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Abstract
AbstractExplanation and justification require cognitive ability which selects and organises relevant information in a logical way, and linguistic ability which enables speakers to encode the information with linguistic knowledge. This study aims to investigate the development of Chinese oral explanation and justification in Singapore primary students. The study comprised 36 participants ranging from six-year-old to 11-year-old. They were learning Chinese as a second language. A series of questions were designed to elicit explanations and justifications based on a story. Explanation and justification were analysed on length of discourse, frequency of connectives, types of explanation and types of justification. The results showed that, from a linguistic perspective, as age increased, the frequency of connectives and length of discourse increased first then decreased. This suggests that linguistic measures are not sufficient in revealing the development. From a cognitive perspective, the older participants ...
Highlights
Explanation and justification are integrative components of communicative competence (Bygate, 1987; Verhelst, Van Avermaet, & Takala, 2009)
Previous studies found that cognitive abilities which include memorial capacity, comprehension of causal relationships and switching perspective to understand other people’s feelings and linguistic abilities which include the use of causal connectives, anaphors and other cohesive devices, contribute to the development of explanation and justification (Alamillo, Colletta, & Guidetti, 2013; Colletta & Pellenq, 2010; Goetz & Shatz, 1999; Kyratzis, Ross, & Koymen, 2010; Thomas, 1991; Veneziano & Sinclair, 1995)
What are the requirements of explanation and justification and how can teachers foster these two abilities are not clearly stated in the syllabus
Summary
Explanation and justification are integrative components of communicative competence (Bygate, 1987; Verhelst, Van Avermaet, & Takala, 2009). Explanation and justification require cognitive ability which selects and organises relevant and sufficient information in a logical way, and linguistic ability which enables speakers to encode the information with linguistic knowledge. Previous studies found that cognitive abilities which include memorial capacity, comprehension of causal relationships and switching perspective to understand other people’s feelings and linguistic abilities which include the use of causal connectives, anaphors and other cohesive devices, contribute to the development of explanation and justification (Alamillo, Colletta, & Guidetti, 2013; Colletta & Pellenq, 2010; Goetz & Shatz, 1999; Kyratzis, Ross, & Koymen, 2010; Thomas, 1991; Veneziano & Sinclair, 1995)
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