Qualitative Characteristics of Coherence, Substitution, and Reference by Non-English Major Chinese Students

This study addresses the interrelation among coherence, substitution, and reference by non-English major Chinese students. The author collected data through student questionnaires. Participants included 30 non-English major Chinese undergraduate students. The findings of this study suggested that the similarities and differences were confirmed either in all participants or in the two gender groups. For example, in terms of similarities either all participants or the two gender groups tend to commit more mistakes in regards to coherence than substitution or reference. On the other hand, some significant differences were found, for instance, males scored relatively higher in the mean substitution and reference than did females, whereas females performed better in the mean coherence compared to males in the same field.