This dissertation addresses the differential effects of two oral corrective feedback strategies, recasts and metalinguistic prompts, on the acquisition of Chinese wh-questions and classifiers, while examining how individual differences (i.e. language analytical abilities, attitudes, and anxiety) would moderate the effects of CF. Two beginning Chinese classes were randomly assigned to the recast or metalinguistic prompts group. In a span of 5 weeks, a total of 4 treatment sessions took place. Students were tested with an oral production task and a written error correction task before, immediately after, and two weeks after the treatment. Mixed-method ANOVAs were used to analyze the differential effects of the two CF strategies on the acquisition of wh-questions and classifiers. In addition, students also completed two questionnaires, with one testing their language analytical ability, and a combined questionnaire measuring their attitudes and anxiety. Multiple regressions were used to analyze the relationship between individual differences and students’ learning outcome. The results showed that the metalinguistic prompts group had significant gains in accuracy in all measures, regardless of testing time (posttests or delayed posttests), target forms (wh-questions or classifiers), and testing mode (oral production or written error correction tests). The recast group showed significant gains in the written tests for wh-questions and classifiers, but only achieved significant short-term gains for wh-questions in the oral test. Regarding individual differences, we found that learners’ language analytical abilities and attitudes were important in predicting their test performance, while anxiety did not affect the learning outcome. Results were discussed within the Interactional Cognitive Framework. Form-focused instruction, along with metalinguistic prompts, which were consistent, output-pushing, and reminded students of previous learned declarative knowledge, worked better than input-providing CF (recasts) for both syntactic and lexical features. Metalinguistic prompts withheld the target L2 forms, provided metalinguistic comments, and pushed for modified output, which may have increased the likelihood for learners to close the gap between their existing knowledge and the target L2 forms, and convert declarative knowledge into procedural knowledge. The findings also suggested that CF could be delivered without raising students’ anxiety, and helping students maintain positive attitude was important for their language development.

This case study aims to investigate the relationship between the online reading group meetings (ORG) and reading difficulties among upper-level learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL learners). Based on Bernhardt’s constructivist model of L2 reading (1986, 1991) and sociocultural perspectives, this study attempts to answer two research questions: 1. What reading difficulties upper-level CFL learners encountered when they read in Chinese? 2. What components in the online reading group meetings helped upper-level CFL learners to cope with their reading difficulties? How did the components help? Seven Fourth-Year Chinese learners at a university in the United States participated in this study and attended the ORG meetings throughout a semester to discuss five assigned readings. Qualitative research methods were used to collect and analyze the data. The data sources of this study included pre- and post-ORG questionnaires, pre- and post-meeting comprehension checks, pre- and post-meeting self-reports, recordings of the online reading group meetings, and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed a complicated and interactive relationship of the six components in Bernhardt’s model when it came to reading difficulties among upper-level CFL learners. Even though the participants identified word recognition as one of their top reading difficulties when reading in Chinese, the findings showed that extra-text driven components, especially intratextual perceptions and prior knowledge, played an important role in determining the participants’ reading comprehension. Being able to constantly monitor what they learned from each paragraph and which prior knowledge they applied to the reading was found to be a key to improving their reading comprehension. The findings also found reflexivity in dialogic collaboration, especially when the ORG meetings created opportunities for the participants to improve their reading comprehension via peer-to-peer interaction. The patterns of peer-mediated learning included giving corrective feedback, negotiating meaning, learning from listening, strategy coaching, and using English strategically. Whereas the instructor as a facilitator was regarded important to provide timely feedback and facilitate the discussion, the findings suggested that a peer-led group discussion was possible for upper-level CFL learners once they built up their confidence in offering help to their peers. Even though the component of the role assignment seemed to be beneficial for the participants to cope with their reading difficulties in the ORG meetings, the participants did not perceive each role equally helpful nor easy due to various reasons. The study concluded with a discussion of the implications for CFL education, teacher education programs and future research.

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The Chinese ba-construction is a frequently used, language-specific construction that is difficult for most learners who study Chinese as a second language. The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a Chinese second language pedagogical model on the ba-construction among college-level English-speaking learners of Chinese. For the ba-construction, namely “Subject + ba + ba-NP + ba-VP (Verb + Complement),” the investigator proposed an L2 instructional model that emphasizes both syntactic and semantic relationships between the ba-NP and the ba-VP. Based on this model and on cognitive theories of second language acquisition, the investigator designed a series of grammar instruction sessions that combined meaningful input, communicative tasks and form-focused instruction on four frequently used types of the ba-construction and one less frequently used type. The instruction sessions were administered weekly to the participants for a total of four weeks. Fourteen participants at two proficiency levels, namely novice and intermediate, were recruited for the study. Quantitative data were obtained from a pre-test, a post-test and a delayed post-test in the form of four measurement tasks: Grammaticality Judgement, Cloze, Translation and Contextualized Sentence Production with Keywords. Using a split-plot statistical model (with the time factor crossed and the proficiency level factor non-assignable), non-parametric alternative tests and a semi-structured interview, the investigator addressed the following three research questions: 1) Is the pedagogical model effectively strong in explaining the ba-construction and facilitating L2 learners’ comprehension and production? 2) Are the instruction sessions beneficial to L2 learners’ understanding of different form–meaning mappings of the ba-construction? 3) Do the effects of the pedagogical model and the instruction vary for L2 learners at different proficiency levels? Data analyses revealed a significant main time effect on participants’ overall performance and performance on each measurement task; the main group effect was not significant except for the Cloze task; no interaction effects were found in either the comprehension or production tasks. While participants acquired the ba-constructions in comprehension significantly better than in production, different trends in acquisition patterns were also found between their performances in these two language skills. After receiving instruction, participants performed significantly better in comprehension tasks and could maintain that level of performance in the delayed post-test; their performance on production tasks became better right after the instruction sessions, but deteriorated significantly afterwards. The participants’ improvement on ba-constructions with directional complements (Type 3) and resultative complements (Type 4), as well as the less commonly used type, was significant in general; in comprehension tasks, participants’ improvement on Type 5 was significantly higher than that for the Type 1 ba-constructions expressing relocation/displacement. Data collected from the semi-structured interviews indicated participants’ favorable evaluation and need for integrated L2 instruction that included elements of pedagogical grammar, especially on language-specific constructions. These results point to the importance of L2 grammar instruction in drawing L2 learners’ attention to form and to the association between form and meaning; instruction plays an indispensable role in communicative L2 classes and serves as a necessary reinforcement to the frequent exposure to meaningful L2 input. For Chinese ba-constructions, instruction that focuses on declarative knowledge is beneficial across proficiency levels.

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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The number of Chinese-learners in South Africa has increased rapidly in recent years, but the quality of the dictionaries that are available for their use has not improved much. The more students study Chinese, the more it becomes necessary to create suitable dictionaries to facilitate their studies. In the hope of meeting this need, this study selects two written dictionaries commonly used by students at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, namely the Oxford Beginner's Chinese Dictionary and the Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary, to analyze, comment on and compare in terms of structure and equivalence. Using the results of this analysis, this study offers suggestions for improving the quality of future Mandarin learner’s dictionaries. This study takes into consideration the situation faced by students when learning Chinese abroad, especially in South Africa, the development of pedagogical lexicography in Chinese-learner’s dictionaries in China and abroad, the relationship between online dictionaries and written dictionaries, and some special characteristics of the Chinese language, all of which factors greatly influence the making of a dictionary. Theoretically and methodically, this study is based on Function Theory as presented by Sven Tarp. According to Function Theory, before writing a dictionary, lexicographers must analyze specific types of users in specific types of situations. This study attempts to follow Tarp’s suggestion by analyzing a small group of dictionary users with the help of a survey conducted by the author in an attempt to get a general idea of how Mandarin learners at Stellenbosch University use dictionaries. The main focus of this study is the frame structure, microstructure, macrostructure and dictionary equivalence in two dictionaries--Concise and Beginner’s. After carefully analyzing these aspects of the dictionaries, the author identifies the sections of these dictionaries which successfully present information in a way that will be most beneficial for their intended audiences. The study goes on to pinpoint less-successful sections of the two dictionaries and provides suggestions for improvement. In sum, this study focuses on using the principle of Function Theory to determine what features should be included in Mandarin learner’s dictionaries to make them more suitable for elementary and intermediate learners of Mandarin at Stellenbosch University, in South Africa, and, by extension, in other parts of the world. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die afgelope paar jaar het die aantal studente van Sjinees in Suid-Afrika aansienlik toegeneem, maar die standaard van beskikbare woordeboeke het nie veel verbeter nie. Hoe meer studente Sjinees bestudeer hoe noodsaakliker is dit om gepaste woordeboeke te ontwikkel om hulle in hulle studie te help. Om aan hierdie behoefte te voldoen, kies hierdie studie twee woordeboeke wat gereeld deur studente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch benut word, naamlik die Oxford Beginner’s Chinese Dictionary en die Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary, om hulle te ontleed, kommentaar te lewer en hulle met mekaar in terme van struktuur en ekwivalensie te vergelyk. Met behulp van gevolgtrekkings uit hierdie ontleding word voorstelle gemaak oor hoe om die standaard van toekomstige woordeboeke te verbeter. Die studie neem die situasie in ag waarmee studente wat in die buiteland Sjinees studeer, veral in Suid Afrika, te doen kry, die ontwikkeling van pedagogiese leksikografie in woordeboeke in Sjina sowel as die buiteland, die verhouding tussen aanlynwoordeboeke en gedrukte woordeboeke en sekere spesiale eienskappe van die Sjinese taal - alles faktore wat die opstel van woordeboeke beïnvloed. Teoreties en metodologies is hierdie studie op die funksieteorie, soos aangebied deur Sven Tarp, gebaseer. Volgens die funksieteorie moet leksikograwe voor die opstel van 'n woordeboek spesifieke tipes gebruikers in spesifieke situasies analiseer. Hierdie studie poog om Tarp se voorstelle te volg deur 'n klein groep woordeboekgebruikers, met behulp van 'n ondersoek, uitgevoer deur die outeur, te analiseer om sodoende 'n algemene idee te formuleer van hoe Mandarynse studente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch woordeboeke benut. Die hooffokus van hierdie studie is die raamwerk, mikrostruktuur, makrostruktuur en ekwivalensie in die twee gekose woordeboeke – Concise en Beginner’s. Nadat hierdie aspekte van die woordeboeke noukeurig ontleed is, identifiseer die outeur die dele wat inligting op die voordeligste manier vir die bestemde gebruiker aanbied. Ook identifiseer hierdie studie die minder suksesvolle dele en stel moontlike verbeteringe voor. Samevattend fokus hierdie studie daarop om die beginsel van die funksieteorie te benut deur vas te stel watter eienskappe in woordeboeke ingesluit moet word om hulle meer geskik te maak vir elementêre en intermediêre Mandarynse studente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch in Suid-Afrika, sowel as in ander dele van die wêreld.

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語言交際是人們運用語言傳遞訊息、交流感情的一種社會行為，日常生活中關於語用交際的現象很多，其中「拒絕」是常見的主題之一。影響拒絕言語行為施行的因素很多，包含了拒絕對象、目標、語境等，譬如晚輩拒絕長輩時會比同輩間的拒絕更為間接；私下場合比公眾場合的拒絕更來得直接。針對「跨文化交際」而言，影響拒絕言語行為的施行當然也包含了文化因素，不同文化的交際雙方可能因為價值觀以及對事物的解讀看法不一，因此在拒絕交際發生時會產生語用錯誤，造成交際上的誤會。 華語學習者累積的詞彙與語法隨著學習程度的提高而逐漸增加，語言技能的運用也因此漸趨成熟，但語用錯誤的發生大多是橫跨各學習程度的，即便是程度再高的學習者，也很容易發生交際上的語用錯誤。現今大部分的華語學習教材是以詞彙、句型與語法點為主要結構，雖然已經有些教材從語言能力觀點出發而規畫其結構、布局與進度，但是全面且有系統地討論專門、單一的言語行為的教材卻很少。 由於現今的華語教材以此主題來導入編寫的並不多，且現有的綜合性教材也缺乏對相關語用交際能力的介紹，忽略了學生實際語用交際的需求。學習者學習語言的目的就是能夠成熟、得體地運用於日常生活中，以達到人與人之間良好的動態交際，並達成傳遞訊息、聯絡感情的主要目的，而這種「得體」程度的表現主要來自於對目的語語用方面的瞭解程度，不僅止於詞彙、語法的學習。基於言語交際的動態性，筆者將拒絕視為一種言語行為，討論此一言語行為在華語中的語用策略及語言形式的表現，並將研究結果應用於教學層面，希望學習者能藉此增進語用交際能力，達到得體、有效率地溝通。 本論文旨在探討現代漢語交際中的拒絕現象與其延伸的相關教學研究，不僅對語用策略及語用形式作分析，也分析了現行教材的相關內容，期盼研究成果可以應用於對外華語教學層面，以便提供華語教師具體有據的教學內容與建議，並幫助外籍學生有效率地學習相關內容，提升學生實際交際運用的成果。 本論文主要以前人探討拒絕言語行為的研究成果作為基礎，透過前人的研究整理並輔以自己的實證分析把拒絕言語行為的基本組織、模式進行整理，並歸納出特定場合下使用頻率最高的拒絕模式與策略以提出教學應用。本研究主要採用調查研究法之問卷形式與內容分析法來探討以下內容：（一）語用分析—探究本文所選定之六類語境分別的拒絕策略與語言形式，依對象不同所表現的拒絕方式有何差異？（二）教材分析—分析現行教材中是否出現相關的教學內容，並歸納之中出現的拒絕語境與策略的頻率（三）教學應用—思考拒絕主題可應用的教學方式並提出相關的教學設計。藉此研究，筆者將對現代漢語的拒絕言語行為做整理歸納與分析，並對其中特殊的「間接拒絕」與「假拒絕」現象作進一步探討。接著，分析現行教材的相關教學內容並配合學生的學習需求，提出「拒絕」主題的教學設計。 研究結果歸納出了11類間接拒絕策略與5類輔助策略，並針對各語境歸納出了主要的拒絕模式。教學應用方面，主要是將研究結果編寫成教學內容，除了以各語境歸納出的拒絕模式導入對話的情景教學方法外，也思考了各拒絕策略可應用的教學方式。期盼研究成果可以應用於對外華語教學層面，除了提出相關主題教學時的應用方法外，也能提升教師的教學效率與學習者的學習成效。 / Verbal communication is a kind of social behavior which denotes activities as transferring messages or exchanging feelings by means of language. Various communicative actions appear in our daily life. Refusals are one of their most common forms. The performance of refusal speech varies greatly regarding to its objectives and contexts. The speech act of “indirect refusal”, for example, often occurs in situations where a younger person has to refuse a request of an elder one. “Direct refusal”, on the contrary, appears more in private occasions. Given the importance of context people with different cultural backgrounds easily fails to understand the more underlying pragmatic features of language. Although students of the Chinese language may gradually increase their lexical knowledge and become well-skilled in language performance, failures in decoding the pragmatic features still occur in many communicative situations. Even for advanced students understanding context poses a great challenge. Most teaching materials, however, focus on teaching vocabulary, phrases, and grammar. Some materials are designed according to various language competences. To lay focus on speech act sets, however, is still less common. The present thesis aims to analyze the speech act of refusal in Mandarin Chinese and wants to apply its results to the practical use of teaching Chinese. For the research in communicative behavior, the author collected data and results from different sources: 1. personal recordings of verbal behavior; 2. questionnaire for verbal behavior in different communicative situations; 3. theoretical discussions. First, based on the dynamic features of verbal communication, the author discusses refusal as speech act and analyzes its pragmatic strategies and linguistic structures. Different forms of refusal as indirect refusal and false refusal will be treated separately. Furthermore, the results of linguistic analysis will be applied to instructions for teaching in the hope that language learners can enhance both their communicative and pragmatic capabilities in a more efficient way. An analysis of common teaching materials is included, too. In detail, the present thesis includes four discussions: (1) Understanding the speech act of refusal: Based on previous theories the speech act of refusal will be discussed under different pragmatic perspectives. (2) Analyzing the speech act of refusal: Analyses of the pragmatic features and the linguistic structure of refusal are conducted for six different contexts. Eleven realization strategies of refusal and five supporting strategies of communicative behavior are discussed in detail. (3) Analyzing teaching materials: Frequency and methods of presenting different pragmatic features of refusal in teaching materials will be analyzed and evaluated. (4) Suggestions for teaching: Methods for teaching various speech acts of refusal are proposed according to the results obtained from the inquiries in its pragmatic and linguistic features. Examples for teaching different strategies and supporting strategies of refusal are included.

Cette thèse porte sur l’intersinographie, notion construite sur le modèle d’« interlangue », pour caractériser les connaissances "intermédiaires" des apprenants en matière d’écriture en langue étrangère. Nous étudions la dynamique du développement des compétences graphiques chez des apprenants francophones du chinois comme langue étrangère. Nous abordons une question cruciale pour la didactique et l’apprentissage de la langue chinoise (mandarin). En effet, à la différence des langues à écriture alphabétique, le développement d’une compétence graphique en chinois a des spécificités qui ne se réduisent pas à la transcription de la langue parlée. Cela tient évidemment à la nature de l’écriture chinoise. La maîtrise de cette dernière requiert des processus pédagogiques particuliers. Peu de travaux ont été consacrés au développement d’une compétence graphique en langue étrangère et encore moins aux compétences liées à la sinographie. Cette thèse s’articule autour d’une étude de la maîtrise de l’exécution graphique. Afin de dresser une liste des productions graphiques non conformes, nous avons établi trois corpus auprès d’apprenants du chinois langue étrangère : un corpus graphique général, un test de la graphie de 100 caractères et un corpus relevé auprès d’adolescents apprenant le français. Suite à nos études quantitatives et qualitatives (suivi des évolutions individuelles), validées par des analyses statistiques, nous proposons une démarche d’enseignement dite d’« arborescence sinographique (字树, zìshù) ». A l’heure de la digitalisation de l’information et des savoirs, cette thèse propose des pistes de réflexion originales en matière de didactique des sinogrammes. / This thesis focuses on intersinography, a concept built on the "interlanguage" model, to characterize the learner’s "intermediate" knowledge of writing in a foreign language. We study the dynamics of the development of graphic competences in French-speaking learners of Chinese as a foreign language.We address a crucial question for didactics and learning Chinese (Mandarin). Unlike languages written in an alphabet system, the development of the graphic skills necessary for writing Chinese characters is partially distinct from the learning of spoken Chinese. This is obviously due to the nature of Chinese logograms. Mastery of reading and writing in Chinese requires specific pedagogical processes, distinct from those of oral language.Little work has been devoted to the development of graphic competence in a foreign language, in particular to sinography. This thesis is based on a study of the mastery of graphical execution.In order to draw up a list of non-conforming graphic productions, we have built three corpora among learners of Chinese as a foreign language: a corpus of writings from adolescents (the adolescent corpus), a test for diagnosing written competency (the 100-character test), and a general-use corpus of character writings (the general graphic corpus).Following our quantitative and qualitative studies (follow-up of individual evolutions), and validated by statistical analyzes, we propose a method of teaching called the "sinographic tree (字树, zìshù)". In the age of the digitization of information and knowledge, this thesis proposes unique reflection on the teaching of the sinograms.