2.2 English Generic Noun Phrases
This section introduces the target structure,that is English generic NPs in thisstudy,and previous researches on this structure are also reviewed.
2.2.1 Definition of English generic noun phrases
According to Quirk et al.(1985),there are three kinds of English generic NPs,and the rules can be generalized as follows:(a)Definite article+singular noun.e.g.The elephant is mammal.(b)Indefinite article+singular noun.e.g.An elephant is mammal.(c)Zero article+plural noun.e.g.Elephants are mammals.
However,there are big differences between the expressions of Chinese andEnglish generic NPs.In Chinese,generic NPs usually appear in the form of barenouns,which refer to a kind as a whole without morphological changes(Liu,2002).In sentence(1),for example,liebao(the cheetah)is used directly to refer to the wholekind of cheetahs on the land with no morphological changes.
Chapter Three Theoretical Framework ............................ 21
3.1 Noticing Hypothesis ............................ 21
3.1.1 Schmidt’s Noticing Hypothesis ..................... 21
3.1.2 Application of Noticing Hypothesis in the study ....................... 23
Chapter Four Research Methodology ............................. 28
4.1 Research Questions ....................... 28
4.2 Participants ................................ 28
4.3 Research Instruments ...................... 29
Chapter Five Results and Discussion ......................... 38
5.1 Results ............................... 38
5.1.1 Results of pretest .................... 38
5.1.2 Results of post-tests ....................... 40
Chapter Five Results and Discussion
5.1 Results
There are three groups in this experiment where the FG receives focused WCF,the UFG receives unfocused WCF,and the CG receives feedback on the structure andcontent of the composition.By collecting and analyzing the scores of the students ofthree groups in the pretest,the immediate post-test,and the delayed post-test,a seriesof tables and figures are obtained to elaborate the effects of the two kinds of WCF onthe acquisition of English generic NPs.All data collected from these three tests followthe normal distribution,so One-Way ANOVA,Paired-Samples T Test and multiplecomparisons are applied in this paper.In addition,in order to make the study morereliable and valid,a questionnaire is given out to participants.Those data collectedfrom questionnaires is also analyzed in this section.
5.1.1 Results of pretest
All students are required to finish a composition in pretest,and their scores arerecorded and analyzed by SPSS 27.With the aim to exam the effects of the two typesof WCF adopted in this study,an analysis should be carried out at first to test whetherthe participants in the two treatment groups and the control group are with the sameperformance on the use of English generic NPs.Therefore,the One-Way ANOVA isadministrated on the scores in pretest.The data analysis results in pretest are shown inTable 5.1 and Table 5.2.
Chapter Six Conclusion
6.1 Major Findings
This study principally deals with two questions about WCF,that is,the effects offocused and unfocused WCF on the accurate use of generic NPs and the effectdifferences between the two types of WCF.According to the experiment data analysisand the discussion of questionnaires,the major findings of this study are presentedwith response to the two research questions.
With respect to the first question,the experiment results show that participants inboth the FG and UFG achieve higher scores by comparing with the students in the CGin immediate and delayed post-tests,and significant difference is also observed.Itsuggests that both focused and unfocused WCF exert a remarkable positive effect onlearners’accurate use of English generic NPs in both the short and long term.
With respect to the first question,the experiment results show that participants inboth the FG and UFG achieve higher scores by comparing with t
