English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use
Second language (L2) learners have problems when acquiring relative clauses (Hawkins and Chan 1997; Wong 1999). This study examines and attempts to explain the learners' competence in the use of relative clauses. The L2 learners are L1 (first language) speakers of Malay who were gauged to have...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universiti Putra Malaysia Press
2005
|
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/3486/1/English_Relative_Clauses_What_Malay_Learners_Know_and_Use.pdf |
| _version_ | 1796966553969754112 |
|---|---|
| author | Wong, Bee Eng Chan, Swee Heng |
| author_facet | Wong, Bee Eng Chan, Swee Heng |
| author_sort | Wong, Bee Eng |
| collection | UPM |
| description | Second language (L2) learners have problems when acquiring relative clauses (Hawkins and Chan 1997; Wong 1999). This study examines and attempts to explain the learners' competence in the use of relative clauses. The L2 learners are L1 (first language) speakers of Malay who were gauged to have elementary proficiency in English by the Oxford Placement Test. A grammaticality judgment task (GJT) was administered to determine the subjects' ability to distinguish between the grammatical and ungrammatical forms of relative clauses. The task revealed the students'
acquired competence in this particular area. This competence is further examined in the context of a production task which gauged their ability to form relative clauses through sentence combining. Results from the GJT showed consistently low scores for a variety of extractions from various positions in the formation of relative clauses. This is further supported by the results obtained from the sentence-combination task where the production of correct sentences using relative clauses was the focus. In sum, the Malay learners failed to recognise and produce
appropriate relative clause constructions. The data confirmed other findings that relative clauses are a source of difficulty for these L2 learners and these findings have pedagogic implications for the learning of this essential grammar component. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T07:01:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm.eprints-3486 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T07:01:16Z |
| publishDate | 2005 |
| publisher | Universiti Putra Malaysia Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | upm.eprints-34862015-09-14T06:30:57Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/3486/ English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use Wong, Bee Eng Chan, Swee Heng Second language (L2) learners have problems when acquiring relative clauses (Hawkins and Chan 1997; Wong 1999). This study examines and attempts to explain the learners' competence in the use of relative clauses. The L2 learners are L1 (first language) speakers of Malay who were gauged to have elementary proficiency in English by the Oxford Placement Test. A grammaticality judgment task (GJT) was administered to determine the subjects' ability to distinguish between the grammatical and ungrammatical forms of relative clauses. The task revealed the students' acquired competence in this particular area. This competence is further examined in the context of a production task which gauged their ability to form relative clauses through sentence combining. Results from the GJT showed consistently low scores for a variety of extractions from various positions in the formation of relative clauses. This is further supported by the results obtained from the sentence-combination task where the production of correct sentences using relative clauses was the focus. In sum, the Malay learners failed to recognise and produce appropriate relative clause constructions. The data confirmed other findings that relative clauses are a source of difficulty for these L2 learners and these findings have pedagogic implications for the learning of this essential grammar component. Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2005-03 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/3486/1/English_Relative_Clauses_What_Malay_Learners_Know_and_Use.pdf Wong, Bee Eng and Chan, Swee Heng (2005) English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 13 (1). pp. 107-115. ISSN 0128-7702; ESSN: 2231-8534 http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/view_archives.php?journal=JSSH-13-1-3 |
| spellingShingle | Wong, Bee Eng Chan, Swee Heng English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use |
| title | English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use |
| title_full | English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use |
| title_fullStr | English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use |
| title_full_unstemmed | English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use |
| title_short | English relative clauses: what Malay learners know and use |
| title_sort | english relative clauses what malay learners know and use |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/3486/1/English_Relative_Clauses_What_Malay_Learners_Know_and_Use.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wongbeeeng englishrelativeclauseswhatmalaylearnersknowanduse AT chansweeheng englishrelativeclauseswhatmalaylearnersknowanduse |