本书是在作者博士学位论文《中国英语学习者中介语书面叙事语篇时序性的横断研究》的基础上撰写而成的。全书共分六章：第一章为引言，介绍了研究的背景、意义及价值；第二章为文献综述，从英语学习者叙事能力、时序性习得和对比修辞三个方面对相关理论进行了总结和论述；第三章为研究方法，介绍了研究理论的框架及相关数据的搜集和分析方法；第四章通过对中国英语学习者英汉叙事语篇的文本描述和分析，探讨了其时序表达的特点及影响因素；第五章提出了五个方面的教学建议；第六章为结论和启示，总结了研究成果、局限性和未来研究方向。

Chapter One Introduction

 1.1 Need for the Study

 1.2 Significance of the Study

 1.3 Outline of the Study

Chapter Two Literature Review

 2.1 Narrative Production and Narrative Development ot Second Language Learners

2.1.1 Themes in narrative study

2.1.2 Narrative structure

2.1.3 Narrative cohesion and coherence

2.1.4 Narrative discourse development and empirical findings

2.1.5 Methodology problems

 2.2 Temporality and the Development of Temporal References

2.2.1 Basic concepts of temporality

2.2.2 Temporal semantics

2.2.3 Causality and temporality

2.2.4 Temporal organization in narrative

2.2.5 Narrative timeline, temporal progression and coherence

2.2.6 The development of temporal reference

 2.3 Contrastive Rhetoric

2.3.1 Discourse analysis and second language com- position

2.3.2 Contrastive interlanguage analysis

 2.4 Limitations and Areas for Further Study

Chapter Three Research Design and Methodology

 3.1 Theoretical Framework for Analyzing Temporality in Chinese EFL Learners' Written Narrative

 3.2 Research Questions

 3.3 Methodology

3.3.1 Participants

3.3.2 Materials

3.3.3 Data collection

3.3.4 Reliability of measurements

Chapter Four Results and Discussion

 4. 1 The Micro Level Analysis of Temporal Structure in Narrative Discourse

4.1.1 Proposition units

4.1.2 Rhetorical units

 4.2 The Meso Level Analysis of Episodic Temporal Structure

4.2.1 Categories and functions of narrative clauses

4.2.2 Episode shift

4.2.3 Temporal progression

4.2.4 Narrative'timeline

4.2.5 Episode patterns

 4.3 The Macro Level Interpretation of Temporality

4.3.1 Introduction to Coh-Metrix 2.1

4.3.2 ANOVA analysis of significant measures in learner narrative production

4.3.3 Independent T-test procedure for cross-sectional comparison

 4.4 The Comparison of Temporal Relations Between English and Chinese

4.4.1 Chinese temporal resources

4.4.2 Socio-cultural and psycholinguistic constraints on the expression of temporality by Chinese EFL learners

 4.5 The Analysis of Questionnaire

4.5.1 The introduction of learner questionnaire

4.5.2 Responses to the questionnaire

4.5.3 Qualitative description

 4.6 General Discussion

4.6.1 General relations among three levels of temporality in narrative

4.6.2 The uniform focus on the micro level of temporality across groups

4.6.3 The macro level narrativity promotes better narrative performance on the meso and micro level

Chapter Five The Linking of Theory with Practice

 5.1 Teaching Temporal Lexico-Grammar as Choice

 5.2 Providing Opportunities for Learners to Explore the Relationship of Temporality and Narrative Discourse in Authentic Material

 5.3 Teaching Temporality in Ways that Make Transparent Form-Function Relationship in Discourse Context

 5.4 Encouraging Learners to Become Active Foreign Language Writer

 5.5 Providing EFI. Learners with Systematic'Feedback on Narrative Writing

Chapter Six Conclusion

 6.1 Major Findings

 6.2 Implications of the Study

6.2.1 Implications concerning establishing a hierarchical, causally coherent and goal-oriented temporal structure in narrative

6.2.2 Implications concerning the interplay of multiple temporal devices

6.2.3 Implications concerning differentiated, languagespecific choice of temporal system

 6.3 Limitations

 6.4 Future Research

Appendixes

 Appendix Ⅰ  Questionnaire and Writing Prompt

 Appendix Ⅱ  Chinese EFL Learners' English and Chinese Narrative Samples

 Appendix Ⅲ  The On-line Interface of Coh-Metrix Tool

 Appendix Ⅳ The Raw Results of ANOVA Analysis

References