Rhetorical diversity and the implications for teaching academic English

Authors

  • Zhongshe Lu Tsinghua University, Beijing
  • Lan Li Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • Karen Ottewell University of Cambridge

Keywords:

L2 writing, contrastive rhetoric, cohesion, linking words, academic literacy, Chinese learners of English

Abstract

Contrastive rhetoric has been studied since the 1960s, but its significance in the practice and pedagogy of teaching academic English is now more important than ever due to the expansion of English Medium Instruction. As Kaplan (1966) noted, L2 students’ research papers can often seem “out of focus” because they are employing a rhetoric and sequence of thought which “violate the expectations of the native reader” (p. 13). Exploring this cultural impact on university-level student writing in English is the focus of a joint research project between Tsinghua University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Cambridge University supported by the Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Programme. Using corpora of Chinese L1 student writing in English, research conducted by Tsinghua and Hong Kong PolyU shows that linking words or connectives are a rhetorical problem for Chinese L1 students due to a misunderstanding and improper presentation of logico-semantic relations between discourse units.

Author Biographies

  • Zhongshe Lu, Tsinghua University, Beijing
    Dr Lu Zhongshe is a professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. She holds MA and PhD degrees in Applied Linguistics from the University of Nottingham, UK. She has been teaching at Tsinghua University for 30 years. Her research interests and publications cover applied linguistics as well as stylistics.  She served as a member of all- Nation Foreign Language Teaching Advisory Committee from 1996 to 2000 and  has been Secretary in General of Chinese Stylistics Association since 2004.
  • Lan Li, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Dr Li Lan is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, UK. She holds MPhil and PhD degrees in Applied Linguistics from the University of Exeter, UK. She has been teaching English at university level for over 20 years tutoring undergraduates, postgraduates, and professional trainees. Her research interests and publications cover lexicology, lexicography, professional communication, corpus linguistics and sociolinguistics.
  • Karen Ottewell, University of Cambridge

    Dr Karen Ottewell is the Director of Academic Development & Training for International Students at the University of Cambridge Language Centre, UK, where she provides training and support to assist international students at the University in further developing and honing the skills required to succeed in an English-speaking academic context. She holds an MA from the University of St. Andrews and an MPhil and PhD from the University of Cambridge. Her professional interests include assessment design, transferable skills training, contrastive rhetoric and defining the ‘cultural’ influence on writing, the international student experience, and transition to UK HE.

The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Volume 3. Issue 1. March 2016

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Published

2016-03-25

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2016)

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Articles

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How to Cite

Rhetorical diversity and the implications for teaching academic English. (2016). The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 101-113. https://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/view/350

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