An Analysis of Main Difficulties Chinese Learners Experience in English Writing and Some Suggested Solutions for Teachers

段夢夢

1. Introduction

Writing plays a vital part in English learning， which reflects the comprehensive ability of learners. While， for Chinese learners， the performance of their English writing seems not so satisfactory. Chinese English writing is marked as “less fluent， less effective， less productive”（Silva and Paul， 2001， p.195）. A number of scholars have devoted themselves in looking into this problem and pointed out that Chinese learners may come across difficulties when writing English composition for the reason that English writing is a behavior of the transformation of language and culture （Liu， 2011）. Therefore， this essay attempts to analyze the main difficulties Chinese learners experience in English writing and make some suggestions for teachers accordingly. Following the first part of introduction， obstacles at the aspect of writing structure， linguistic knowledge and creativity ability that Chinese learners have in English writing will be fully analyzed by exploring the reasons. Then， corresponding solutions for teachers will come up with in the third part.After all the discussion， the essay will draw a conclusion and point out the limitation of this essay in the final part.

2. The Analysis of Main Difficulties Chinese Learners Experience in English Writing

Given that every Chinese learner possesses different level of English language， then the difficulties they come across in writing are various. However， some problems are specifically assumed as the main difficulties Chinese learners have in common， such as the interference of Chinese writing style， insufficient linguistic knowledge and the lack of creativity.

2.1 Interference of Chinese Writing Style

When it comes to Chinese learners English writing， the organization pattern of the text is considered to be not clear enough so that coherence is achieved unsuccessfully. As Liu （2011） states， Chinese learners usually present the topic of the paragraph in an indirect way and touch on the theme repeatedly. Ideas in paragraphs are organized by time jumps. This kind of writing style has been already pointed out by Kaplan who describes Chinese writing like “turning and turning in a widening gyre”（Kaplan， 1972， p.46）. Here is an example from Zhiliang Lius（2011） research：

“Most of people like to do some exercises， the boys are better like than the girls. They are interested in exercising.

The exercise is good for our health. It can let us have a rest.”

In this example， the writer points out one opinion and then moves on to another irrelative information or jumps to another opinion.Therefore， readers cannot get the point of the whole content. From the perspective of discourse pattern， this can be regarded as a lack of coherence between sentences and paragraphs.

Looking into this problem， different thinking models between English and Chinese are the main factors（Hu， 2014; Liu， 2011）. It is generally believed that the thinking way of Chinese writers is circular， whereas English writers think in a direct and linear way （ Hu， 2014）. In terms of this aspect， Kaplans research presents a strong explanation. He points out that English writing begins with a main argument and then each following content is produced by the previous one in a linear order so that all the information is presented step by step. The sentences and paragraphs are closely linked by some words or phrases.（Silva and Paul， 2001）. On the contrary， such strict principles do not exist in Chinese writing system （Liu， 2011）. Thus， because of long- term training of Chinese writing skills in their learning experience， Chinese writers tend to be easily wonder off the main statement during the process of English writing.

2.2 Insufficient Linguistic Knowledge

In terms of the insufficient linguistic knowledge reflected in Chinese learners English writing， it is normally presented by errors at the level of lexis and grammar.

In lexis level， spelling mistake is one of the errors fairly common in Chinese learners English writing. As Cook （2004， p.140） asserts ： “second language students cannot avoid from making spelling mistakes although they have studied English for so many years”， because Chinese characters and English letters are entirely different.Therefore， for English learners， it is difficult to remember all the spelling of English words. Sometimes， learners may even mix some words because of the similarity， such as ‘compliment and ‘complement. Another common error appears at the level of lexis is the wrong usage of phrasal and prepositional verbs. For instance， the sentence ‘ The plane takes off quickly. is likely to be replaced by ‘ The plane takes up quickly in Chinese learners writing. The reason for this is that such item do not have equivalent in Chinese， so it is difficult for Chinese learners to master such kind of verbs （Swan and Smith， 2001）.

In grammar level， Shi （2012）emphasizes that the usage of articles is one of the prominent difficulties that Chinese learners experience in English writing. Since there are no articles in Chinese， it seems difficult for students to use them consistently and accurately （Swan and Smith， 2001）. Necessary articles may be omitted， for instance， ‘ I can play violin. In this sentence， the article ‘the is needed before the word ‘violin. Similarly， unnecessary articles may also be put in sentences， such as ‘ He usually goes to the school by bus. Here， the article ‘the is unnecessary in this sentence. Different articles are used in different contexts， so there is a long way to go to deal with this problem. Another point needs particular mention here is the expression of the relation between time， tense and aspect in English. As Chinese does not change the form of verbs to express diverse senses， students find it hard to cope with English tense and aspect; they would for example be likely to write ‘She will go by the time you get here （Swan and Smith， 2001）.

Judging from the discussion mentioned above， the errors which are commonly made by Chinese learners in English writing tend to be combined as a large barrier for them， so more effect is needed to solve these problems.

2.3 The Lack of Creativity

At the aspect of the depth of thoughts， a lack of creativity is normally considered to be reflected in Chinese learners English writing. According to Silva and Paul（2001）， Chinese English writing is marked as ‘less productive. In other words， Chinese students are weak at voicing their own creative opinions and more likely to make affecting assertions without any persuasive evidence in their writing.

Regarding this problem， Chinese traditional writing system plays an significant role in this phenomena， because memorialization and imitation used to be required to have a broad knowledge（Matalene， 1985 ; Swan and Smith， 2001）. This view has been supported by Hu（2014） that Chinese writers usually use same phrases and structures in their writing. That is the reason why Chinese writing is considered to be formulaic. Therefore， the traditional learning method may predispose some Chinese students to practice English in a memorizable way.

Besides， the lack of creativity of Chinese learners English writing can also be regarded as the result of some rule of Chinese traditional culture （Swan and Smith， 2001）. In Chinese students childhood， they were taught to respect authoritative voices and not to defy the knowledgeable and authoritative person in public（Hu， 2014）. This principle of culture has a long-term effect on Chinese students mind， even though nowadays they are more encouraged to argue opinions in and out of class. Thus， compared with the two aspects of difficulties mentioned above， the cultivation of Chinese learners creativity in English writing seems to be a demanding job.

3. Some Suggested Solutions for Teachers

Drawing on the analysis of main difficulties Chinese learners come across in English writing， it can be believed that it is indispensable for teachers either to enhance students English language knowledge or to address students needs to build grammatical， lexical resources and creative writing skill.

3.1 Building Awareness of Writing Structure Across Languages

For teachers who teach students have Chinese as their first language， it is firmly believed that appropriate introduction of English language is fairly required in their teaching. According to Hedge （2000）， a number of writers have argued that different cultures will influence the structure of written texts in second language. While， Chinese culture has a long- term impact on students mind， which can be easily found in their writing. Therefore， teachers should teach students to distinguish specific English language features by comparing and contracting the similarities and differences between Chinese and English. Once the interference of Chinese has been noticed， to some extent， errors would be reduced in the whole discourse （Liu， 2011）.