Nghiên cứu lượng từ tiếng Anh như phương tiện rào đón trong luận văn thạc sĩ của sinh viên tại ULIS

Luận văn thạc sĩ nghiên cứu vnu ulis a study of the english quantifiers as hedges used in theses by ma students of english at, đánh giá hiện trạng, phân tích vấn đề, đề xuất biện

Chuyên ngành

English Linguistics

Người đăng

Ẩn danh

Thể loại

Thesis

2014

52
2
0

Phí lưu trữ

30 Point

Mục lục chi tiết

DECLARATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. PART A: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Significances of the study

1.2. Aims of the study and Research Questions

1.3. Scope of the study

1.4. Organization of the study

2. PART B: DEVELOPMENT

2.1. CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1.1. Academic discourses

2.1.2. Hedging in Academic Discourses

2.1.2.1. Definitions of hedging
2.1.2.2. Functions of hedging

2.1.3. Overview of hedging in second language writings

2.2. CHAPTER 2: The Study

3. PART C: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

3.1. A summary of the findings

3.2. Limitations of the study

3.3. Suggestions for further studies

Trích đoạn nội dung tài liệu

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************** NGÔ THỊ HÒA A STUDY OF THE ENGLISH QUANTIFIERS AS HEDGES USED IN THESES BY MA STUDENTS OF ENGLISH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI (Nghiên cứu về các lượng từ tiếng Anh dùng như phương tiện rào đón(che chắn) trong các luận văn của học viên cao học tiếng Anh ở trường Đại Học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 02 01 Hanoi- 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************** NGÔ THỊ HÒA A STUDY OF THE ENGLISH QUANTIFIERS AS HEDGES USED IN THESES BY MA STUDENTS OF ENGLISH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI (Nghiên cứu về các lượng từ tiếng Anh dùng như phương tiện rào đón(che chắn) trong các luận văn của học viên cao học tiếng Anh ở trường Đại Học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 02 01 Supervisor: ĐỖ THỊ THANH HÀ, Ph.D Hanoi- 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby certify the thesis entitled “A study of the English quantifiers as hedges used in theses by MA students of English at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The contents of this thesis have not been published anywhere for any purposes. I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library can be accessible for the purposes of study. The work was carried out under my supervisor, Do Thi Thanh Ha Ph.D, at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Hanoi, September 2014 Student’s signature Ngô Thị Hòa i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my special thank to my supervisor, Do Thi Thanh Ha, Ph.D for her enthusiastic guidance as well as her helpful comments and suggestions during the research process. I wish to send my deep gratitude to Ngo Huu Hoang, Ph.D for his inspiration to do this research topic. I also wish to express my sincere thank to the librarians who helped me a lot in trying to suggest and encourage me to go on when I got in troubles for data collection. Last but not least, my heart-felt thanks are sent to my family, my uncle, my best friends and classmates those who always supported and encouraged me to complete this thesis. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study investigates how English quantifiers are used as hedges in theses by MA students of English at the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), Vietnam National University, Hanoi. It explores intercultural characteristics of Vietnamese minds influencing on their written English. The samples for the study are 10 MA English theses of the ULIS. All of them have been published from the last five years to make sure of the update. This study not only mentiones to the uses of quantifiers in English theses but sheds light on their roles as hedging devices in academic writing. The purpose of this study is to find out the frequencies of using quantifiers in MA theses as well as to investigate the pragmatic meanings of quantifiers used as hedges in these theses. This study is a quantitative and qualitative research. It is based on the corpus combined with observation, description and discussion in the light of pragmatics. The study helps to know how MA Vietnamese students use quantifiers in written English, especially in theses. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.iv PART A: INTRODUCTION. Significances of the study . Aims of the study and Research Questions . Scope of the study. Organization of the study.4 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND . Hedging in Academic Discourses. Definitions of hedging . Functions of hedging . Overview of hedging in second language writings. Definitions of quantifiers . Classification of quantifiers . Functions of quantifiers . Quantifiers in terms of pragmatics .10 CHAPTER 2: The Study. Data analysis and Discussions .18 PART C: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS . A summary of the findings .42 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Limitations of the study . Suggestions for further studies .44 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION This initial chapter will introduce the rationales, the aims and the research questions, together with the scope of the study. More importantly, this is also the chapter giving the clearest guideline for the whole research. Rationales of the study Academic writing recently plays an important role in higher education and it also has become a requirement or an assessment of the students’ knowledge through essays, studies, or dissertations. In order to get language proficiency in writing, students have to learn and practise a lot. However, because of being non-native writers, they have many difficulties in gaining the qualities of an academic writing such as formality, caution, succinctness. Besides, it can be explained that their ways of thinking in Vietnamese have somehow influences on their English writings. Ngo Huu Hoang mentioned in Journal of Science and technology (2014:67), Vietnamese culture prefers subtle,discreet and emotional ways of speaking and always appreciates the balance of the relationships. In other words, Vietnamese people often try to avoid conflicts in conversation. Vietnameses often say “Miếng trầu là đầu câu chuyện”. It means that to start a conversation they tend not to go straight to the point but have a roundabout way of saying something before. The purpose is mainly to lead to topic of conversation sensitively. In writing, saying something in a roundabout way may be the reason for redundancy but in some ways it becomes an effective strategy to express their cautions in giving information without causing strong disagreements from the readers. In English, it is so-called hedging. Hedging is one of the prominent features in academic writing which appreciates the concept of cautious language. Especially, to research issues, every information needs to be given persuasively and clearly. However, not at all time writers can make sure of something absolutely because in fact everything changes constantly. Therefore, to get both caution in language and reality of the problems, people use quantifiers in their language. For example, in “There are ten good students in class, the researchers may also replace it by using quantifiers which are suitable with their meanings as follows: There are many good students in class. (a) There are a few good students in class. (b) There are some good students in class.(c) 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com The sentence (a) can be explained that researcher considers the number “ten” as a large number in comparison with the class. But when using quantifier “a few” in the sentence (b), “ten” may be referred to a smaller number of good students while“some” in the sentence (c) can be considered medium quantity. The questions are raised that why and how they use these quantifiers instead of exact numbers and how Vietnamese culture relects on their writings. This study exams the uses of quantifiers as hedges in theses through investigating the frequencies of using specific quantifiers. Moreover, it emphasizes pragmatic meanings in using quantifiers as hedges in MA theses at ULIS. The research result will contribute to develop the learners’ writing ability by using quantifiers for effective academic writing. Significances of the study The result of the study may  enhance students’ awareness of the importance of using quantifiers as hedging devices in academic writing.  help students expand their lexical repertoire by understanding deliberately how quantifiers are used in academic writing.  find out in what ways Vietnamese ways of thinking have influences on English academic writings. Aims of the study and Research Questions The study is aimed 3. To identify the strategies and purposes of using quantifiers in written languages. To identify pragmatic meanings of using quantifiers as hedges in MA theses. Research Questions This study aims to answer the following research questions: 1. What are frequencies of using quantifiers in the Introductions and Discussions of English MA theses at ULIS? 2. What are the uses of quantifiers as hedges in MA theses at ULIS? 4. Scope of the study The study only focuses on using quantifiers as hedges in formal written discourse, not in other written or conversational registers. It is analyzed in terms of pragmatics. Data analysis concentrates on Introduction and Discussion sections of the MA theses. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Organization of the study This thesis composes of three parts. Part A, Introduction, presents the rationales, significances, aims, scope, and organization of the study. Part B, Development, consists of the following chapters.  Chapter one, Theoretical background, presents the concepts relevant to the study such as definitions of hedging and quantifiers, hedging in the second language writings, hedging in terms of pragmatics, etc.  Chapter two, The Study, is done to know how to choose samples, how to collect and analyze data. It also discusses the findings of the study to find out the frequencies of using quantifiers in the theses and to make some in-depth discussions. Part C, Conclusions and Implications, addresses the key issues in the study, summarizing some limitations revealed during the process of conducting this research paper. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND This chapter reveals background theories relating to the topic such as academic discourses, hedging in academic discourses, definitions of hedging, definitions of quantifiers and their functions, etc. Academic discourses According to Nunan (1993:5), “discourse can be defined as a stretch of language consisting of several sentences which are perceived as being related in some way”. Those several sentences can build a conversation (spoken form) or a text (written form). Academic discourse is one type of discourse that has become a popular term in the development of linguistics and it is considered as something standard. Academic discourse in terms of written forms can be essay writings, journal articles, academic textbooks, or dissertations, etc. Students are expected to reach the conventions of academic writing such as formality, clarity and conciseness, etc. Therefore, academic discourse inspires researchers with much attention to many aspects and it also motivates students to gain proficiency of the English language, especially at higher education. As cited in “Academic Discourse and Critical Consciousness”, academic discourses are understood as the ways of thinking and using language that prevail in the academy (Bizzell, 1992). In the definition of academic discourse of Karen Bennett (2008:60), in the acamdemy may be in research or higher educational environment. While Helsingin Yliopisto (2012:12) in the one hand also defines academic discourse as using languaguage in the world of academy, in the other hand he emphasizes academic discourse as the way of “enabling university to go about teaching students and doing research”. Hyland (2004:11 cited in Martha, 2012) points out his view of academic discourse which comprises of not only strict forms but also pragmatic purposes. While all academic discourse is distinguished by certain common practices, such as acknowledging sources, rigorous testing, intellectual honesty, and so on, there are differences which are likely to be more significant than such broad similarities. The ways that writers chose to represent themselves, their readers and their world, how they seek to advance knowledge, how they maintain the authority of their discipline and the processes whereby they establish what is to be accepted as substantiated truth, a useful contribution 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.

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