Instrumentos de gestión educativa
1.1 What is discourse analysis?
Based on descriptive linguistics, applied linguistics and second language learning and teaching.
Discourse analysis emerged in 1960.
Relationship between language and the contexts in which it is used.
Grammar has links to discourse.
It is a broad and heterogeneous field.
Focus on natural rather than artificial language.
British discourse analysis
Influence by Halliday's functional approach to language.
emphasizes the social functions of language
the thematic and informational structure of speech and writing.
American discourse analysis
emphasizes close observation
communication of people in natural settings.
Function
depends on context, grammar or phonology.
1.3 Speech acts and discourse structures
Speech Acts
Definition: Concerned with what is done with language.
Overlap with communicative language teaching.
Examples: Request, instruction, exemplification.
Structure of Discourses:
Beginnings, middles, and ends.
Interpretation challenges in analyzing discourse extracts.
Discourse Analysis vs. Speech Acts:
Language not just a string of forms.
Difficulty in assigning functions to specific forms.
Focus on fully contextualized speech acts within the surrounding text and situation.
Interest in the process of assigning functions.
1.4 The scope of discourse analysis
Not limited to spoken interaction.
Encompasses written communication extensively.
Various forms: articles, letters, stories, recipes, etc.
Expectations: coherence, meaningful communication.
Discourse analysts equally interested in how written content is organized.
"Discourse analysis" includes both spoken and written interaction.
Improved understanding supports better decision-making in education.
Recognize context's crucial role in shaping language use.
1.5 Spoken discourse: models of analysis
Originated at the University of Birmingham.
Initial focus on discourse structure in school classrooms.
Led by scholars Sinclair and Coulthard in 1975.
Acknowledges other valid approaches to discourse analysis.
Recognizes diversity within the field.
Characterized by simplicity and potency.
Offers a robust analytical model.
Aims to capture comprehensive discourse structures.
Emphasis on understanding entire discourse "wholes."
1.9 Text and interpretation
The interpretation of a text is a critical process that is influenced by both the reader's perspective and the author's input.
Interpretation is a set of procedures and focuses on the mental activities involved in analyzing a text, often referred to as procedural.
In the text, it is crucial to take into account the existence of markers and signs with particular semantics.
1.10 Larger patterns in text
Analyzing broader patterns in text is crucial to gaining a holistic understanding of how language works in different contexts.
Texts contain broad patterns that are subject to interpretation by the reader.
Analyzing larger patterns involves looking at the overall structure, organization, and coherence of texts.
1.11 Conclusion
Discourse analysis is a broad field in linguistics, addressing more than issues such as clause or sentence structure.
Discourse analysis enhances our comprehension of the complexities inherent in human interaction and expression.
Discourse analysis is a form of education that facilitates the development of teaching materials, fosters pragmatic awareness, and equips students with skills to interpret and produce language.
1.7 Talk as a social activity
Rigid conventions in teacher and doctor-patient talk.
Predictability in structured situations.
Casual talk among equals, complex discourse control.
Challenges in analyzing a casual conversation.
Transcript analysis
initiating, responding, follow-up.
Structuredness comparison with classroom talk and Jozef-Chris conversation.
Problems raised for discourse analysts.
Features handled by Sinclair-Coulthard model, but complications present.
Observations on conversational behavior, adjacency pairs, turn-taking, openings, closings, topics, politeness.
1.8 Written discourse
Differences between written and spoken texts.
Similarities with spoken discourse in terms of structure, hierarchy, and conventions.
Questions about norms and rules in creating written texts.
Applicability of insights from written discourse analysis to language teaching.
Grammatical regularities in well-formed written texts.
Implications of sentence structuring for paragraphs and entire texts.
Grammar of English and options for creating cohesion in texts.
Cohesive features
Pronominalization, ellipsis, conjunction
Examples of cohesive features in a telephone-related text.