The discourse manifestations of analytic, functional-analytic, and experiential language activities for intermediate to advanced learners of English
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Date
2016-03-02
Authors
Brokensha, Susan Iris
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
This study has two principal aims. First, the descriptive aim is to describe the patterns
of discourse that characterize three language teaching styles referred to by Allen
(1987) in his variable focus curriculum scheme as structural-analytic (Type A),
functional-analytic (Type B), and non-analytic (Type C) teaching, showing that these
patterns differ significantly because they are the product of distinct speech exchange
systems. The justification for this study is that, although Allen (1983; 1987; 1989) has
described the features of Type A, Type B, and Type C teaching at length, few data are
available on how these styles are reflected in actual classroom practices and
processes. Moreover, although Allen et at. {1984) have developed a coding scheme
which they refer to as the COLT procedure to distinguish between analytic and
experiential language activities, it does not document the verbal exchanges
characteristic of analytic teaching. Secondly, the applied linguistic aim is to show how
the findings of the analyses conducted in this study may be used to improve aspects of
teacher training as well as materials design and evaluation. As these aims indicate, the
study of classroom discourse is not regarded as an end in itself, but as a means of
promoting teachers' awareness of classroom processes so that they can make
informed decisions in the language classroom. In order to achieve these aims, three
corpuses of classroom data are analysed either in terms of Sacks, Schegloff and
Jefferson's (1974) rule system for tum-taking in natural conversation, or in terms of
McHoul's (1978) recursive rule system for classroom discourse. Due to the limitations
of the Conversation Analysis perspective, aspects of the Discourse Analysis
perspective of the Birmingham school (Sinclair and Coulthard, 1975) are used in the
analyses.
These analyses show that the discourse patterns that occur in Type A, Type B, and
Type C language activities differ significantly because they are founded either on (i) a
pre-allocated system of turn-taking, (ii) a Jocal-allocational system of turn-taking, or (iii)
a combination of Jocal-allocational and pre-allocational means.
Finally, the implications of the findings for teacher training as well as for materials
design and evaluation are discussed, and, at the same time, future areas of research
are briefly outlined.
Description
Keywords
English language -- Discourse analysis, English language -- Study and teaching (Higher), Foreign speakers, Second language acquisition, Dissertation (M.A. (English)) - University of the Orange Free State, 1997