Discourse

The study of discourse: – Involves our efforts to interpret or be interpreted…and how we accomplish it – Goes beyond just linguistic forms and structure

Discourse Analysis The study of how language users: make sense of what they read or hear understand what speakers mean despite what they say interpret incoherent discourse successfully take part in conversations

Cohesion The ties and connections that exist within texts The use of an appropriate pronoun to refer to a previously mentioned noun (COHESIVE DEVICE) – Give an example of another cohesive device. Think about WRITING and SPEAKING...how do we tie ideas together? General connections between common terms – MONEY: bought, sold, pay – TIME: once, sometimes, never

Coherence Goes beyond the simple connection between words Making sense of what we read and hear – Filling in gaps of logic For instance, making sense of a sentence fragment – Create meaningful connections that are not actually expressed by words or sentences.

Turn-taking Allowing other people in the conversation a chance to speak Rules may vary depending on culture Misunderstandings about cultural background may lead to “rude” label How might a speaker indicate that he/she wants to speak?

Topic Shifting Verbal and non-verbal strategies to change the subject or direction of a conversation Why might this be used? Techniques?

Completion Point Signal that you are finished speaking or that the conversation is over What are some common ways to express a completion point in Standard American English?

The 4 Maxims of Conversation Quantity – not more, not less than the required Quality – don’t speak falsely Relation – be relevant Manner – be clear, brief, orderly

Schema Conventional knowledge structure that exists in your memory Used to interpret information around us – House schema – University schema

Script A script is a dynamic schema with conventional actions that take place A script is the mental action list that we have for different places or situations. – In our HOUSE schema, we have a “doing laundry” script, we have a “cooking dinner” script, etc. – What types of scripts do we have in our UNIVERSITY schema? Why are the concepts of scripts and schemas important for teaching ESL?