Written discourse analysis in language teaching classrooms: contextual information and language features

【Abstract】This assignment is divided into five sections. The first section is the introduction. Section two focuses on some background literature of discourse analysis， Section three discusses the analysis of contextual information and feature of texts in the two extracts from a research article and a textbook. Section four produces a short classroom activity based on the discussed elements on the two extracts. Section 5 is the conclusion.

【key words】language teaching classrooms; contextual information; language features

【作者簡介】路欣，天津广播影视职业学院。

1. Introduction

As a general term， discourse analysis refers to the study of discourse beyond the sentence level. Celce-Murcia and Olshtain （2000） argue that when people learn a language， they can not just learn the pronunciation， the lexical items or the order of words， they also need to learn how to use the words and sentences in an appropriate way.

There are many factors to consider when analyze a discourse， such as cohesion， coherence， the use of meta-signaling devices and contextual information. When we analyze a written article， contextual information such as discourse type， purpose， intended audience and features of the article such as lexical density， syntactical structure， sentence complexity and organizational patterns can be significant factors to consider.

2. Background literature

2.1 Background information of discourse analysis

Discourse analysis is the investigation about conversations in everyday and all kinds of written articles. It is stated that discourse analysis has a connection with other disciplines， such as in linguistics.

2.2 Analysis of contextual information and features of written texts

In discourse analysis， context is a significant word that implies the factors that affect spoken or written communication. Celce-Murcia and Olshtain （2000） also argue that discourse can be independent of context but depend more on the features of linguistic code. For different discourse types， their purpose and intended audience are also different， as well as their ways of analyzing the structure.

2.3 Discourse analysis in language teaching

When it comes to the discourse approach to language teaching， discourse analysis can be a significant factor to teaching. However， nowadays， learning environment has been changed due to the technology progress which gives students a broad way to access to libraries， networks and all kinds of e-sources. It is argued that teachers may need a new way to help students learning about discourse analysis.

3. Analysis of two comparable extracts

Two comparable texts are chosen to be analyzed in this section. The first extract is from a research article named Research at the Intersection of Reference and Repair： Introduction to the Special Issue （Lerner and Kitzinger， 2012）. The second extract is from a textbook named The Study of Language （Yule， 2010）.

3.1 Analysis of an extract from the research article in terms of contextual information and language features

Based on a project launched over a three day research meeting at the University of York in summer 2008， the aim of the chosen research article is to collect some data and to capitalize on the wide range of data already gathered from other projects.

It is stated that register can to some extent reflect the formality degree of one text. In terms of the register of this research article， a set of particular lexical and grammatical features can reflect the formality degree of this article. For example， “group project” in sentence 1， “data analysis” in sentence 10 can both represent that this is a research article. By noticing these words， readers can get a clear view of what the register is in this article.

Different from other discourse types， research articles focus on the data been collected and conclusions can only be made or analyzed based on the collected data. In extract 1， from “we brought to …drawn from… research projects” in sentence 1， readers can have a general view of this research article. While from “as it turned out， the group ended up…” in sentence 2， readers can assume that this is part of the result of the investigation.

3.2 Analysis of an extract from the textbook in terms of contextual information and language features

Textbooks have the authenticity in language teaching both in history and recent years. Siegel （2014） notes that “textbook authenticity in respect of its language has been discussed and debated extensively in the ELT literature” （p. 367）.

The second extract is from a textbook named “The Study of Language”. The purpose of this text book is to give some basic introduction to language and linguistic and explain to the readers of how language works.

In terms of the register of this extract， formal words and hedges can be found. For example， “we use the term culture” in sentence 1， “term” is a formal word to illustrate a specific definition of something. In sentence 14， the writer uses “it is tempting to believe that” as a formal phrase to indicate. Instead of giving an absolute answer to one issue， the writer is more serious about the choice of words.

In terms of syntactical structure， active sentences are often used here. By using active sentences， readers may be more familiar with writers view of point and have similar understanding with the writer.

3.3 The comparison of these two extracts

Comparing these two extracts， there are some differences between research article and textbook. First， they have different purpose and intended audience， for most time， research article aims to collect data and analyze them on a specific research topic while textbook pays attention to the knowledge itself and gives readers general information of one particular subject matter.

The range of readers among these two discourse types is different because the topic of a research article is more professional， it may attract some certain range of readers to have interest in while for textbook， not only teachers and students can read them， anyone who wants to have a better knowledge of some area can also gain something from textbook.

When it comes to the syntactical structure of the two extracts， differences between them are obvious. For research article， to clearly present the collected data is the first mission， so sentences are not often complicated in a research article while for textbooks， sentences are formed in a more various way.

4. Implications of the analysis for an ELT context

4.1 The design of a short classroom activity

A class activity is formed based on the analysis of above two comparable texts. This class activity aims to give a practical understanding of discourse characteristics of research article and textbook to students.

4.2 Explanation of the activity

First， after reading the sentence by several times， students need to classify them for which are from a research article and which are from a textbook. By classifying the sentences， students can use their own way to identify them， either by some particular words that represent the discourse type or some discourse markers that can inflect the subject matter or the connections between each sentence.

Second， after distinguish the sentences， students need to put the sentences in a right order by the contextual information of them or their features of the written text. When doing this part， students need to write down their reasons for why doing in this order. Last， students need to answer some questions regarding to the discourse information and their reasons of distinguish the sentences.

4.3 Implication of this activity

From this activity， students can find the basic discourse information about research article and textbook. By distinguish the random sentences from the research article and the textbook， students can analyze the sentences by some particular words that contribute to the type of discourse or some connection between sentences. They can also learn the contextual information and features of research article and textbook such as through sentences， they may sense the type of discourse through sentences and by putting the sentences in a right order， students can have a clear view of how the discourse develops.

The most significant effect is that， through this activity， students can form a direct view of discourse differences of research article and textbook. When they analyze discourse like research articles and textbooks， they may know where to begin and which factors to consider.

5. Conclusion

This assessment firstly gives general background knowledge of discourse analysis Secondly， it compares two extracts from one research article and one textbook on their contextual information and features. Thirdly， based on this comparison， a short classroom activity is designed. Through the analysis of two comparable written texts and one short classroom activity， a better understanding of discourse analysis on research article and textbook can be formed.

References：

[1]Celce-Murcia， M. & Olshtain， E. Discourse and Content in Language Teaching： A guide for language teachers[M]. New York： Cambridge University Press，2000.

[2]Lerner， G. H.， & and Kitzinger， C. Research at the intersection of reference and repair： introduction the special issue[J]. Research on Language & Social Interaction，2012，45（2）：111-115.

[3]Siegel， A.. What should we talk about？ The authenticity of textbook topics[J]. ELT Journal，2014，58：363-374.

[4]Yule， G. The Study of Language[M]. New York： Cambridge University Press，2010.