Abstract:English writing is the reflection of students’ comprehensive language skills. Junior school students are at their primary stage in English writing and English writing is often influenced by negative transfer of mother tongue, which causes many Chinese English expressions. During three months’ teaching practice in Fanshui Middle school, the author experienced the whole English writing teaching process and found that there were lots of problems of negative transfer of mother tongue in students’ writings. Based on collecting, classifying and organizing typical errors caused by negative transfer of mother tongue in junior school students’ writings, the thesis analyzes the negative transfer of mother tongue from vocabulary, syntax, discourse and culture-related expressions, and some strategies are also provided in order to help minimize the interference of negative transfer of the Chinese in students’ English writings.

Keywords: negative transfer of mother tongue; English writing in junior high school; strategy

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Background Information-1

1.2 Thesis Statement-1

2. Literature Review-2

2.1 Language Transfer-2

2.2 Studies on Language Transfer in Wwriting-3

3. Negative Transfer in Students’ Writing-4

3.1 Negative Transfer in Vvocabulary-4

3.2 Negative Transfer in Syntax-6

3.3 Negative Transfer in Discourse-9

3.4 Negative Transfer in Culture-related Expressions-9

4. Strategies of Avoiding Negative Transfer in English Writing-10

4.1 Contrasting English and Chinese-11

4.2 Strengthening All-round English Language Skills-11

4.3 Developing the Habit of Thinking in English-12

4.4 Increasing the Input of Cultural Knowledge-13

5. Conclusion-13

Works Cited-15