A Study on Negative Transfer in Junior High School Students’ English Writing

Abstract English and Chinese belong to different language systems and there are various differences between them, which lead to the phenomenon of negative transfer of mother tongue in English learning for junior high school students。 As one of the important ways of language output, writing is the comprehensive reflection of learner’s language level。 Junior high school is the not only initial stage but also the significant stage to cultivate learners’ interest in English writing。 Therefore, how to help learners overcome the negative transfer of mother tongue has already become one of the most important subjects in the field of the second language acquisition。89744

The purpose of this study is to explore the negative transfer of mother tongue in junior high school students’ English writing and seek the teaching strategy of English writing, which is based on the contrastive analysis, error analysis and interlanguage theory。 The subjects of this study are 82 junior high school students from two different schools。 The research instruments of this study are 164 English compositions of two different topics and students’ interview record。 The study confirms that the negative transfer of mother tongue exist in the junior high school students’ English writing。 The errors caused by the negative transfer of mother tongue are classified from substance errors, lexical errors and writing habit。 The typical errors are analyzed with examples and reasons。 Meanwhile, the corresponding measures are put forward as the followings: increasing the language input to develop a sense of language, strengthening the lexical and syntax training and valuing the process of writing。

In this study, through the classification, statistics and interpretation of the collected samples, the effective ways to overcome the negative transfer of mother tongue are put forward, hoping to improve students’ English writing。

Key Words: English writing; negative transfer of mother tongue; junior high school students

摘  要英语和汉语从属于不同的语言体系，存在着诸多差异，也是这种种差异的存在导致学习者在英语学习时会不可避免地出现母语负迁移的现象。写作作为一种语言输出重要途径之一，不仅是语言知识运用的综合体现，同时也是对学习者语言水平的全面反映。初中阶段的英语写作是学习英语写作的初始阶段，也是培养写作兴趣的重要阶段。因此，如何帮助学习者们克服写作中的负迁移，已然成为二语习得研究领域的重大课题之一。

本项研究以对比分析理论、错误分析理论以及中介语理论为基础，旨在探究母语负迁移在初中生英语写作中的影响。本项研究的被试对象是两所不同中学80名学生，对因母语负迁移造成的错误进行定性和定量的分析。研究中的两项研究工具分别是：2个不同主题的英语作文共计160份和对被试学生的访谈记录。在对写作样本的批改和分析后发现中学生写作中的确存在着母语负迁移的现象。本文从词汇、句法以及书写习惯三个层面对母语负迁移造成的错误进行归类，并对一些典型错误进行举例和原因分析，并由此针对性地提出英语写作的相关措施：增加语言输入以培养学生语感，增强词汇和句法训练以及重视写作过程。 

本研究通过归类、统计、解释等方式对收集到的样本进行分析，探究初中生克服英语写作中的母语负迁移的有效途径，提高中学生的英语写作水平。

毕业论文关键词：母语负迁移；英语写作；初中生

Contents

Abstract 2

Chapter 1 Introduction 5