Chinese resultatives are one of the most challenging types of constructions for L2 Chinese learners and DDL has not been applied to Chinese language learning. This study, therefore, focuses on investigating the effect of corpus use in learning Chinese resultatives by learners of Chinese.
The Chinese resultative construction (see 1 below) is formed as verb + result XP, with the result XP referring to change of state or location of an NP caused by an action denoted by the verb. (1) ta zou-lei-le he walk-tired-ASP' 'He walked and as a result he was tired.' Chinese resultatives are one of the most challenging types of constructions for L2 Chinese learners (e.g. Zhang, 2014). DDL has been argued to offer an effective teaching method in language learning. However, it is still limited to our knowledge as to how DDL can be used in Chinese language learning. This study, therefore, focuses on investigating the effect of corpus use in learning Chinese resultatives by learners of Chinese and uses think-aloud protocol to explore learners' behaviours. Six L2 Chinese learners studying in a Chinese University participated in this project. Their Chinese proficiency level was B2 to C1 based on the Chinese Proficiency Test (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) Level 6). This study employed a quasi-experimental research design. During the treatment, learners used the prepared paper-based materials selected from the Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese (LCMC). Results indicated that there was a significant difference over the time between the pre- and the post-sentence combining test. Learners employed different strategies when using the concordance-based materials. This study contributes to the empirical DDL study targeting at a different language, Chinese. Moreover, it helps us understand the effectiveness of DDL for teaching resultatives in Chinese and suggests that the incorporation of technology into language learning can enhance learning Chinese. References Vyatkina, N., & Boulton, A. (2017). Corpora in language learning and teaching. Language Learning and Technology, 21(3), 1–8. Zhang, J. (2014). A learner corpus study of L2 lexical development of Chinese resultative verb compounds. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 49(3), 1–24.
