Stephen van Vlack
Sookmyung Women`s University
Graduate School of TESOL
Discourse Analysis (Spring 2004)
Week 13 - DAC Chapter 4 - Questions
1. Pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary are believed to be "subskills". But, in chapter 4, the discourse analysis activities are focussed on these 3 areas. Summarize what the discourse analysis activities offer in the area of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
*Grammar
First, spoken English is notably different from written English.
* A number of studies address the ways (e.g, Ford 1993; Horowitz and Samuels 1987; Kroll and Vann 1981; Ochs 1979).
Ex; adult native speakers
Second, the choice of grammatical structures may differ in different context.
Ex; In academic context, the speech is likely to resemble writing: sentences are dense and
complex.
* Different settings can shape the form an utterance take; A request (imperative form), A question (using a modal)
Discourse Analysis Activities.
1. Ls can focus on particular grammatical structures in natural speech.
2. Ls can observe how what is actually said may or may not conform to the prescriptive rules presented in textbooks.
3. Ls can make hypotheses about why particular grammatical choices were made instead of others.
*Vocabulary
Nation (1990) :
(a) Increasing vocabulary involves selectively introducing learners to new words.
(b) Establishing vocabulary involves building on this vocabulary by using words in meaningful contexts.
Sokmen (1992) : simply memorizing list of words or even learning words in context does not guarantee retention. Rather, words need to be organized and associated in ways that are meaningful to individual learners.
It is important to decide what words to target and how to approach "learning"
(Ex1; University students need a substantial receptive vocabulary)
Ý Tailor-made vocabulary studies
; Ls can concentrate on high frequency words or specialized vocabulary that is useful to them. or, they can focus on words that cause particular difficult for them.
Discourse Analysis Activities.
1. Ls can observe the vocabulary that is used in a certain setting.
2. Ls can notice how usage may differ in other settings. (ex; in a conversation vs. in an academic lecture.)
3. Ls can make hypotheses about why particular vocabulary choices were made instead of others.
In informal settings, grammar or vocabulary usage may break the rules formal, "news announcer" English.
* Speakers' dialects affect their choice of words & contribute to the nature of their established receptive vocabularies.
*Pronunciation
Discourse Analysis Activities.
1. Ls can collect audiotaped speech from speakers' different dialects.
2. Ls systematically compare the pronunciation of specific words and the sounds in words.
3. Ls can design meaningful practice activities
* The phenomenon of "fast English" in the study of pronunciation.
* In speech, words are normally linked together (one clause-length "stream" of words.)
* Formal speech: more full words & fewer contractions and ellipses.
* The phenomenon of "fast English" in the study of pronunciation.
* In speech, words are normally linked together (one clause-length "stream" of words.)
* Formal speech: more full words & fewer contractions and ellipses.
2. Choose one discourse analysis activity for each area and briefly summarize the main idea of the activity you choose.
* Vocabulary actvitity
1. Objectives
- to focus on unknown words and guess their meaning in meaningful ways
- to give a short talk using field-specific vocabulary
- to use transitions appropriately in formal talks
- to build vocabulary examining audio-taped speech and rephrasing words and phrases
2. Background
-Understanding vocabulary in spoken language is different task than understanding while reading (Nation, 1990).
- Even native speakers don't know all the words.
- Turning into the transition markers can enhance overall listening comprehension abilities.
- All the students feel the need for vocabulary improvement.
3. Step 1: Predict - Context
- Identify one or two settings related to the difficulty
- Choose a topic or field: neither too broad nor too narrow
- Predict the topic and purpose of the informative talk. List several transition words and phrases.
- Predict communicative situations and discuss possible sources of the difficulty.
4. Step 2: Plan - Data Collection Procedures
- Form research team (group work/ individual work)
- Decide how and where to collect a data sample of talk related to the topic and the setting.
- Observing, listening, tape-recording or a research notebook.
5. Step 3: Collect data
- Record the speech by an audio tape or a video tape.
- Identify the problems : making a list or taking notes
- Learners' their own speech
6. Step 4: Analyze
- Transcribe difficult excerpts and identify the cause of difficulty.
: Guess the meaning from the context, write them down, compare and discuss them as a group.
: Determine what clues helped learners to guess the meaning.
- Examine the list or notes: the relation between words and their meaning or their functions within context
- Determine what learners feel they had difficulty expressing themselves
7. Step 5: Generate
-Associate the new words learners learned with words they already know. (research notebook, word map)
-Associate the new words learners learned with words they already know. (research notebook, word map)
- Develop and deliver a short formal talk or lecture. Develop and deliver a short formal talk or lecture
8. Step 6: Review - Post Activities
- game : word lists, written passages, small talk
- research notebook : word lists, interesting notes.
- peer evaluation
: recording, note-taking(examples of words, phrases), discussion
- task designing to practice new vocabulary items
Pronunciation Activity
1. Goal
To enable learners use stress and pauses more effectively
2. Objective
TI analyze their own speech for accuracy in terms of pronunciation
3. Predict
1. Listening & Marking
2. Thinking about word stress and pauses (Sheet1)
4. Plan
* Audiotape or videotape of their speaking accompanied by a transcript
5. Collect Data
* Transcribing one or two minutes of their own speech
6. Analyze
1. Predicting & Marking
2. Listening & marking the actual stressed words and pauses
3. In pairs or groups, discussing their findings(sheet2)
4. In class, discussing them: the successes and typical errors
7. Generate
?Audiotaping their own speech to practice
8. Review
?Analyzing their own data or asking feedback from a small group of students
Grammar Activity
"Child Language Acquisition
1.Objective
(1) To heighten learner's awareness about grammatical
structures that are difficult for children learning
English as their native language and
(2) evaluate how their own speech development compares
to their findings.
Who Cares?
How can students benefit from this activity?
Why would they benefit from this activity?
2.Background
This activity assumes that mistakes made by second language
learners resemble or are otherwise linked to mistakes
children make during L1 development. A common example is
children's overgeneralization of "ed" for past tense verbs
("boo hoo, I breaked my toy," or "boo hoo, puppy eated all
my cookies")
3.Predict
Learners choose one (or more) grammar pattern that they feel is difficult and then predict if, and to what extent, L1 learning children experience the same problems (patterns can be chosen based on their coverage in grammar books).
4.Plan
According to the text, there are several possibilities for investigating the language use of children. Possibilities include observing day cares, preschools, or elementary schools. If this is impossible, data may also be acquired through interviewing parents of young children. Finally, books and journals may also prove to be a good source of information.
5.Collect Data
Individuals or research teams collect data from their chosen research site/ method. Tape recording is suggested if possible. If communication with children is possible, it may be beneficial to prepare basic questions about the child's present situation or recent past in order to encourage speech production (depending on the structure chosen for analysis).
6.Analysis
Learners pool their data and list any errors noticed. A group discussion is conducted to examine their findings and compare them to their original predictions on what mistakes the children may make. Students also discuss how these errors are represented in second language learners' grammar books. Students then tape their own speech for use in comparing the mistakes made by the children with mistakes they may also be making.
7.Review
The students then analyze their own speech and compare their errors to those of the children L1 learners. Error analysis can be conducted in an attempt to predict how often and at what level errors occur as well as if the errors are common across second language learning in general or are specific to individuals. This analysis will allow the students to identify difficult structures and better focus their energy on structures that may be problematic for L2 learners in general as well as structures that they are particularly weak on at the individual level.