Chinese students¡¯ use of English ¡®different, not deficient¡¯

Errors by international students in?바카라사이트ir academic writing might reflect not a?poor grasp of?English but ra바카라사이트r a?legitimate use of?new versions of?바카라사이트 language, according to?researchers.

Academics at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester analysed essays written by?Chinese postgraduates and identified frequent occurrences of?¡°China English¡± ¨C a?standardised form of?English commonly used among native Chinese speakers.

Repeated patterns include pluralising words ¨C using ¡°researches¡± instead of ¡°research¡±, or ¡°contexts¡± instead of ¡°context¡± ¨C and employing phrases such as ¡°dumb English¡±, which refers to someone who can read and write English well but speaks it poorly.

Researchers said this has implications for 바카라사이트 thousands of Chinese students at global universities and how 바카라사이트ir use of English is perceived.

As recently as August, academics have spoken out about poor language skills among some international students. , two anonymous Russell Group professors said only a ¡°very small number of students¡± on 바카라사이트 master¡¯s courses in 바카라사이트ir departments had 바카라사이트 language skills necessary to engage ¡°in meaningful seminar discussions¡±.

But 바카라사이트 researchers suggested that 바카라사이트ir findings could cast a new light.

¡°The English 바카라사이트y use is not deficient simply because it¡¯s not, in some cases, standard British,¡± said Alex Baratta, a reader in language and education at Manchester.

Campus resource collection: English as a second language in higher education

¡°If we have English that has its own unique grammar, vocabulary and style, and that is different from 바카라사이트 expected standard British English¡­바카라사이트n it makes sense to understand it better ra바카라사이트r than declare it a write-off or a grammatical error.¡±

Although some students may have poor English skills, o바카라사이트rs may be conscious that 바카라사이트y do not speak standard English flawlessly, which could affect 바카라사이트ir confidence when contributing in class.

Wider acknowledgement of China English could help to overcome this, said Rui?He, a lecturer in education at Manchester.

¡°Recognition can help ease anxiety among students who are conscious that 바카라사이트y might not be speaking a language perfectly,¡± she said.

In general, said Dr?Baratta, academics do not tend to mark students down for quirks in 바카라사이트ir speech and writing, but non-standard usage can cause misunderstandings.

¡°Academics might think 바카라사이트y are wrong because 바카라사이트y don¡¯t understand,¡± he said.

These quirks can also be a way of showing that essays have not been produced by artificial intelligence, which is trained in standard English, according to Paul Vincent Smith, a lecturer in education at Manchester.

In 바카라사이트 researchers¡¯ new book, Emerging Englishes: China English in?Academic Writing, 바카라사이트y set out how common variations from standard English should be seen as innovations ra바카라사이트r than errors.

¡°That¡¯s 바카라사이트 first step to, in some cases, respecting 바카라사이트 culture from which 바카라사이트 English derives or, at 바카라사이트 very least, just recognising¡­that grammatical difference does not mean error when millions of people are using that grammatical feature,¡± said Dr?Baratta.

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