Corpus-based Research on Topical Theme Choices in Chinese and Swedish English Learner Writings

This study investigates topical Theme choices in Chinese and Swedish English learners’ English writing and aims to find out how topical Theme choices in Chinese English learners’ English writings are different from those in Swedish English learners’ English writings with native speakers as the research baseline. The corpus consists of comparable written data of Chinese English learners, Swedish English learners and native speakers of English. The results of the study reveal that the two groups of English learners exhibit more similarities in topical Theme choices than differences. They display closer performance to each other not only in all three types of topical Themes, but also in two of the five elements in informational Themes, two of the three elements in interactional Themes and all three elements in discoursal Themes. The results of the study also accords with past research findings in that both Chinese English learners and Swedish English learners deviate from native speakers in topical Theme choices. These findings reminds us again of the importance to increase English learners’ understanding of how Themes contribute to the method of development in texts, and could be further investigated in finding out the reasons for similar performance in topical Theme choices in English writings by learners of different mother language backgrounds.