An investigation of the effectiveness of using parallel corpus on the acquisition of English existential constructions by Hong Kong secondary school students

Abstract

The primary objective of the present study is to examine the difficulties encountered by secondary school students in Hong Kong when utilizing English existential constructions in their writing. Additionally, the study aims to investigate the effectiveness of employing a parallel corpus as a primary instructional strategy to enhance the usage of English existential constructions in writing among these students. To address these research objectives, a case study involving a group of 30 Hong Kong Secondary 4 students was conducted, utilizing data obtained from a pre-test, a post-test, and semi-structured individual interviews. In order to aid students in improving their writing skills regarding English existential constructions, two workshops were conducted. The findings of the study indicated that secondary school students in Hong Kong encountered challenges at the sentential, pragmatic, and discoursal levels when utilizing English existential constructions. Furthermore, the results suggested that while the use of a parallel corpus can be highly advantageous for acquiring English existential constructions at the sentential level, its effectiveness was limited when it comes to the pragmatic and discoursal aspects. Consequently, relying solely on the parallel corpus in language classrooms may not be the most optimal approach for Hong Kong secondary school students. Instead, they expressed a desire for teacher guidance and supplementary learning tools and materials to facilitate a comprehensive acquisition of English existential constructions.