Reference: Activity 4
Referential expressions for actions and events
In the table below, we have listed excerpts from the Retell story in which the native speakers of Chinese (NSs) and Chinese language learners refer to a girl climbing out her apartment window. We also list the linguistic expressions the NSs use to refer to this action in the reference table below.
- Fill in the reference table with what Jiulin and AnnaLi use to refer to the event, referring to the transcripts of the excerpts below. Compare the learners’ references with the NSs’. How are they different from each other? What do you think might be reasons for the differences? Please explain.
- What pedagogical implications can you take away from this activity? If Jiulin and AnnaLi were completing this task in your classroom, given the words and structures they are currently using, how could you provide scaffolding?
Excerpts from the Retell
NS1 |
|
于是她就搬来个椅子，站，准备站在阳台上，爬到小朋友家里去 |
NS2 |
|
她搬了一把椅子靠在墙上，然后顺着，顺着椅子爬上窗台，来试图象小猫咪一样爬出去 |
Jiulin |
Line 15 |
所以她是上窗户走她隔壁的地方 |
AnnaLi |
Line 12 |
所以女孩子出窗户 |
Reference table
Referents |
Linguistic expressions |
NS1 |
NS2 |
Jiulin |
AnnaLi |
Character |
The child |
她 (she) |
她(she) |
|
|
Action 1 |
Move |
搬(to move) |
搬(to move) |
|
|
Object 1 |
A chair |
（一）个椅子(a chair) |
一把椅子(a chair) |
|
|
Action 2 |
Climb |
准备站(plan to stand) |
爬 (to climb) |
|
|
Location 1 |
On the windowsill |
在阳台上(on the balcony) |
上窗台(onto the windowsill) |
|
|
Action 3 |
Climb |
/ |
试图…爬(attempt to climb) |
|
|
Location 2 |
Out of the window |
/ |
出去 (out) |
|
|
Action 4 |
Climb |
爬 (to climb) |
/ |
|
|
Location 3 |
To her friend’s place |
到小朋友家里去(to little friend’s home) |
/ |
|
|
Please type your answers to the questions in the box below.
When you have finished typing your answer, click to compare your response with the Learner Language staff response.
1.
Referents |
Linguistic expressions |
NS1 |
NS2 |
Jiulin |
AnnaLi |
Character |
The child |
她 (she) |
她(she) |
她(she) |
女孩子(girl) |
Action 1 |
Move |
搬(to move) |
搬(to move) |
/ |
/ |
Object 1 |
A chair |
（一）个椅子(a chair) |
一把椅子(a chair) |
/ |
/ |
Action 2 |
Climb |
准备站(plan to stand) |
爬 (to climb) |
上(to get onto) |
/ |
Location 1 |
On the windowsill |
在阳台上(on the balcony) |
上窗台(onto the windowsill) |
窗户(window) |
/ |
Action 3 |
Climb |
/ |
试图…爬(attempt to climb) |
/ |
出(to get out) |
Location 2 |
Out of the window |
/ |
出去 (out) |
/ |
窗户(window) |
Action 4 |
Climb |
爬 (to climb) |
/ |
走(to walk) |
/ |
Location 3 |
To her friend’s place |
到小朋友家里去(to little friend’s home) |
/ |
她隔壁的地方(her neighbor’s place) |
/ |
Both NSs describe the moving of the chair in their versions, using the same verb “搬(to move)” for the action plus the object “椅子(chair)”. However, neither of the learners includes this information in their versions. It is unclear why the learners choose not to mention the action (the moving of the chair) that the native speakers include. One possible reason is that they are constrained by their limited linguistic resources and therefore resort to a strategy called “simplification”. Another reason may be that they have the language resources but don’t think it’s necessary to include the information here.
As in other referential tasks, there is variation between NS1 and NS2 in how they choose to refer to the actions and locations. For Action 2 (“to climb”) and location 1 (“on the windowsill”), NS1 references planning to stand on the balcony (probably she meant “windowsill”, since there is no balcony in the picture), while NS2 uses the verb “爬 (to climb)” for the action and “窗台 (windowsill)” for the location. Besides, NS1 does not mention Action 3 and location 2 but includes Action 4 and location 3 in her description while NS2 only does Action 3 and location 2. As Tarone & Yule point out, there is not just one effective way to refer: NSs always draw from a range of effective referential expressions.
In contrast, Jiulin refers to Action 2 using the verb “上 (to get on)”, which is acceptable, and “窗户(window)” for the location, which is less specific than the word “窗台 (windowsill)”. Our Chinese language consultant felt that Jiulin’s use of window instead of windowsill occurs because he lacks the full range of linguistic resources that the NS has. AnnaLi, however, does not include this action in her description at all. She simply refers to action 3 and location 2 (“climb out of the window”) and her version of the event is the shortest among the four in the above table.
We should also note that both NSs use connectors such as “然后(then)”, and verbs such as “试图 (to attempt)” for Action 3, “准备 (to plan)” for Action 2, while neither of the learners does. The use of these connectors and verbs is more complicated, which might have deterred the learners from attempting it.
2. In a class, a teacher or a more proficient classmate could provide scaffolding for Jiulin and AnnaLi to supply the missing action verbs such as “搬(to move)”, or “爬 (to climb)”, connectors like “然后(then)” and words for related locations.
