Abstract

Since a great number of Chinese university students, as English learners, suffer from negative transfer of mother language in English writing. And students feel torturous and confused when referring to English writing. So a research was done about the influences of negative transfer in English writing. The paper describes a majority of Chinese university students suffering from mother negative transfer in English writing. The primary goal of this research is to analyze the causes of negative transfer from the angle of sentence structure and thinking model. Thus, a survey was conducted between 50 university students; it was found that negative transfer causes from different sentence structures, thinking models and vocabulary meanings. And current teaching method also hinders the lessening of negative transfer. 

Key words: negative transfer, sentence structure, thinking model, vocabulary

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

I. Introduction .1

II. Literature Review ...1

2.1 Definition of language transfer .2

  2.2 Types of transfer 2

III. The Analysis of University Students’ Writing Level 2

3.1 Generalization of recent researches about university students’ writing level

3.2 A Survey on university students in terms of English Writings 3

    3.2.1 English major 4

  3.2.2 Non-English major 4

IV. Four Factors Affecting Negative Transfer 5

  4.1 Different characteristics between Chinese and English at the level of syntax 5

  4.2 Different thinking models 6

  4.3 Vocabulary misuse 7

  4.4 Teaching method 8

V. Solutions to Lessen Negative Transfer 8

5.1 For students: four ways of amending negative transfer errors 8

  5.1.1 Increasing vocabulary 8

  5.1.2 Consolidating grammar 9

  5.1.3 Reading more foreign original works 9

  5.1.4 Abandoning Chinese pragmatic habits and thinking model when learning English 9

5.2 For teachers: five solutions to English writing teaching 10

  5.2.1 Comparing the two kind of language and analyzing specific negative transfer forms in vocabulary, sentence, and pragmatics 10

  5.2.2 Enriching students’ English production by audition and extensive reading teaching 10

  5.2.3 Attaching importance to grammar teaching 10

  5.2.4 Regarding Chinese negative transfer correctly 10

  5.2.5 Feeding back students’ errors in English writing effectively 11

VI.Conclusion 11

References 12