The use of linking adverbials in theses of IIUM students /
Linking Adverbials (LAs) are not only utilized to connect the functions between units of discourse but also to facilitate the logical flow of a presentation and significantly affect the ways meaning is organized and conveyed by speakers and interpreted by listeners. Used incorrectly, linking adverbi...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Kuala Lumpur :
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia,
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Click here to view 1st 24 pages of the thesis. Members can view fulltext at the specified PCs in the library. |
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| Summary: | Linking Adverbials (LAs) are not only utilized to connect the functions between units of discourse but also to facilitate the logical flow of a presentation and significantly affect the ways meaning is organized and conveyed by speakers and interpreted by listeners. Used incorrectly, linking adverbials can confuse the reader of a text and hinder the cohesion and coherence of a text. In previous researches, second language users were reported to have a tendency to overuse Linking Adverbials to substitute for their lack of knowledge in writing comprehensibly. When L2 users fail to demonstrate knowledge ofLAs and the functions they carry, there is a possibility that LAs are used incorrectly and can be misinterpreted. In light of this possibility, this research was conducted for the purpose of investigating 60 Masters theses from International Islamic University Malaysia. The study examined if there was an inclination for postgraduates to overgeneralize the use of Linking Adverbials; and if there are underlying causes for such problems that did not bring about plausible communication. This analysis was conducted based on the framework developed by Liu (2008). This study described the analyses of LAs in Masters' theses across six humanities departments; 10 theses from each department. The study examined the Masters students' use of Linking Adverbials in an attempt to reveal frequencies and occurrences of the grammatical feature in each department. Both quantitative and qualitative data were used in this study to scrutinize patterns of use. The analysis revealed that the students from the six departments shared a similarity in their choices of LAs in terms of categories and individual forms. It also identified a few specific cases of overuse and inaccurate use of certain categories and individual linkers. The findings have implications for both teachers and learners: ESL learners should be explicitly made aware of this feature during class instruction. |
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| Item Description: | Abstracts in English and Arabic. "A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Teaching English as a second Language." --On t.p. |
| Physical Description: | viii, 99 leaves : ill. ; 30cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-82). |