Short Descriptions

This project is an attempt to replicate the research entitled “Syntactic Complexity and Writing Quality in Students’ Technical Writing” conducted by KY, Joyce and Eric with students of the SENG. Using the same framework of this research on SENG students, we would like to investigate whether there are any linguistic differences between SHSS and SENG students in their academic writing, with a special focus on their writing of complex noun phrases. Results from our work will be compared to the SENG research findings to identify any cross-disciplinary differences or similarities in students’ writing.

Possible Benefits

A comparative cross-disciplinary research study to explore syntactic differences in students' writing will have pedagogical impact on ESP teachers and material writers.

Deliverables

We intend to do background reading and prepare a literature review of the study this summer. Since both Thomas and Amy are new to this area, time is needed to familiarise with published materials in this area, find out how the SENG research was conducted and understand the various analyses.

Current dictionaries for learners of English are made to be user-friendly, to contain many innovative features to simplify the look-up process, and to include the linguistic information that assists learners in acquiring the target language. However, existing research studies have revealed how little non-native learners of English are aware of the potential of such dictionaries. One of the methods that has been suggested by researchers in the field of pedagogical lexicography to address the problem is to teach these students how to use dictionaries. This study advocates that an effective way of teaching such reference skills is as a component of an existing English language course. Through an empirical research design, this study explores the efficacy of teaching dictionary use explicitly to non-native learners through experience with a conventional English enhancement course at tertiary level in Hong Kong. The study was carried out with the use of tailor-made teaching materials on dictionary use items identified to be relevant to the needs of these tertiary students, and to the nature of the existing English course at the university which they were attending. Through statistical and qualitative analyses, the study proves that such an approach is effective in disseminating the knowledge and skills required of students in using English learners’ dictionaries to solve specified linguistic problems. Based on the findings, it is recommended that support and training should be provided to English teachers to ensure that they are conversant with the development of, and innovations in, English learners’ dictionaries.

Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary is the third major English language learners' dictionary to appear on the market for learning or teaching English as a second/foreign language (the other two are the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). With its many innovations, the COBUILD dictionary has aroused a great deal of controversy since its publication in 1987. In this discussion, I examine two distinctive areas of the COBUILD dictionary: definitions and examples.