Appendix 1 Topics of the data analyzed from Chinese EFL corpus (SWECCL) Topics from the spoken subcorpus (SECCL): Making a comment on a given topic.1 Topic 1: Spaceship Columbia: A Final Journey On February 1, 2003, the spaceship Columbia was returning from space. The crew of seven never made it back to Earth. Upon reentry to the Earth¡¯s atmosphere, the shuttle was torn apart. The seven crew members did not die in vain; they died exploring the heavens, not for personal benefit, but to benefit mankind. Because of them, we are one step closer to discovering the mysteries of our Universe. Topic 2: China¡¯s Employment Market Challenged by More Graduates With the expansion of enrollment in China¡¯s higher education institutions that began in 1999, the employment market is now flooded with university graduates. Despite these huge increases in the number of students, statistics show that the percentage of China's population that has received higher education is only around 5 percent of the nation¡¯s total, lagging far behind the developed countries. Undoubtedly, as more and more people receive higher education, today's university and college student will face increasingly intense competition in the market. Topic 3: Suggestions for the 2008 Beijing Olympics As soon as the curtain came down on the 28th Olympic Games in Athens, the world's focus shifted east to Beijing. The Olympics can be seen as a way for a nation to exhibit itself to the world Beijing is now busy preparing itself to hold the Olympic Games. What suggestions can you offer to the Olympic organization Committee to ensure a successful 29th Olympic Games? Topic 4: Should firecrackers and fireworks be allowed during the Spring Festival? In many big cities, firecrackers and fireworks have been banned for a number of years because of safety and environmental concerns. Recently, however, some people have suggested that the government should lift the ban during the Spring Festival because, in their opinion, firecrackers and fireworks are an integral part of the traditional Chinese New Year celebration and, without them, the Spring Festival lacks a true festival atmosphere. Some cities have thus lifted the ban but many others have not. Suppose you were the mayor of a big city, where people's views on this issue could not be reconciled. What do you think the government should do? Please give reasons to support your ideas. Topic 5: Pets or not? Nowadays more and more city residents like to keep cats and dogs at home. However, some people think pet breeding should be forbidden or at least discouraged in urban areas. What is your opinion? Why?"?? 1. Topics selected from the written subcorpus (WECCL)2 Topic 1: Some?people?think?that?education?is?a?life-long?process,?while others don¡¯t agree. Write an essay to state your own opinion. Topic 2: Some people think that the animals should be treated as others think that animals are resources of food and clothing. What is your opinion? Topic 3: ?Some?people?think?the?university?education?is?to?prepare?students?for employment. Others?think?it?has?other?functions.?Discuss?and?say what other functions you think it should have. Topic 4: Some people think children should learn to compete, but others think that children should be taught to cooperate. Express some reasons of both views and give your own opinion. Topic 5: Nowadays, more and more college students rent apartments and live outside campus. Is it appropriate? State your opinion about this. 1 There are only five topics in the ¡®Making a comment on a given topic¡¯ task. 2 There were 26 topics in the category ¡°argumentative essay¡± from which five were selected. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------