A CLEC-based Developmental Study On The Use Of Adjective Grammar Patterns

The research is based on Chinese Learner English Corpus and focuses on ST5 and ST6,which respectively represent English majors at lower grades and higher grades.It analyzes the developmental tendency and features of adjective grammar patterns used in the writings from the two groups of students in terms of complexity,variation as well as accuracy.Moreover,through comparison with university students from English speaking countries,it explores further how the use of adjective grammar patterns develops among groups with different language proficiency.The results show that there is a growth in all the three constructs of adjective grammar patterns used by students from lower grades to higher grades.However,the ranges of growth for them are not the same,with complexity the largest,variation second to it and accuracy the smallest.Also,there are still types and patterns that have a negative effect on the general developmental tendency.Adjectives in those patterns used by the two groups of students have similar or different senses and affective meanings,dependent on specific examples.Complexity of adjective grammar patterns is influenced by the frequencies of patterns at different complexity levels.Variation is related to the proportion of different adjectives in all adjectives used for a pattern.There are also five different ways to explain for the inaccuracy.Besides,in the comparison between Chinese English majors and native English speaking students,it is shown that all the three constructs of the former do not develop in a way inclined to those of the latter.As far as complexity is concerned,there exists the phenomenon of "overuse".However,the development of variation and accuracy conforms to the improvement of language proficiency,in an order of lower grades,higher grades and native students.Through the comparison in the use of adjective grammar patterns between students at lower grades and higher grades,it is revealed that the different constructs of adjective grammar patterns do not develop at the same pace.Also,the development of the three constructs is not positively correlative with the English proficiency of those three groups of students.The conclusion reached in the research conforms to the modular but not linear developmental path of learner language.On the one hand,the research presents how Chinese English learners use adjective grammar patterns.On the other hand,it explores the developmental tendency and features of learner language exemplified by adjective grammar patterns.Hence it provides some suggestions for English teaching and learning,which aims to promote the development of learner language.