Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) Learners ’ Representation of Voice in Argumentative Writing

This study investigates how a group of advanced-low level American undergraduate students constructs their voice as they learn to write Chinese argumentative essays in an intensive study-abroad program. We collected students ’ written essays as well as the sample essays used by the instructor to teach Chinese argumentative writing. We analyzed students ’ representation of voice in their essays and compared it with the way in which voice is represented in the model essays, focusing on the linguistic devices used in the construction of voice. Our findings suggest that the American learners of Chinese are generally unaware of the importance of constructing their own voice in Chinese argumentative writing, and are in need of explicit teaching of effective linguistic devices that can be used to express their voice