Abstract:

This paper presents a 12-week two-round action research on 27 Chinese non-English majored 2-year undergraduates, aiming at exploring whether the teaching design of letter writing based on an English Test for International Communication (ETIC) descriptor could improve students’ written English appropriateness. Round one was to develop students’ awareness of analyzing communicative identities and occasions that may influence language appropriateness. In Round two, students would learn letter writing with different communicative intentions in order to improve their written language appropriateness. Research findings suggest that such a teaching design may provide an effective approach to developing Chinese non-English majored undergraduates’ written English appropriateness. Students could have more experience on how to use English for effective written communication. Firstly, teaching based on the written test-task descriptor could enhance students’ awareness of analyzing communicative identities. They tended to choose more appropriate language and contents in order to meet communicatees’ expectations. Secondly, a systematic introduction to written language use in formal or informal occasions could help students further understand the significance of communication effectiveness. Finally, the written English expressions with different communicative intentions provided by teachers could play an important role in facilitating students’ letter writing and encouraging them to think why appropriate expressions should be used in the given situations.

Keywords:

Language appropriateness, college English, ETIC, letter writing, action research.