A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition

Lai Peng

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15

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A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition

Lai Peng

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 4)

Received: 24 May 2021 Accepted: 7 June 2021 Published: 2 July 2021

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Abstract

Given the importance of epistemic modal use in academic writing, this study aims to investigate how well Chinese PhD students use English epistemic modals and whether their achievement in using English epistemic modals is correlated with their degree of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) as a learning style. Fill-in-the-blank exercises were designed to test the participants’ use of epistemic modal verbs in English. Based on theories about matching, embedding and form-function mapping in second language learning, this study analyzed the errors that participants made when they chose modal forms in English to express epistemic functions/meanings conveyed by Chinese modal verb “会” (hui) in different syntactic contexts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure the participants’ degree of TOA and IBM SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical calculation of the correlation coefficient between the participants’ scores of TOA and their scores in using epistemic modal verbs. It was found that the degree of TOA is significantly correlated with epistemic modal use, i.e., the less tolerant of ambiguity a participant was, the less successfully he/she did in using epistemic modal verbs. The results of this study carry implications for language teaching and indicate the necessity of enhancing acquisition of epistemic modality and raising students’ tolerance of ambiguity.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15
Page(s)	169-179
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Tolerance of Ambiguity, Epistemic Modality, Correlation, Form-function Mapping

References

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[2]	Palmer, F. R. (2007). Mood and modality (2^nd edition). Beijing: World Publisher Corporation: 8; 14.
[3]	Hu, C. Y. (2011). Constructing the interlanguage modal system: L2 acquisition of modality by Chinese EFL learners. Beijing: Science Press: 89; 121; 132.
[4]	Ely, C. (2002). Tolerance of ambiguity and the teaching of ESL In “Learning styles in the ESL/EFL classroom” (edited by Joy M. Reid). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press: 87-93; 217.
[5]	Wei, X. B. (2020) A structural analysis of college students’ L2 motivational selves, intolerance of ambiguity and willingness to communicate. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 1: 71-80.
[6]	Xu, X. J. (2017). Literature review of research on ambiguity tolerance in Second Language Acquisition in China in the past 20 years. Journal of Chengdu Normal University, 33 (10): 72-77.
[7]	Zhang, S. M. (2012). A multi-perspective review of Tolerance of Ambiguity studies in the past 50 years. Foreign Language World, 2: 89-95.
[8]	Lai, P. (2020). Semantic and syntactic ambiguities in the acquisition of Chinese modal verbs: based on intralingual and interlingual differences. Linguistics and Literature Studies, 8 (4): 206-214.
[9]	Ellis. R. (1999). The study of Second Language Acquisition. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Teaching Press: 59; 369-370; 374; 378.
[10]	Ellis, R. (2015). Understanding Second Language Acquisition (2^nd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press: 213.
[11]	Celle, A. (2005). The French future tense and English will as markers of epistemic modality. Languages in Contras, 5 (2): 181-218.
[12]	Giannakidou, A. & Mari, A. (2018). A unified analysis of the future as epistemic modality. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 36 (1): 85-129.
[13]	Lai, P. (2016). A multiple-perspective study on English speaker’s acquisition of Chinese modal verbs. Sun Yat-sen University Press: 35.
[14]	Song, L. Y. (2008). On the role of epistemic modality in academic spoken language. Master Thesis of Heilongjiang University, China: Page II.
[15]	Vold, E. T. (2006). Epistemic modality markers in research articles: A cross-linguistic and cross-disciplinary study. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16 (1): 61-87.

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Lai Peng. (2021). A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(4), 169-179. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15

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Lai Peng. A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(4), 169-179. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15

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AMA Style

Lai Peng. A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(4):169-179. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15,
  author = {Lai Peng},
  title = {A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {4},
  pages = {169-179},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210904.15},
  abstract = {Given the importance of epistemic modal use in academic writing, this study aims to investigate how well Chinese PhD students use English epistemic modals and whether their achievement in using English epistemic modals is correlated with their degree of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) as a learning style. Fill-in-the-blank exercises were designed to test the participants’ use of epistemic modal verbs in English. Based on theories about matching, embedding and form-function mapping in second language learning, this study analyzed the errors that participants made when they chose modal forms in English to express epistemic functions/meanings conveyed by Chinese modal verb “会” (hui) in different syntactic contexts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure the participants’ degree of TOA and IBM SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical calculation of the correlation coefficient between the participants’ scores of TOA and their scores in using epistemic modal verbs. It was found that the degree of TOA is significantly correlated with epistemic modal use, i.e., the less tolerant of ambiguity a participant was, the less successfully he/she did in using epistemic modal verbs. The results of this study carry implications for language teaching and indicate the necessity of enhancing acquisition of epistemic modality and raising students’ tolerance of ambiguity.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition
AU  - Lai Peng
Y1  - 2021/07/02
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 169
EP  - 179
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15
AB  - Given the importance of epistemic modal use in academic writing, this study aims to investigate how well Chinese PhD students use English epistemic modals and whether their achievement in using English epistemic modals is correlated with their degree of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) as a learning style. Fill-in-the-blank exercises were designed to test the participants’ use of epistemic modal verbs in English. Based on theories about matching, embedding and form-function mapping in second language learning, this study analyzed the errors that participants made when they chose modal forms in English to express epistemic functions/meanings conveyed by Chinese modal verb “会” (hui) in different syntactic contexts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure the participants’ degree of TOA and IBM SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical calculation of the correlation coefficient between the participants’ scores of TOA and their scores in using epistemic modal verbs. It was found that the degree of TOA is significantly correlated with epistemic modal use, i.e., the less tolerant of ambiguity a participant was, the less successfully he/she did in using epistemic modal verbs. The results of this study carry implications for language teaching and indicate the necessity of enhancing acquisition of epistemic modality and raising students’ tolerance of ambiguity.
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Lai Peng

School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Lai Peng. (2021). A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(4), 169-179. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15

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ACS Style

Lai Peng. A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(4), 169-179. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15

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AMA Style

Lai Peng. A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(4):169-179. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15,
  author = {Lai Peng},
  title = {A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {4},
  pages = {169-179},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210904.15},
  abstract = {Given the importance of epistemic modal use in academic writing, this study aims to investigate how well Chinese PhD students use English epistemic modals and whether their achievement in using English epistemic modals is correlated with their degree of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) as a learning style. Fill-in-the-blank exercises were designed to test the participants’ use of epistemic modal verbs in English. Based on theories about matching, embedding and form-function mapping in second language learning, this study analyzed the errors that participants made when they chose modal forms in English to express epistemic functions/meanings conveyed by Chinese modal verb “会” (hui) in different syntactic contexts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure the participants’ degree of TOA and IBM SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical calculation of the correlation coefficient between the participants’ scores of TOA and their scores in using epistemic modal verbs. It was found that the degree of TOA is significantly correlated with epistemic modal use, i.e., the less tolerant of ambiguity a participant was, the less successfully he/she did in using epistemic modal verbs. The results of this study carry implications for language teaching and indicate the necessity of enhancing acquisition of epistemic modality and raising students’ tolerance of ambiguity.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition
AU  - Lai Peng
Y1  - 2021/07/02
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 169
EP  - 179
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210904.15
AB  - Given the importance of epistemic modal use in academic writing, this study aims to investigate how well Chinese PhD students use English epistemic modals and whether their achievement in using English epistemic modals is correlated with their degree of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) as a learning style. Fill-in-the-blank exercises were designed to test the participants’ use of epistemic modal verbs in English. Based on theories about matching, embedding and form-function mapping in second language learning, this study analyzed the errors that participants made when they chose modal forms in English to express epistemic functions/meanings conveyed by Chinese modal verb “会” (hui) in different syntactic contexts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure the participants’ degree of TOA and IBM SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical calculation of the correlation coefficient between the participants’ scores of TOA and their scores in using epistemic modal verbs. It was found that the degree of TOA is significantly correlated with epistemic modal use, i.e., the less tolerant of ambiguity a participant was, the less successfully he/she did in using epistemic modal verbs. The results of this study carry implications for language teaching and indicate the necessity of enhancing acquisition of epistemic modality and raising students’ tolerance of ambiguity.
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download