Variations in Language Processing and Essay Structure between Native English Speakers and Native Chinese Speakers

The purpose of this study is to observe the variations in language processing and essay structure between native English speakers and native Chinese speakers. Participants will be asked to arrange sentences from a reading passage and the variations in their sentence arrangement will help us understand the differences in language processing and essay structure between the two groups. The findings from the study will help instructional designers and educators in creating better curriculum and instructional materials for today’s diverse student audience. Purpose of the Proposed Study The purpose of this study is to observe and examine the variations in language processing and essay structure between native English speakers and native Chinese speakers. Participants Our participants consist of 20 native English speaking adults and 20 native Chinese speaking adults currently enrolled as graduate students at Teachers College Columbia University. They will be randomly divided into four groups with 10 participants in each group: two groups with native Chinese speakers and two groups with native English speakers. Materials The materials for this research experiment include: -An online survey aiming to find out more about the participants’ educational background and learning strategies -Sentences cut out from two essays written in English Procedure Participants will be asked to fill out an online survey. After they have completed the survey, they will be asked to arrange sentences that have been cut out from a reading passage and form an essay using those sentences.