大学生海外留学文书写作话语分析及优化-以申请TESOL专业为例

ChapterOneIntroductionTESOLmeansthatteachingenglishtospeakersofotherlanguages,whichhasthetopicofexploringtheteachingmethodsandtheoriesofEnglish,inordertostandardizethemethod.TESOLstudents,aremostlyengagedinEnglishteachinginprimaryschools,middleschoolsanduniversitiesaftergraduation,andteachersmakeanimportantroleininfluencingthedevelopmentofstudents'criticalthinkingability.WhenapplyingforTESOLmajor,foreignstudentsmustfigureouttheirlearningobjectives,explaintheirunderstandingofthecourse,andexplaintheirvalueforresearchandcommunication.Thewritingoftheapplicationdocumentsisanimportantpartfortheseapplicantstoapplyforstudyingabroad,andaccordingtothese,theuniversitythattheapplicantwantstoattendcanknowandexaminetheapplicant'slearningmotivation,Englishlevel,expressionabilityandthinkingability.Therefore,theapplicationdocumentsareextremelyimportant.1.1ResearchBackgroundInthelast30years,Chinesejusthadlimitedapproachestogoabroadbecauseofpoortransportationconditionsandcomplicatedintermediaryprocedures.Itwasdifficulttoimaginethelifeofanothercountry.However,thelivingconditionofChinaconsistentlyimprovedwhichletstudyingabroadmoreaffordabletomostofthepeople,asthedramaticdevelopmentofChina’seconomyafterreformandopening-uppolicycarriedoutin1978.Additionally,thedevelopednetworkandeducation’sprosperitywhichsharplyimprovedcitizens’EnglishabilitymadeChinesehaveabetterunderstandingofthewholeworld.What’smore,someEnglish-speakingcountriesareregardedasEnglish-languagecentersofeducationandresearchbylotsofEnglishmajorsandteachers,whichincreasinglyletthenumberofpeoplewhogothereforpostgraduatestudies.Duetotheprofessionalismandpracticality,TESOLhasbecomeoneofthemostpopularfieldsofstudy.However,duetosomefactorssuchasnon-EnglishmajorslackEnglishwritingskillsanddomesticapplicantsknowlittleabouttherequirementsofforeignuniversities,theywillcopysometemplatestoproducelow-qualitydocuments.Astheresult,theywillnotimpressprofessorsatforeignuniversitieswithappropriatetranslationskills.1.2TaskDescriptionThisthesisinvolvesfiveparts.Thefirstpartistheintroductionwhichconcludesthebackgroundofthisresearchfromtheperspectiveofsocialdevelopment,highereducationpolicyandthecurrentsituationofChinesestudents’studytendency,andthenthereasonsfordoingthisresearcharelisted.Thestructureofthethesisisstatedattheendofthispart.Thesecondpartisliteraturereviewwhichfocusesonrequirementsandprinciplesofpersonalstatements,thetheoreticalbasisofpersonalstatementfrommacroandmicrolevel,theneedofcriticalthinkingaroundTESOLmajorsstudentswithsomerelatedresearchesofcriticalthinkingabroadandathome,andknowledgegaps.Thethirdpartisresearchmethodologywhichisappliedtoanalysethestructureandlinguisticfeatureofpersonalstatementfromacomparativestudyandgainthecriticalthinkingwhichtheforeignuniversitiespreferlearningexperiencesofparticipantsthroughquantitativeandqualitativemethod.Itcoversresearchquestions,researchdesignsandethicalissues.Theforthpartistheconclutionofthesetworesearch,showingtheresultsanddiscussioninwhichthedataisanalyzedandthecomparisonisshowedwiththeaboveliterature.Suggestionsrisefromtheconclutionabouthowtowriteaperfectpersonalstatementarecollectedandasampleisshowedaswell.ChapterTwoLiteratureReview2.1RequirementsandPrinciplesofPS2.1.1TheBasicFrameworkFirstly,thenumberofwordsandformat.AlthoughmostschoolsdonothavearuleonthenumberofPSwords,generallythenumberofwrittenPSwordsinthe800-1200isappropriate,toomuchwilllettheschoolteacherslosepatience,whiletoolittlewilllettheteachersfeelthattheapplicantsarenotveryserious.AdmissionsofficersatBritishuniversitieshavetalkedofbeingboredwithlengthyPSsessionsduringthepeakapplicationseason,whentheytypicallyspendonlytwoorthreeminutesreviewingaPSfileinthefaceofamountainofpaperwork.Admissionsofficersreadalotofapplicationseveryday,andonlysimple,powerful,focusedessayscanimpressthem.Studyabroaddocumentistheadvertisementofapplicantindividualactually,theadvertisementofdeepimpressionwhichisnotconciseandpowerful?Chineseapplicantstendtotelladmissionsofficersabouttheirstrengthsregardlessoftheirpriorities,whichcanleadtoablurryoverallimpressionofyou.Secondly,focusingonthebasicframework.Thereasonyoupreferthismajor:Use50to100wordstoexplaintheoriginofyourinterests,theinfluenceofyourfamilybackgroundandatmosphereonyou,andprovideasmallexampleofyourinterestinthemajororfield.Generallyspeaking,itiseasierforteacherstoseeastudent'sacademicpotentialwhenapplyingforanundergraduatedegree.Ifthemajoryouareapplyingforisnotyourundergraduatemajor,thenpleaseelaborateonyourmotivation,purpose,andinterestintheoriginoftheprocess,andtobeabletocompletethestudy,tousespecificexamples,notemptytalk.TakeTESOLasanexample.Youcanwriteaboutwhoinfluencedyoutobeinterestedinpedagogy,oraboutoneofyourvolunteerteachingactivitiesthatmadeyouinterestedinit.Experiencesarebestexperiencedinthelastfewyears,nottoofaraway,whichismoreconvincing.Ifnoneofthisisavailable,youcanalsowriteabouthowyoutaughtyourslidesinclasspresentationsinotherdisciplines,andwhatinspiredyoutobecomeinterestedinTESOL.UndergraduateStudyPrformanceandAbility:Applicantscanwriteaboutexcellentperformanceinclass,suchasstrongunderstandingability,quickresponse,andquickacceptanceofnewknowledge.Youcanalsoincludepresentations,projects,andexperimentsthatperformedwell.Thisisnotastraighttalk,itisbettertoincludethedifficultiesencountered,thesolutionprocess,theabilitytohighlighttheabilitytodevelop.Generallyoneortwospecificexamplescanbeproved.Thenwritedownyourcontributionsorachievementsinyourmajorandyourcertificates.Ifthemajorisnottheapplicant'scollegemajor,thenexplainhiseffortsinthisfieldandhisself-studyexperienceinthisfield(readingbooks,attendinglectures,attendingtraining,obtainingcertificates,etc.).FortheTESOLmajor,theapplicantcanlisttheoutstandingspeechexperienceinacertainclass,theexperiencemustbespecific,suchaswhatthingsreflecttheapplicantwhatexcellentqualities,thecertificatecanlisttheteacherqualificationcertificate,speechcontestcertificate,etc.ExtracurricularActivities:Academicactivities,competitionsorstudentunionactivitiesduringtheundergraduateperiodtodemonstratetheapplicants'comprehensiveabilities,suchascompetitiveness,leadership,teamworkandabilitytobearpressure.Usespecificexamples,suchasthenameofthecompetition,therole(forexample,captain),whatyouareresponsiblefor,andsoon.Writeaboutatleastonecompetitionoracademicorextracurricularactivitythathashadasignificantimpactonyou,suchasparticipatinginastudentunionorstudentassociation.SocialPractice:Socialactivitiesandpractices,internships,andworkexperiencetodemonstratetheapplicant'spracticalabilityorjobpotential.Writethename,timeperiodandplaceofthepracticeunit.Notonlythat,towritethepracticalworkprocess,includingthejobpositionandresponsibilities:suchastheprojectdone,encountereddifficulties,solutions,whethertheindependentsolutionandinnovationability,bestreflectthedifferencebetweenothers(teamworkability,leadershipandorganizationability,communicationandcoordinationability,technicalability);Achievementandevaluationofwork.Ifthereisaforeignstudy,work,exchangeofinformation,writtenwillgivetheapplicantalotofgrace.TESOLmajorpaysspecialattentiontoteachingexperience,whichwillmaketheirownwritingmorecompetitive.SchoolSelectionandPlanning:Applicantsshouldwritedownthereasonsforchoosingtheschool.Checkouttheschool'swebsitetofindoutwhatkindoftalenttheschoolislookingfor.Speakyourownopinionandtrytoavoidstereotyping.Thentalkabouttheirplans,choosetostudyintheschoolofthismajorwillhaveanyroleintheirfuturegrowthorcareer,youcanalsowriteabouttheircareerplans.Berealisticanddon'tbrag,unlesstheapplicanthasbeenaccumulatingforalongtime.[3]2.1.2AFewPrinciplesofPSEveryoneisunique.Therearenotwoidenticalpeopleintheworld.Eachperson'sunderstandingisdeterminedbyhisnaturalaptitude,familybackground,bookshehasread,peoplehehasmet,placeshehasbeen,preferencesandexperiences.Sothereisnoneedtoimitateotherstoomuch,everyoneisabeautifulscenery.Schoolteachershavetoseetheuniquesideoftheirstudents.So,applicantsshouldneverlookforotherpeople'sexperiencefromtheinternet,orcopytheexperienceofpreviousapplicants,whichmaybeoldorbeusedformanytimes?toleaveabadimpressionontheteacher.AuthenticityandRelevance:Applicantsshouldnottrytofindtheirownuniquepoints,orevenmakeupsomestrangethings,theresultsareoftenintheoppositedirection,manyChineseapplicantstendtowritelongparagraphsaboutsomeirrelevantpersonality,intheeyesoftheadmissions,itiscompletelyirrelevant.Thepurposemustbeclear.PSissuchashortarticleofhundredsofwordsisnoplacetosaynottoseekunderstanding,strictinclear.Intermsofvividness,inordertomakeliteraryworkseasytounderstand,thevividnessofscientificworkscanbeincreasedundercertaincircumstances.Thevividnessofliterarylanguageshouldbemainlymanifestedinthatitcanmakethedullintotheactive,thesilentintothesound,andtheboringintotheinteresting.BeSpecific:Bespecific,notabstract.Whileitisimportanttotellthestoryoftheapplicant'sownachievements,itismoreattractivetoexplainhowtoovercomedifficultiesandfacesetbacksbravely.Thenthereisspiritualgrowth.Thelessonslearnedfromthedifficultiesencounteredandthecharacterhoned.It'simportanttohaveacleargoal,butifit'sflatoutboring,it'sbesttobedramatic,likeaHollywoodmovie,whereyougothroughalotofobstaclesandchallengestoreachyourgoal.CulturalFactors:Manyforeignersdon'tknowmuchaboutChineseculture,sodon'tusetoomanyChineseEnglishterms,suchasChina'sCulturalRevolution.Unlessthesewordsdonotaffectthemeaningofthetext,keepthemtoaminimum.Ifyouhavetowritethisdown,commentitoutlater.Thiscanlettheschoolteacherknowbetter.Trynottowritethingsthateveryoneknows.Becausealotofpeoplewillwritesomethinglikethat.AschoolteacherintheUKcametonewOrientalandsaidthatsomanypeoplewroteabouttheWenchuanearthquakethatwhentheyreadsucharticles,theywerealittlereluctanttoreadthem.TheLanguageItself:Don'tmakegrammaticalmistakes,useconcise,powerfullanguage,beabletomakethingsclear,anddon'tuseobscurewords.Atthesametime,thelanguageshouldnotbetoogorgeous,toomuchdecoration.Don'tcopyothers'content.Iftheapplicantisaliberalartsmajor,youcanwritebeautifully,butdon'taffectthemeaningoftheexpression.Asforthesentencestructure,donotbetoocomplicatedanddonotusesimplesentences.Fitisgood.OutstandingAbility:AfterreadingthePS,theteacherwantstoseethefollowingqualitiesorpotentialoftheapplicant.Academicpotential,teamspirit,innovation,imagination,maturity,leadership,communicationskills,problemanalysisandproblemsolvingskills,passiontolearnthemajor,careerplanning,criticalthinking.APSarticlecan'tbringoutalltheabovetraits,andanapplicantcan'tstandoutinallofthem.Applicantsjustneedtoshowafewthingsthatgivethemanedge.Inaword,PSwritingisaveryimportantpartoftheapplicationforstudyingabroad,whichshouldneverbewrittenhastilyorrandomly.IfPSwritingisgood,itcanmakeupforthedefectoflowGPAL.IfPSwritingisnotgood,GPAisnotanadvantage,generallyspeaking,theapplicationisdifficulttosucceed.AlthoughthereisnosetformulaorfixedcontentforPS,theabovewritingframeworkandprinciplescanhelpapplicantstowritePSwithoutbias.PSisanarticle,anarticlewithaclearpurpose,itspurposeistomakeuniquepeoplethinkthattheapplicantisagoodenoughperson,sinceasanarticle,ithasthestructureandformatofthearticle,thereshouldbeacenter,thatis,thetheme.PSisalsoanotherformofargumentation,theneedtodemonstratethattheapplicanthasenoughability.Theexperienceandtheresearcharegoodarguments.Theaboveprincipleschouldbemorereferabletosomepredecessorsmodel.Findoutwhattopicstheotherapplicantshavechosen.(Wang,2013:116+118)2.2StructureofPersonalStatementfromMacroLevelToexplorethegenreofdiscoursestructureandthedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternthinking,asreflectedinthisarticlefromacross-culturalperspective,firstthroughthe"liberaleducation"toexplorethegenreofforeignarticles,againwithgenreanalysistheory,andfromtheaspectsofmacroscopicandmicroscopiccontrastChineseapplicantsandtheapplicant'spersonalstatementinEnglishinEnglishcountries,aimstohelpChinesestudentstolearnmoreaboutthegenrestructureofthepersonalstatementandlanguagepoints,improvethelevelofEnglishwriting.[[[[[]]]]]2.2.1TheoreticalBasisGenre,asaclassificationofcommunicativeevents,is"agroupofcommunicativeeventswithacommoncommunicativepurpose".Genreinvolvesavarietyoffactors,includingthediscourseitself,thepeopleinvolvedinverbalcommunication,thefunctionofthediscourse,theenvironmentinwhichthediscourseisproducedandreceived.Swalespointedoutthatatextiscomposedofmoves,eachstepservesaspecificpurposeinthetext,andeachstepiscomposedofaseriesofsteps(1990:45-48).Itishelpfulforlanguageteachingtoanalyzegenreasaseriesofsteps.Onthisbasis,Bhatiamakesafurtherinterpretation,believingthatthelanguagestepreflectsthestructureandorganizationofthegenre(1993:30-56).Eachlanguagestepservesaspecificcommunicativepurpose,andeachcommunicativepurposeservestheoverallcommunicativepurposeofthegenre.Itcanbeseenthatthemovestructurestartingfromstepsandstepsisaveryimportantaspectofgenreanalysis,whichcanhelpthewritergraspthemacrostructureofthetext.[]2.2.2IntegrationwiththeTESOLDisciplineFirstofall,applicantsneedtoreadthewritinginstructionsfortheschooltheyareapplyingtoandunderstandthemainpointsofthequestions.Donotwriteunnecessarysentences,donotleaveoutthenecessaryinformation,anddoitintherequirednumberofwords.Thearticleshouldhaveacleartopic,donotdigress,talkaboutsomethingirrelevant.Materialsneedtobestructuredaroundthetopic.ItisadvisabletofocusonTESOLandwriteaboutyourownexperiencesandresearchquestions.Itissuggestedtowriteinthreemodules:thefirstpart,backgroundintroduction,thesecondpart,reasonsforchoosingthisuniversityandthismajor,andthethirdpart,thefuturestudyabroadresearchplan.Successfulstatementsneverdeviatefromthesimpleself-introduction.Thesetwotopicsintroducethemselvesanddescribetheirpotentialasacompetitivecandidate.Analyzetheirresume,personalhistory,andmemories.Highlightingmajoraccomplishments,turningpoints,andeventsthattouchonthesubjectoftheapplicant'scareer.2.3LinguisticFeaturesofPersonalStatementfromMicroLevelBhatiaanalyzed200applicationlettersfromapplicantsinSouthAsiaandfoundthatmanyoftheapplicantsusedaself-advertisingapproach(1993:30-56).Thelawofself-promotionconsistsoffourforms:self-glorification,self-appraisal,self-degradation,Self-aggrandizementistoclaimone'ssuperioritywithoutprovidingsufficientevidence.Aself-assessmentisanobjectivedescriptionofacandidatethatisrelevanttotheprojectbeingappliedfor.Thedifferencebetweenself-boastingandself-evaluationisthatself-boastingisonlyafeeling,adesire,withoutanyobjectivejudgmentorsupport.Self-aggrandizing,therefore,oftenlackscredibilityandislikelytobeseenasaverysubjectivedescription.Braggingisanattempttoconvincesomeoneofyourdesiretoworkforyoubycomplimentingthem(thetargetbaseandtheorganization).Self-deprecationpresentsthegapbetweenwheretheapplicantisnowandtheinstitutiontowhichheisapplying.Thisapproachelicitssympathyfromreviewersandisalanguagetacticoftenusedtoapplyforscholarshipsorjobs.BhatiafoundthatsouthAsianapplicantsinthecorpususedmoreself-promotionandself-deprecationstrategies.[2]2.4CriticalThinkingInrecentyears,theimportanceandnecessityofcultivatingcriticalthinkingabilityhasbeenwidelyrecognizedasoneofthebasicgoalsofhighereducationinChina,especiallyinEnglishmajors.However,theresearchersfoundinthisstudythatmostofthecurrentparticipantswereChineseEnglishmajors,andfewTESOLinternationalstudentsfromChina.Ingeneral,theTESOLcurriculumisdesignedtoteachEnglishtostudentsfromnon-English-speakingcountries.ThemainpurposeofthiscourseistoimprovethelevelofEnglishteaching.Withtheincreasingdemandforhigh-levelEnglishteachersinChina,moreandmoreChinesestudentschoosetostudyabroad.Inrecentyears,TESOLmajorhasmorethanhalfofthetotalnumberofChinesestudents.Aftergraduation,mostTESOLstudentswillbeinvolvedinEnglishteachinginprimaryschools,middleschoolsanduniversitiesandteachersareimportantfactorsinfluencingthedevelopmentofstudents'criticalthinkingability.Therefore,theimprovementofTESOLstudents'criticalthinkingabilityisnotonlyimportantforpersonaldevelopment,butalsocrucialfortheirfutureteachingwork.Basedontheabovereasonsandthepersonalinterestsoftheresearchers,thischaptertakesthecriticalthinkinglearningofTESOLpostgraduatestudentsinChinaastheresearchobjectintheUK.Criticalthinkingisalsooneofthemostimportantqualitiesthatapplicantsexhibitinessaywriting.Recently,theresearchoncriticalthinkingabilityofEnglishmajorshasmadenewprogress.However,ithasattractedgreatattentioninthefieldofforeignlanguages.Fromatheoreticalpointofview,Huang(1998)firstproposedthatcriticalthinkingabilityofEnglishmajorsinChinaisgenerallyinsufficient,whichismainlycausedbythelackofcriticalthinkingability,thatis,thelackofanalytical,comprehensive,judgment,reasoning,thinkinganddiscriminationabilityofEnglishmajors.Inaddition,Huang(1999)clearlypointedoutinseveralopinionsonthereformthattheundergraduateeducationwasforforeignlanguagemajor"namelyEnglishundergraduateeducation".Theemphasisonimitationandmemoryinlanguageskillstrainingignoresthecultivationofstudents'criticalthinkingability,innovationabilityandinnovationability.Throughempiricalstudy,“EntryintotheWorldTradeOrganizationandForeignlanguageEducation”group(Huanget.al.,2002)alsocriticizedforeignlanguagemajorsfornotattachingimportancetothecriticalthinkingabilitydevelopmentforalongtimeandsupportedthisconclusionwithquestionnaires.Theysurveyed708graduatesindifferentmajors.31%ofthestudentsthoughtthatthecriticalthinkingabilityofforeignlanguagemajorswasweakerthanthatofhumanitiesmajors,and45%thoughtthatthecriticalthinkingabilityofforeignlanguagemajorswasweakerthanthatofotherappliedartsmajors.Amongforeignlanguagemajorssurveyed,52percentsaidtheircriticalthinkingskillswereinferiortothoseofappliedartsgraduates.Inordertofindoutwhetherthestudyofforeignlanguagemajorrestrictsthedevelopmentofstudents'criticalthinkingabilityorpromotesthedevelopmentofstudents'criticalthinkingability,Wen(2009)constructedatheoreticalhierarchymodelofcriticalthinkingability.Basedonthistheoreticalframework,sheandherteamdesignedobjectiveandsubjectivequestionsaboutcriticalthinkingskillsandrevisedtheCaliforniacriticalthinkingpersonalityinventory.However,theresearchresultsofWen(2010)andhisteamaredifferentfromtheaboveresults.Afterasurveyof2,189studentsfrom14liberalartsmajorsfromgrade1tograde3in11collegesinChina,theyfoundthat,overall,thethinkingabilityofEnglishmajorsissignificantlyhigherthanthatofotherliberalartsstudents,butthegapisgraduallynarrowingwiththeincreaseofgrades.Theinternalchangesofcriticalthinkingabilityofbothgrade1andgrade3studentsreachedasignificantlevel,butitwasfoundthatcomparedwithotherliberalartsstudents,theimprovementofcriticalthinkingabilityofEnglishmajorswassmall.[8]InordertocultivatecriticalthinkingabilityofEnglishmajors,someresearchers(Ruan,2012;Fan&Wang,2017)havemademuchefforts.Ruan(2012)proposedatheoreticalframeworkcombining"Four-tieridentitylearningmodel","Web2.0e-learningenvironment","Actionlearningtheory"and"Blendedlearningtheories"tocultivatecriticalthinkingabilityofEnglishmajorsinChina.Theapplicationofdual-subjectteacher-studentrelationshipinthistheoreticalframeworkreferstothestudent-led,teacher-led,mixedlearningtheory,whichmeansthatteachersshouldpayattentiontoeffectiveteacher-studentcommunicationandonlinelearningtocreateateachingenvironmentthatfosterscriticalthinkingability.Onthisbasis,thetheoryofcreativeblendingofthestrategyofactionlearningeverylearningprocess"level4theidentityofthelearningmode",sothatstudentscanlearnresearchersandreflectioninpractice,atthesametime,studentscanlocateproblems,analyzingproblems,solvingproblems,andimprovetheirabilityofcriticalthinkingasatextdecoder,meaningtheconstructorandusertextandtextanalyzer.FanandWang(2017)suggestedthatthevarioussub-abilitiesofcriticalthinkingabilityshouldbeintegratedintoeachcoursemoduleandbefertilizedthroughteachingactivities,specificallyspeaking,thelanguageskillmoduleshouldfocusonthecultivationoflogicalreasoningability;languageknowledgemoduleteachingcanfocusontraininglearningabilityandinnovativethinkingability;thelanguageapplicationcoursemoduleteachingemphasizestheanalysisandtheproblem-solvingabilitytraining;theculturalliteracycoursemoduleteachingstrengthensthecomprehensiveabilityandtheappraisalabilitycultivation;thepracticemoduleteachingemphasizestheinnovationability,theresearchabilityandthepracticeabilitycultivation.Thecombinationofthecultivationofstudents'thinkingabilityandtheteachingofvariouscoursesisconducivetotheformationanddevelopmentofstudents'multidimensionalability.[8]ChapterThreeResearchMethodology3.1AnalyzetheStructureofPersonalStatementfromMacroLevel3.2.1TheResearchQuestionsWhatisthedifferencebetweenChineseandforeignstudentsinthechoiceofmovestructure?Whyaretheresomanydifferencesbetweenthetwogroups?3.2.2TheResearchDesignsFirstly,thisstudycollected500applicationdocumentsofstudentsfromenglish-speakingcountriesandnon-nativecountriesrespectively,andcomparedthepersonalapplicationdocumentsofthetwogroupsofstudentsbymeansofinvestigation.Throughcomparison,inductionandsummary,theanswersandreasonsoftheresearchquestionswereobtained.Secondly,thisstudyalsopresentsthenecessarystepsinpreviousstudies:applicationreasons,personalinformation,personalitycharacteristics,andfuturegoals.Inordertofacilitatetheanalysis,theauthorreclassifiedtheinformationrelatedtothestudyatstep4,etc.areclassifiedasstepParticipantsAtotalof500personalstatementswerecollected,250fromChinesestudentsand250fromnativeEnglishspeakers.Oneofthemisfrommyclassmate,whohassuccessfullyappliedtoanidealuniversityintheUK.TherestofthepersonalstatementsinEnglishandChineseiscollectedfromtheInternet.DuetothegreatsimilaritybetweenTESOLmajorandEnglishteachingandlinguistics,the30personalstatementscollectedbytheauthorareallwrittenfortheappliedEnglishdiscipline,includingthreedirections:linguistics,internationalEnglishteachingandTESOL.3.2.4MoveStructureBothgroupsofstudentsfollowedthewritingconventionsofpersonalstatementswhenconstructingdiscourse.Table1showsthesevenstepsofpersonalstatementsderivedfromthecorpusofthisstudy.Firstofall,someriskymovesinthesevenstepsofBhatia'scoverletterdidnotappearinthecorpus,suchasaskingforareplyandadoptingpressurestrategies.Forstudents,theywritetohigherstatusadmissionscommittees.Inequalityinstatuspreventsapplicantsfromtakingtheriskofusingaggressiveverbalcuestopressurereviewerstomakequickdecisions.Table1MoveStructureofPersonalStatement("M"standsfor"Move",“S”standsfor“Step”)M1OpeningM1AStorytellingM1BBackgroundM2OfferingcandidatureM3ReasonsforapplyingS1ASubjectinterestS1BProgram/university/locationattributesS1CGap/needinbackgroundS1DMotivationM4EstablishingcredentialsS1AEducationalbackgroundS1BAcademicachievementsS1CResearchexperienceS1DProfessionalorrelevantexperienceM5Extra-curricularinformationS1AHobbiesS1BSocialwork/voluntaryS1CPersonalityS1DFamilyM6Futureplans/goalsM7Ending3.2.5FrequencyComparisonofMoveStructureThroughinvestigationandstatistics,thefrequencyofstep3(explainthereasonforapplication)andstep4(determinetheproofofstudy)is100%,whicharebothnecessarysteps.Theotherfivelanguagestepsareallselectivelanguagesteps,andthetwogroupsofstudentsdiffergreatlyintheuseofthetwolanguagesteps.AlltheChinesestudentsandEnglishnativelanguagestudentsexplainthereasonoftheapplicationinthepersonalstatement,suchasshowin