method was applied in the experimental class (Class 1), while the traditional teaching method was used in the control class (Class 2), which is specialized in Material Science. Data collection involved both scores of pretest and posttest, questionnaire surveys. The results of research reveal that the students in the experimental class have improved their English grammar study more rapidly than those in the control class, while the phenomenon of negative language transfer in the control class was not improved.The research is only an attempt to investigate the phenomenon of negative transfer in English grammar learning of higher vocational college students. The study demonstrates that language-transfer-theory-oriented teaching model is of great value in improving higher vocational college students’English grammar study. It’s hoped that this study will shed light on grammar teaching in higher vocational colleges and the future study.

On the Negative Language Transfer and the Grammar Teaching in Higher Vocational Colleges

Abstract

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