Yan Liao Publishes Article on Chinese Learners of English

Yan Liao, University Library, has co-authored with Yoshinori J. Fukuya of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, an article titled "Avoidance of Phrasal Verbs: The Case of Chinese Learners of English" in Language Learning 54:2, June 2004, pp. 193–226. Language Learning is a peer-reviewed core journal in the field of second language acquisition.

Yan's study investigates the avoidance of English phrasal verbs by Chinese learners, and the results show that 3 factors---proficiency level, phrasal-verb type, and test type---affect learners' avoidance of phrasal verbs. The authors speculate that the differences between first and second languages and the semantic difficulty of phrasal verbs may be reasons for the learners' avoidance. The study claims that learners' phrasal verb avoidance behavior is a manifestation of interlanguage development.

Yan arrived at UWSP in January 2003 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she served as a cataloging assistant and reference intern in the Business, Humanities, and Social Sciences Department.  Her experience at Manoa also included teaching English to adult learners. She holds graduate degrees in Library Science, English as a Second Language, and American Studies.  Her undergraduate degree is in English Language and Literature.

Click here for the full text of Yan's article in PDF format.