Beyond Reporting Verbs: Exploring Chinese EFL Learners’ Deployment of Projection in Summary Writing

Adopting the framework of projection from Systemic Functional Linguistics, the present study explored the deployment of projection in summary writing by three levels of college EFL learners from a university in mainland China. Data were collected from one summary writing by three classes of different levels’ learners in an English program from a university in the southern part of mainland China. Quantitative analysis showed that projections increased dramatically from Year 1 to Year 2 and dropped slightly from Year 2 to Year 3. Qualitative analysis revealed that the use of projecting verbs showed huge differences among the three levels of learners. Year 1 students used only a very limited range of projecting verbs. Year 2 learners used a more comprehensive range of such verbs but tended to use them repetitively and inappropriately. In contrast, year 3 students used a much more comprehensive range of projecting verbs in their summary writing and construed projection at different levels. It is recommended that more attention should be paid to the teaching of projection at phrase and text levels in EAP.