本文是一篇英语语言学论文，本研究基于从英语学习者口语语料库中提取的样本和访谈结果，在语言迁移理论和语言暴露假说的指导下，得出以下三个主要结论。（1） 三个年级的英语口语定语从句数量都不高，而且大多数定语从句都是限制性的。此外，错误的类型可分为三大类，即关系词错误、谓语词错误、其他错误。这三种主要类型可大致分为十种亚类型。它们是关系代词错误、关系副词错误、亲属错误省略、语态错误、主谓一致性错误、时态错误、缺少谓语、缺少先行词、不完整子句（缺少谓语除外）和子句冗余。
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Research Background
The English attributive clause has its syntactic particularity. It is a frequently used sentence pattern in both written and spoken English. Therefore, the acquisition of attributive clause is an unavoidable grammatical item for English learners, whether they are native speakers, second language learners or even third language learners. In general, native speakers can acquire it without trouble. However, foreign learners of English always encounter difficulties when acquiring English attributive clause. Thus, research on attributive clause acquisition has won the attention of many scholars.
In China, English attributive clause is a grammar item that must be learned in middle schools and it is a required language point in the college entrance examination and TEM-4. The research on the attributive clause acquisition of English learners in China has achieved fruitful results. Some scholars (Tang & Xu 2011; Zeng & Wang 2012) pay attention to Chinese learners’ acquisition order and acquisition difficulty of English attributive clause. Some scholars (Jin & Chen 2011; Wei & Jin 2020) have focused on the factors that influence the attributive clause acquisition of English learners in China. Some scholars (Wang 2011; Shang 2019) have analyzed the errors of attributive clauses produced by Chinese learners of English through setting grammar tests and writing tasks. In previous studies, the participants are all students of a specific group, for example, students at senior middle school, students at university, Mongolian students in China, etc. In addition, most corpus samples come from written language.
...........................
1.2 Research Significance
This research has both theoretical and practical significance.
Firstly, this research complements the research on attributive clause in the field of second language acquisition. On the one hand, analytical samples in this research are not from common written corpus collected through Writing Tasks or Grammar Tests. They come from Spoken Corpus of English Learners (SCEL). This research investigates the usage of attributive clauses in the spoken English of Chinese learners. On the other hand, participants in this research are not only students in a certain grade. They are grade one students at senior middle school, the first-year English majors and the fourth-year English majors in China. This research provides new ideas for both scholars who study the acquisition of attributive clauses of English learners and scholars who study the development of English learners’ spoken language.
Secondly, based on the analysis of the results of both corpus research and interviews, some implications for teaching and learning were proposed in this thesis. Therefore, English teachers could better understand the factors that influence students’ English learning and attributive clause learning. They can also grasp their students’ English proficiency and learning strategies more accurately so as to choose more proper teaching methods and teaching materials, and arrange appropriate classroom activities. In addition, students are able to possess a better understanding of English attributive clauses. They can also recognize the characteristics in their second language acquisition and confront their own weaknesses so as to continue to introspect and improve.
...................
