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My Research
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My Philosophy of
Research
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My current research concentrates on
factors affecting the pragmatic development of adult learners of Chinese as
L2.
Basically I consider three types
of issue: teaching and learning related (interlanguage pragmatic) issues,
purely pragmalinguistic issues, and sociopragmatic issues. To be more
concrete, at the interlanguage pragmatic end, I address factors
rising from curricular standards, course syllabi, coursebooks,
course-related materials, teacher development, class teaching, testing,
technology in L2 teaching and learning, etc., and advocate a
pragmatics-based principle featured with practicality and appropriateness,
since an empowerment-oriented L2 teaching considers practicality and
appropriateness as its essence, which penetrate various levels, stages, and
links of teaching. At the more theoretical end, both in pragmalinguistic
and sociopragmatic studies, my work basically explores how adult learners
of Chinese as L2 do things with words relevant to various social contexts
of events and activities. In particular, I scrutinize English as L1 impacts
of pragmatic transfer and pragmatic failure on Chinese as L2 speech act
realizations, and vice versa. I focus on three aspects of speech acts: 1)
linguistic patterns and pragmatic strategies employed in realizing intents;
2) social, political, ideological, economic, cultural, cognitive, and
educational impacts that are present in the realization of intents; and 3)
extent to which competences of appropriate linguistic patterns and
pragmatic strategies facilitate cross-cultural communication.
My research is largely corpus-based
or uses interlanguage discourse as sources of data analysis. I analyze such
sources under theoretical frameworks of language use such as deixis and
implicature, the Speech Act Theory, the Cooperative Principle, the
Face Theory, the Politeness Principle, the Relevance Principle, and the
Adaptational Principle.
A pragmatic interfacing of
Chinese as L2 teaching and research has been but
sporadically documented in current research literature. As such, my
research aims at enhancing the research. More concretely, my purpose to
embark on an explicit investigation into factors affecting pragmatic
development of adult English learners of Chinese as L2 is threefold:
1) to testify the extent to which
existing pragmatic theories are explanatorily adequate of Chinese as L2
learning issues, hence the theoretical significance;
2) to the practical end, to enrich
our knowledge about Chinese as L2 learning in general and pragmatic
development in particular; and
3) to
inspire colleagues in the fields of pragmatics, second language
acquisition, and educational linguistics, to launch more systematic studies
into factors affecting the pragmatic development of adult learners of
Chinese as L2.
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My Research
Interests
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Abstract of My
Doctoral Dissertation
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Negative pragmatic
transfer by adult Chinese learners of English as a foreign language:
Classification, distribution, and communicative effect
Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Guangdong University of Foreign
Studies
Author: Shaozhong Liu
Supervisor: Ziran He
Date: 1997
Abstract
Negative pragmatic transfer from learners’ L1 to L2 has been
repeatedly evidenced in cross linguistic comparisons of speech
acts. However, there have been few explicit studies addressing the issue.
What makes the contents of negative pragmatic transfer? How are such transfer contents distributed? What is their
communicative effect? These three baffling but significant questions still
await an answer and thus are the research questions of this thesis.
Adult Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were the
subjects in this study. It was hypothesized that adult Chinese EFL learners
commit more than two types of negative pragmatic transfer as in Kasper's
(1992) division, pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic. Besides, negative pragmatic transfer
would be reduced as the learners' TL pragmatic knowledge advances. Finally,
as a divergent form under similar speech situation from the native norm,
negative pragmatic transfer might be acceptable to native speakers.
The classification issue of negative pragmatic transfer was examined by
basing on both the observed data and elicited data of the students'
performance. The observational data included observed data in class, in
take-home exercises, and in examination writings. The elicited data were
derived from three elicitation tasks: multiple choice (MC),
Chinese--English (CE) translation, and dialog completion test (DCT). The
elicited data reflected 72 students' performance in comprehending and
producing speech acts in the target language. These 72 students of English
major, representing three levels, from Level 2 through Level 4, 24 from
each, were randomly selected in the Department of Foreign Languages of Guangxi Teachers' University.
The distribution status of' the three types of negative pragmatic transfers
was analyzed in relation to the level of the students and the length of
their TL learning experience.
A list of 24 sentences containing the three types of negative pragmatic
transfer. 8 of each, was presented to 16 American students for their
attitudes. The native speakers were asked to assess the sentences in terms
of a four--dimensional scale: the difference dimension, the understanding
dimension, the acceptability dimension and the recommendability
dimension.
Negative pragmatic transfers by adult Chinese EFL learners were found to
contain, instead of the two types in Kasper's (1992) division, three types,
namely negative transfer of NL-based pragmalinguistic
knowledge, negative transfer of NL-based sociopragmatic
knowledge, and negative transfer of NL-based pragmarhetoric
knowledge. These transfers, instead of utterly perishing from the senior
students' language use, turned to become fewer along with the development
of their English pragmatic competence and extending of English learning
experience. It was also showed that native speakers generally understood
and accepted the students' Chinese-derived negative pragmatic transfer in
spite of the fact that such transfers were different from their ways of
saying things in similar speech situations. At the same time, native
speakers displayed a conservative attitude concerning the recommendability of negative pragmatic transfers for
classroom teaching.
The significance of the findings of this study lies in that it extended the
classification framework and added to it more explanatory power. In
addition, the findings pertaining to the distribution of negative pragmatic
transfer in relation to tasks, transfer types, levels of the learners, and
length of TL learning, provided evidences for earlier discussions on the
variability of the learners' interlanguage system
(Tarone, 1985), and conditions of pragmatic
transfers (Takahashi, 1990). In addition, we found that the students of
lower level or with shorter TL learning experience had more pragmalinguistic transfers, and our students had more sociopragmatic transfers in the DCT. Furthermore,
native speakers normally understand and accept our students' negative
pragmatic transfers, but are not very positive in recommending such
transfers in our classroom teaching. All these findings could be of
practical value to the daily classroom teaching and learning.
Nevertheless, we are not certain about a couple of rising issues in the
study. For example, we discovered more sociopragmatic
transfers among the three types, and we found that students generally committed
more sociopragmatic transfers in the DCT task.
Then whereas pragmalinguistic transfers were more
related to students of lower level or with shorter mean years of TL
learning, students of higher level or with longer TL learning experience
made more sociopragmatic transfers. These might
be topics of future research.
(More
doctoral dissertations)
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Ongoing Research
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- Meaning system of Chinglish: Its
generating process and cross-cultural communication effects (Guangxi
Social Science Research Grant, 2004)
- Internet reading and its
implications to curriculum renewal in higher education (GX Education
Research Grant, 2003)
- Pragmatic indicators of a
better-off society: A crosscultural perspective (Guangxi Social
Science Research Grant, 2004)
- Utilizations of Internet
resources in secondary school English teaching (National Basic
Education Research Grant, 2004)
- Less commonly taught languages:
Needs analysis and models of teaching (GXNU Research Grant 2004)
- Higher educational leadership
language
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Some of My
Publications
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Year
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Books
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1988
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刘绍忠、杨春群、杨艳华：<<托福考试词汇手册>>。桂林：广西师范大学出版社。
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1993
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刘绍忠（合译）：<<西方哲学入门>>。桂林：广西师范大学出版社。
刘绍忠（副主编）：〈中学生如何学英语〉。桂林：广西师范大学出版社。
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1995
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刘绍忠：〈英语用法大词典〉(shabby~sink条目)。北京：中国科学技术出版社。
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2001
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吴同恕、刘绍忠（主编）：<<I Can校园听读英语>>（小学4、5、6年级）。桂林：广西师范大学出版社。
刘绍忠、吴同恕（主编）：<<I Can校园听读英语>>（初中1、2、3；高中1、2、3年级）。桂林：广西师范大学出版社。
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2003
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刘绍忠（主编）：<<中学英语新课程理念与实施>>。桂林：广西师范大学出版社。
刘绍忠（主编）：<<高等院校英语专业四级考试指导丛书>>。湖南人民出版社。
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2006
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Liu, Shaozhong. Online Reading Strategies for Chinese
Students of English: An Introduction to Internet Resources. Chongqing University Press, 2006.
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Year
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Book Chapters
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1998
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Liu, Shaozhong: The
pragmapsychology of advertisement of recruitment. In:
Ziran He (ed.): Collected Papers on Societal Pragmatics. Guangdong University
of Foreign Studies. 1998:44~50.
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2000
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Liu, Shaozhong. Pragmatics.
Michael Byram (Ed.): Encyclopedia for Language Teaching and Learning. London: Routledge.
2000:382-384.
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2001
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Liu, Shaozhong &
Zhong, Guoshi: The
status quo of RT studies via the Relevance-List. He,
Ziran & Ran Yongping (Eds.): Pragmatics and Cognition: RT Studies. Beijing: Foreign
Language Teaching & Research Press. 2001.
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2003
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Liu, Shaozhong: Teaching
English in the new millennium: New perspectives and ideas.
Liao, Fengrong (Ed.): CET 4: Grammar and Vocabulary. Changsha:
Hunan
People’s Press. 2003.
Liu, Shaozhong (Ed.):
Middle School English Teaching: Ideas and Practice. Guilin:
Guangxi Normal University
Press. 2003.
Liu, Shaozhong: Teaching
English in the new millennium: New perspectives and ideas.
Liu, Shaozhong (Ed): Middle School English Teaching: Ideas and Practice. Guilin: Guangxi
Normal University
Press. 2003, 1-18.
Liu, Shaozhong: Foreign
Languages Learning Strategies and Training. Liu,
Shaozhong (Ed.): Middle School English Teaching: Ideas and Practice. Guilin: Guangxi
Normal University
Press. 2003, 139-162.
Liu, Shaozhong: Reform
in China’s foundational education and Research in Middle School English Teaching.
Liu, Shaozhong (Ed.): Middle School English Teaching: Ideas and Practice. Guilin: Guangxi
Normal University
Press. 2003, 163-184.
Liu, Shaozhong: Postface.
In: Liu, Shaozhong (Ed.): Middle School English Teaching: Ideas and Practice.
Guilin: Guangxi Normal
University Press.
2003, 189-190.
Liu, Shaozhong: Pragmatics.
Book chapter. Meng, Jiangang (Ed.): Linguistics: A Course Book. Changsha: Hunan
People’s Press. 2003:159-194.
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2007
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刘绍忠：发展中的语用学：语用学四大分支学科发展概论。冉永平、张新红（主编）<<语用学纵横>>。北京：高等教育出版社，2007年第1-11页。
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Year
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Articles
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1996
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Liu, Shaozhong: Economic
value of language use and language learning. Shandong Foreign Languages Journal (Jinan). 1996/1:1-6.
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1997
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Liu, Shaozhong: Fostering
pragmatic abilities in context. Journal of Foreign Languages (Shanghai). 1977/3:
24~31.
Liu, Shaozhong: Communication: the Relevance Theory
approach. Modern Foreign Languages (Guangzhou). 1997/2: 19~24.
Liu, Shaozhong: Interlanguage pragmatics: the state
of the art and its revelation to research in China. Modern
Foreign Languages (Guangzhou),
1997/3: 74~81.
Liu, Shaozhong: Cognitive
environment, mutual manifestness and interlanguage communication. Higher
Education Research on Foreign Studies (Guangzhou). 1997/1: 24~31.
Liu, Shaozhong: Pragmatics as non-modularity.
Foreign Languages Research (Nanjing).
1997/3:1~6.
Liu, Shaozhong:
Self-study of English listening and speaking in the Chinese context. A
Guide to Self-Study of English (Guangzhou).1997/1:
41~45.
Liu, Shaozhong & Xie
Wenjun: Phone dialogs: Opening and closing. A Guide to Self-Study of
English (Guangzhou).
1997/2: 17~32.
Liu, Shaozhong: "RT
and foreign languages teaching and learning", Journal of Guangdong
University of Foreign Studies (Guangzhou),
1997/No.32, p.4.
He, Ziran & Liu,
Shaozhong: Pragmatics
and internet. Modern Foreign Languages (Supplementary
Issue) (Guangzhou).
1997/164~174.
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1998
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Liu, Shaozhong: Cognitive environment, mutual
manifestness and interlanguage communication. Journal of PLA
Foreign Languages University (Luoyang).
1998/1:1~7.
Liu, Shaozhong:
Linguistic error and pragmatic failure. Teaching Research (Guilin). 1998/1:
21~31.
Liu, Shaozhong: Pragmatic
failure and its implication to FLT. Teaching Research (Guilin). 1998/3: 17~26.
Liu, Shaozhong, Fengrong
Liao & Xie Wenjun: The economic value of language use and its
implication to FLT. Foreign Languages Education (Xi'an). 1998/3: 15~20.
Liu, Shaozhong: The
pragmapsychology of advertisement of recruitment. In: Ziran He (ed.):
Collected Papers on Societal Pragmatics. Guangdong University
of Foreign Studies. 1998:44~50.
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2000
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Liu, Shaozhong. Pragmatics. Michael
Byram (Ed.): Encyclopedia for Language Teaching and Learning. London: Routledge.
2000:382-384.
Liu, Shaozhong: Negative pragmatic transfer: Causes
as revealed in the compared uses of "Qing" in Chinese and
"please" in English. Journal of Foreign Languages.
2000/5:9-16.
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2001
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Liu, Shaozhong & Zhong,
Guoshi: Pragmatic
relevance and recategorization of pragmatic failure.
Journal of Liuzhou
Teachers’ College.
2001/2.
Liu, Shaozhong & Gao,
Qi: The
implications of pragmatics in foreign language teaching.
Journal of Yulin
Teachers’ College.
2001/2.
Yang, Daoyun & Liu,
Shaozhong: On
the art of “bargaining” in Mandarin. Journal of Guilin Teachers’ College. 2001/2.
Wei, Juan & Liu,
Shaozhong: Code-switching:
When and why. Journal of Wuzhou Teachers’
College. 2001/3.
Zhong, Guoshi & Liu,
Shaozhong: Current study of the Relevance
Theory: Six topics. Journal of Guangxi Normal
University (Special
Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching).
Liao, Fengrong, Yang,
Yujun, Li, Dongmei & Liu, Shaozhong: The
Relevance Theory in China: Three stages of development.
Journal of Guangxi
Normal University
(Special Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching).
2001/3.
Liu, Shaozhong: Rumors:
Defining features, causes, impacts and preventions.
Journal of Guilin
Party School.
2001/3.
Liu, Shaozhong. Transfer studies in second language
acquisition. Journal of Guangxi Normal
University (Special
Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching). 2001/3.
Liu, Shaozhong & Gao,
Qi: The
Relevance Theory and its implications for foreign language teaching.
Journal of Guangxi
Normal University
(Special Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching).
2001/3.
Wei, Juan, Liao, Guirong
& Liu, Shaozhong: Code-switching
from L1 to L2: Cases from bilinguals. Journal of Guangxi Normal University
(Special Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching).
2001/3.
Liang, Yingjun & Liu,
Shaozhong: Linguistics:
Its implications to literature studies. Journal of Guangxi Normal University
(Special Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching).
2001/3:297-302.
Wei, Aiyun & Liu,
Shaozhong: On
the naming of the English variety in China. Journal of Guangxi Normal University
(Special Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching).
2001/3:109-113.
Liu, Shaozhong &
Zhong, Guoshi; The status quo of RT studies via the Relevance-List. He,
Ziran & Ran Yongping (Eds.): Pragmatics and Cognition: RT Studies. Beijing: Foreign
Language Teaching & Research Press. 2001.
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2002
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Chen, Chenghui & Liu,
Shaozhong: The
Speech Act Theory and its implications for foreign language teaching.
Journal of Sichuan Foreign Studies University. 2002/3.
Liu, Shaozhong &
Liao, Fengrong: Translating
“su zhi jiao yu”: An email survey. Shanghai Translator’s Journal
of Science and Technology. 2002/2.
Xie, Manlan & Liu,
Shaozhong: Distinctions
between language and parole and its implications for foreign language teaching.
Foreign Language Teaching. 2002/5.
Liu, shaozhong &
Zhong, Guoshi: Distinctions
between pragmalinguistic failure and sociopragmatic failure.
Journal of Guangxi
Normal University.
2002/1.
Liu, Shaozhong, Liao,
Fengrong, Li, Xiao & Luo Yaoguang: The
Politeness Principle and its applications in Email message composing.
Journal of Multimedia Language Teaching. 2002/1.
Zhong, Guo, Liao, Fengrong,
Li, Xiao & Liu, Shaozhong: Wastes
in foreign language teaching: Manifestations, causes and countermeasures.
Journal of Yulin
Teachers’ College.
2002/1.
Tan, Hongjian & Liu,
Shaozhong: The
status of quo of context study. Journal of Sichuan Foreign Studies University.
2002/6.
Liu, Shaozhong &
Liao, Fengrong. Studies on negative pragmatic
transfers in interlanguage pragmatics. Journal of Guangxi Normal University
(Special Issue on Linguistics and Applied Linguistics). 2002/1.
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2003
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Tang, Yanyu & Liu,
Shaozhong: Pragmatic
analysis of teacher’s language. Foreign
Language Teaching. 2003/1.
Liu, Shaozhong, Liao,
Fengrong & Peng, Guoyuan. Pragmatics of abbreviating in Internet
communication. Journal of Guangxi
Normal University
(Special Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching.
2003/1.
Liu, Shaozhong. New perspectives on pragmatics.
Journal of Guangxi
Normal University
(Special Issue on Foreign Languages and Literatures Research and Teaching.
2003/1.
Liu, Shaozhong &
Zhong, Guoshi: Thomas’
dichotomies of pragmatic failure revisited. Journal of Guangxi Normal University.
2003/4.
Liu, Shaozhong. New
perspectives on pragmatics. Journal of Guangxi Normal
University, 2003/1-19.
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2004
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Tang, Xinhong & Liu,
Shaozhong. Address
forms in cross-cultural communication: Politeness norms and pragmatic
failures. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 2004/10.
Liu, Shaozhong, Tang,
Jianjun, Zhang, Ping, and Tang, Xinhong. A
review of Suo Zhengyu’s Coursebook on Pragmatics. Journal
of Guangxi Normal University
(Special Issue on FL Research and Teaching), 2004/1.
Liu, Shaozhong &
Zhang, Ping. Grammaticalization (1). Liuzhou Teachers
College Journal, 2004/4.
Liu, Shaozhong & Tang,
Jianjun. Cognition, Pragmatics, and Grammaticalization (2). Guilin Teachers College Journal, 2004/4.
Liu, Shaozhong &
Liao, Fegrong. College students’ use of Internet resources for listening
study. Multimedia for Foreign Language Teaching, 2004/4.
Liu, Shaozhong & Ou,
Jie. Pragmatic
failure and classroom teaching. Yulin Teachers College
Journal, 2004/1.
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2005
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Liu,
Shaozhong. On the First and
Second Editions of Mey’s Pragmatics: An Introduction. Journal
of Guangxi Normal University
(Guilin),
2005/1.
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2006
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Liu, Shaozhong. Leading
the 21st University by Language: Recent Articles on Higher
Education Leadership Language Research. Journal of Guangxi Normal
University (Guilin), 2006/1.
Liao, Fengrong & Liu, Shaozhong. Metaphors
for the Curriculum. Journal of Guangxi
Normal University
(Guilin).
2006/2:1-11.
刘绍忠、汪雯波：文化与认知：“狗”隐喻的汉英对比研究。<<英语研究>>2006年第4期31-48页。
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2007
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刘绍忠：语际语研究：35年的发展轨迹。〈中国应用语言学丛书〉（创刊号）（在印）。
高旗、刘绍忠、李冬梅：关联理论在英语专业阅读教学中的运用。〈桂林师专学报〉2007年第2期。
黎政、刘绍忠：关联与译者主体意识。〈广西大学学报〉2007年第2期。
黎政、刘绍忠、张平：索振羽《语用学教程》再评。〈湛江海洋大学学报〉2007年第2期。
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