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| The Journal of Asia TEFL |
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  Current Issue |
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Go List
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| Volume 20 Number 4, Winter 2023, Pages 754-1004 |
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The Effects of the Garden Path Technique on Chinese L2 Learners' Acquisition of Relative Clauses
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Wei Sun, Guozhen Yin & Yousun Shin
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The current study aimed to investigate the potential impact of the garden path technique on the instruction of grammar of relative clauses. A total of 83 Chinese EFL non-English majors from a northeast China university participated voluntarily, selected through convenience sampling. After a general language proficiency test, participants were divided into two groups for different grammar instructions. The experimental group received instruction using the garden path technique, which involves presenting confusing sentences within a target grammar structure and providing prompts for correcting errors. Conversely, the control group received traditional grammar instruction, including explicit explanations. Both the experimental and control groups completed a pretest, a post-test, and a delayed post-test consisting of a 30-item multiple-choice grammar test focusing on relative clauses. The obtained data revealed that the garden path technique group outperformed the control group in the post-test and delayed post-test. The garden path technique enhanced long-term retention of the target grammar structures. Furthermore, the garden path technique exhibited varying effects on different types of relative clauses. While learners initially struggled with reduced relative clauses, their ability to acquire these structures significantly improved after receiving grammar instruction incorporating the garden path technique. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the garden path technique in enhancing grammar instruction, emphasizing its ability to capture attention, promote engagement, and stimulate problem-solving. The study highlights the importance of implicit grammar instruction for teaching relative clauses in order to maximize learning outcomes.
Keywords: garden path technique, grammar instruction, relative clauses, Chinese L2 learners, implicit instruction |
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The Journal of Asia TEFL
