EnglishMajors.PDF

International Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 5, No. 5; 2015 ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education A Survey on the Use of Causal Discourse Markers among Chinese English Majors Yafei Zhang1 Huaqing He1 1 School of Foreign Languages, China West Normal University, Nanchong, China Correspondence: Huaqing He, School of Foreign Languages, China West Normal University, No. 1 Shi Da Road, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China. Tel: 86-817-231-1856. E-mail: masha4567@ Received: July 4, 2015 Accepted: July 26, 2015 Online Published: September 29, 2015 doi:10.5539/ijel.v5n5p126 URL: /10.5539/ijel.v5n5p126 This research is financed by the Department of Education of Sichuan Province, China (Project No. 13SA0015). Abstract Chinese English Majors mainly write argumentative compositions which itself is a kind of causal relations. Thereby, causal discourse markers, as one of the Discourse Markers can be employed in their argumentations to tighten the coherence and logical relations. Based on the results of other scholars’ previous research, this thesis applies questionnaires to investigate the reasons of using causal discourse markers in English majors’ oral and written English. According to the analysis of questionnaires, the reasons that caused English majors using of causal discourse markers are as follows: 1) lack of stylistic awareness; 2) intentionally avoiding making mistakes; 3) time factor (timed); 4) negative L1 transfer; 5) teachers’ influence.