ABSTRACT
This study proposed a second language (L2) pedagogical model on the Chinese ba-construction that emphasizes both syntactic and semantic relationships between the ba-NP and the ba-VP, as interpreted with transitivity, topicality and disposability. It tested the effectiveness of this model among college-level English-speaking learners of Chinese. Through a series of grammar instruction sessions that emphasized explicit form-focused instructional techniques on five types of the ba-construction, data were collected on L2 performances from fourteen participants across two proficiency levels. Quantitative analyses revealed that while participants acquired these five types of the ba-construction in comprehension significantly better than in production, different trends in acquisition patterns were also found between their performances in these two language skills. These results point to the importance of drawing L2 learners’ attention to form and to the association between form and meaning through explicit form-focused instructional techniques, which plays an indispensable role in communicative L2 classes and serves as a necessary reinforcement to the frequent exposure to meaningful L2 input. In addition, for the Chinese ba-construction, instruction that focuses on declarative knowledge is beneficial across proficiency levels.
