{"title":"“In the present study”: An exploration of prepositional phrase-frames in Chinese EFL learners’ theses and dissertations of applied linguistics","authors":"Hui Zhou , Tongtong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jeap.2024.101400","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper delves into the overall use, grammatical patterns, and discourse-pragmatic functions of Prepositional Phrase-frames (PP-frames) utilized by Chinese EFL learners across Bachelor's theses, Master's theses, and Doctoral dissertations, in comparison with research articles (RAs) of Applied Linguistics. The analysis of these discontinuous formulaic language used in cross-sectional learner corpora and the RA corpus is pivotal for understanding the connection between academic literacy level and formulaic expressions in academic writing and for appreciating the development of phraseological competence among L1 Chinese writers as they navigate their way into the complexity of academic English. The findings unravel a growing tendency in the overall frequencies of use and a developmental trend in lexico-grammatical diversity and more genre- and discipline-specific functional characteristics, as Chinese EFL student writers advance through their academic journey from the undergraduate level to the doctoral level. A thorough analysis of functional dimensions of PP-frames in theses and dissertation writing reveals an increased level of functional complexity in the use of PP-frames for referential and discourse organizing functions. This study contributes to academic English instructions of PP-frames.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47717,"journal":{"name":"Journal of English for Academic Purposes","volume":"70 ","pages":"Article 101400"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of English for Academic Purposes","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1475158524000687","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper delves into the overall use, grammatical patterns, and discourse-pragmatic functions of Prepositional Phrase-frames (PP-frames) utilized by Chinese EFL learners across Bachelor's theses, Master's theses, and Doctoral dissertations, in comparison with research articles (RAs) of Applied Linguistics. The analysis of these discontinuous formulaic language used in cross-sectional learner corpora and the RA corpus is pivotal for understanding the connection between academic literacy level and formulaic expressions in academic writing and for appreciating the development of phraseological competence among L1 Chinese writers as they navigate their way into the complexity of academic English. The findings unravel a growing tendency in the overall frequencies of use and a developmental trend in lexico-grammatical diversity and more genre- and discipline-specific functional characteristics, as Chinese EFL student writers advance through their academic journey from the undergraduate level to the doctoral level. A thorough analysis of functional dimensions of PP-frames in theses and dissertation writing reveals an increased level of functional complexity in the use of PP-frames for referential and discourse organizing functions. This study contributes to academic English instructions of PP-frames.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of English for Academic Purposes provides a forum for the dissemination of information and views which enables practitioners of and researchers in EAP to keep current with developments in their field and to contribute to its continued updating. JEAP publishes articles, book reviews, conference reports, and academic exchanges in the linguistic, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic description of English as it occurs in the contexts of academic study and scholarly exchange itself.