APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ALELT) Discourse Analysis
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According to McCarthy (1991), discourse analysis is a term that covers the study of spoken and written interaction
1. SPOKEN & WRITTEN TEXTS Language teachers have traditionally divided language into speaking and writing. Discourse analysis is not only concerned with speaking.
SPEECH
WRITING
Universal, everybody acquires it
Not everyone learns to read and write
Spoken language has dialect variations that represent a region
Written language is more restricted and generally follows a standardized form of grammar, structure, organization, and vocabulary
Speakers use their voices (pitch, rhythm, stress) and their bodies to communicate their message
Writers rely on the words on the page to express meaning and their ideas
Speakers use pauses and intonation
Writers use punctuation
2. TEXT & DISCOURSE 
The meaning of a text (e.g. a business letter) does not activate until it is employed in a context of use (a business meeting). This process of activation is called discourse
When analyzing a text we have to explore two different sites of meaning: 1. The text’s formal properties (sounds, typography, vocabulary, grammar) 2. The contextual factors (cultural setting etc)
3. CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS
Conversation analysis (CA) refers to the study of conversations of all kinds. The definite commitment of CA is to work with what it sees and hears.
1
Zoe
Mum?
2
Lyn
hello (pause)
3
Lyn
I'm here (pause)
4
Zoe
okay- (pause)
5
Lyn
((coughs/clears throat)) (pause)
6
Zoe
hello
7
Lyn
hi
8
Zoe
where's the cigarettes (shorter pause)
9
Lyn
in the kitchen (long pause)
10
Zoe
the camera's on
11
Lyn
yes (slight pause)
12
Zoe
are you talking to it while you WORK?
13
Lyn
no (slight pause)
14
Zoe
15
Lyn
hahh hahh hahh (pause)
16
Zoe
what's the point
17
Zoe
oh god (slight pause) look what I'm wearing
[heh heh[what you DOING then
(slight pause)
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Classroom activities into pair and group work in order to break the turn taking control of the traditional language classroom. This will help to create more natural patterns of conversation for students to practice (McCarthy, 2002)