MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

FINAL ASSIGNMENT

CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

IN EDUCATION

Group 4: Nguyễn Thị Kim Gấm

Nguyễn Thị Tằm
Nguyễn Thanh Thảo

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. NGUYỄN THỊ THU HIỀN

Class: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching
Course: K25B

BINH DINH, 2024

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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 2. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND GRAMMAR.........................1
1. Grammatical cohesion and textuality...........................................................................................................1
1.1. Reference........................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Ellipsis.................................................................................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Substitution.........................................................................................................................................................2
1.4 Conjunction........................................................................................................................................................ 2
2. Theme and rheme............................................................................................................................................... 2
3. Tenses, Aspects................................................................................................................................................... 2
4. Pedagogical implications................................................................................................................................. 3
4.1 Speaking skills.................................................................................................................................................. 3
4.2 Listening and Reading Skills........................................................................................................................3
4.3 Writing skills..................................................................................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER 3. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND VOCABULARY...................5

1. Lexical cohesion................................................................................................................................................. 5
2. Lexis in talk.......................................................................................................................................................... 5
3. Textual aspects of lexical competence........................................................................................................5
4. Vocabulary and the organizing of text........................................................................................................6
5. Signalling larger textual patterns...................................................................................................................6
6. Register and signaling vocabulary................................................................................................................6
7. Modality................................................................................................................................................................. 7
8. Pedagogical implications................................................................................................................................. 7
8.1 Speaking Skills..................................................................................................................................................7
8.2 Reading and Listening Skills........................................................................................................................8
8.3 Writing Skills.....................................................................................................................................................8

CHAPTER 4. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND PHONOLOGY...................10

1. Pronunciation.................................................................................................................................................... 10
2. Rhythm................................................................................................................................................................ 10
3. Word stress and prominence........................................................................................................................10
4. Intonational units..............................................................................................................................................10
5. Tones and their meanings..............................................................................................................................11
6. Pedagogical Implications..............................................................................................................................11

CHAPTER 5. SPOKEN LANGUAGE............................................................12

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1. Adjacency........................................................................................................................................................... 12
2. Turn-Taking....................................................................................................................................................... 12
3. Exchanges...........................................................................................................................................................12
4. Transactions and Topics................................................................................................................................13
4.1 Transactions.................................................................................................................................................... 13
4.2 Topics................................................................................................................................................................ 13
5. Interactional and Transactional Talk......................................................................................................13
5.1 Interactional Talk...........................................................................................................................................13
5.2 Transactional Talk.........................................................................................................................................13
6. Stories, Anecdotes, and Jokes...................................................................................................................14
6.1 Stories................................................................................................................................................................ 14
6.2 Anecdotes.........................................................................................................................................................14
6.3 Jokes...................................................................................................................................................................14
7. Pedagogical Implications.............................................................................................................................14
7.1 Speaking Skills...............................................................................................................................................14
2. Listening Skills................................................................................................................................................. 15

CHAPTER 6. WRITTEN LANGUAGE.........................................................16

1. Text types........................................................................................................................................................... 16
2. Speech and writing..........................................................................................................................................16
3. Unit of discourse..............................................................................................................................................17
4. Clause relations.................................................................................................................................................17
5. Getting to grips with larger pattern............................................................................................................17
6. Patterns and the learner..................................................................................................................................18
7. Culture and rhetoric.........................................................................................................................................19
8. Discourse and the reader............................................................................................................................... 19
9. Pedagogical Implications..............................................................................................................................20
9.1 Reading Skills.................................................................................................................................................20
9.2 Writing Skills..................................................................................................................................................20
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CHAPTER 2. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND GRAMMAR

1. Grammatical cohesion and textuality

1.1. Reference
- Coherent and meaningful
 Ensures the discourse maintains a logical flow and clarity, facilitating easier
comprehension for listeners or readers.
 Links different parts of the discourse by referring to previously mentioned
entities, objects, or concepts.
- Communicative:
 Helps speakers and writers accurately and effectively convey their intended
meaning using demonstratives, pronouns, and other referential expressions.
 Ensures that the audience interprets the message correctly, thereby enhancing
successful communication.
1.2 Ellipsis

- Meaningful and coherent:

 Aids in preserving the discourse's flow and condensing it without sacrificing its
intended meaning.
 Makes sure that even when some points are not mentioned directly, the
conversation is still understandable and makes sense.
- Communicative:
 Ellipsis relies on shared knowledge between the audience and the
speaker/writer, facilitating smoother and more effective communication.
 Enables speakers and writers to focus on the main points of their message,
thereby enhancing communication effectiveness.
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1.3 Substitution
- Meaningful and coherent:

 Substitutes a word or phrase, usually a pronoun or synonym, to maintain

coherence and meaning in discourse.
 Reduces repetition and enhances conversation flow, thereby ensuring clarity
and logical progression in text or speech.
- Communicative:
 Enables authors and speakers to express their ideas more concisely and
effectively.
 Keeps the conversation engaging and minimizes unnecessary repetition,
thereby enhancing listener comprehension.
1.4 Conjunction
- Structure and Coherence of Discourse:
 Conjunctions aid in joining words, phrases, and sentences together in the
discourse structure.
 Conjunctions aid in clearly signaling the logical and semantic ties between
various sections of a conversation, which contributes to cohesion and
coherence.
2. Theme and rheme
- Meaningful and coherent: The Theme (subject matter) and Rheme (information
about the Theme) structure aids in organizing information for enhanced listener and
reader comprehension, ensuring coherence.
- Communicative:
 The Theme-Rheme structure enhances communication by emphasizing new or
relevant information (Rheme) within the context or background (Theme).
 The structure of discourse may vary depending on the specific communicative
intent of the speaker or writer.
3. Tenses, Aspects
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Tenses and aspects help establish the
temporal structure of discourse, indicating when actions or events occur and whether
they are ongoing, completed, or habitual.
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- Coherence: Consistent usage of tenses and aspects helps in creating a unified and
easily understandable narrative or conversation.
- As for speech act functions: Tenses can be used to perform different speech acts,
such as making promises, expressing regrets, or issuing commands.
4. Pedagogical implications
4.1 Speaking skills
To help students grasp and apply grammar effectively, it is essential to integrate
grammatical points into real-life contexts. For example, when teaching future tenses
for planning, rather than having students complete traditional exercises like filling in
verb forms, it is more beneficial to have them discuss their own summer holiday plans
with classmates. This can be done through various activities during Free Practice, such
as role-playing, surveys, or interviews.
4.2 Listening and Reading Skills
Based on the concepts of Reference, Ellipsis, Substitution, and Conjunction, teachers
can create specific Listening and Reading exercises. These exercises not only aid
students in understanding these features but also enable them to apply them in real-
world contexts presented in those exercises.

Examples of Reading Exercises:

 Reference Matching: Provide a passage where students must match pronouns
or reference words to their antecedents. They can draw lines connecting
pronouns to the nouns they replace or annotate the text. They need to rely on
the context provided in the passage and the relationships presented in the text
to complete this type of exercise.
 Complete the Sentences: Give a passage with sentences that contain ellipses.
Ask students to rewrite the sentences by adding the omitted elements, showing
they understand what was left out.

Examples of Listening Exercises:

 True/False Statements: Have the students listen to the audio and determine
whether each statement is true or false. All statements are structured to describe
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various types of relationships, such as cause and effect. Students must rely on
the conjunctions to select the correct answers.
 Multiple Choice Questions with Ellipsis: Have the students listen to a dialogue
and select the phrase that completes an elliptical statement.

4.3 Writing skills

It's crucial to assist students in comprehending and using Reference, Ellipsis,

Substitution, and Conjunctions in their writing to enhance the coherence of their
arguments and foster creativity in their compositions.

Examples of some writing activites/exercises:

 Enhanced Editing and Proofreading Skills: Provide sentences with pronoun-

antecedent errors or conjunction errors. Students identify and correct the errors
to ensure clarity and coherence.

 Paraphrase skills: Ask students to rewrite a paragraph by replacing repeated

words or phrases with synonyms or pronouns to make it easier to read and
more varied. For example, instead of saying 'She bought a dress. The dress was
blue,' they could say 'She bought a blue dress.

 Creative Writing Prompt Using Conjunctions: Assign a creative writing task

where students must use conjunctions to create complex sentences and develop
a narrative with logical connections.

CHAPTER 3. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND VOCABULARY

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1. Lexical cohesion
- A Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Lexical cohesion involves using
vocabulary to connect different parts of a text, enhancing its overall meaning and
logical flow. Techniques such as repetition, synonyms, antonyms, and collocations
help unify sentences and paragraphs.
- Meaningful and coherent: lexical cohesion aids readers or listeners in following and
comprehending the message, thereby conveying the intended meaning clearly and
effectively. This facilitates better communication between the speaker/writer and the
audience.
2. Lexis in talk
- Meaningful and coherent: Relexicalization is how speakers enhance and develop
topics by repeating their own vocabulary choices and incorporating each other's
during their exchanges, thereby enriching the conversation flow.
- Purpose of communication: By repeating and elaborating on each other's vocabulary
choices, speakers reinforce their shared experience, thereby deepening mutual
understanding and engagement with the topic at hand.
- Spoken or written: "Lexis in Talk" emphasizes the distinctive characteristics and
vocabulary utilized in spoken language, contrasting it with written text.
3. Textual aspects of lexical competence
- Meaningful and coherent: A competent reader or listener must determine if terms are
being used synonymously or to highlight their potential differences in meaning.
- Purpose of communication: Speakers and writers sometimes intentionally break
conventional expected patterns to encourage fresh perspectives on how words interact.
This deliberate choice serves various purposes: conveying intricate ideas that
conventional language may not capture, showcasing the unique creativity of the
speaker or writer.
- It is spoken or written form: Discourse-specific lexical relations can be called
instantial relations. These terms are commonly encountered in both oral and written
texts and likely represent a universal aspect across all languages.
4. Vocabulary and the organizing of text
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- A Stretch of Language: The choice and arrangement of words and phrases are
pivotal in organizing the form of the text
- Meaningful and Coherent: Skillful use of vocabulary bridges sentences and
paragraphs, ensuring that ideas flow logically and coherently
- Communicative: Clear and well-structured texts improve the reader's or listener's
understanding of the intended message, fostering effective communication.
5. Signalling larger textual patterns
- Meaningful and coherent:
Recognizing and signaling patterns, such as cause and effect, comparison and
contrast, or problem and solution, aids comprehension. These patterns provide a
framework within which the audience can place specific details, enhancing the
overall meaningfulness.

- Purpose of communication:
Signaling larger textual patterns helps clarify the intent of the discourse. Whether the
purpose is to inform, persuade, entertain, or instruct, clear patterns help the audience
understand the underlying objective of the communication.
- It is spoken or written form:
Using patterns to frame the discourse ensures that the purpose is communicated.
effectively from the beginning, setting the context and expectations for the
audience.
6. Register and signaling vocabulary
- Meaningful and coherent:
Signaling vocabulary can help outline the structure of the discourse.
They show the organization of points, making it easier for the audience to follow
and understand the overall argument or narrative.
- Purpose of communication:
The right register and signaling vocabulary ensure that the message is clear and
precise, which is crucial for achieving the communicative purpose.
- It is spoken or written form:
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 In spoken discourse, the register often tends to be more informal. This includes
colloquial language, contractions, and conversational phrases which help in
making the communication feel natural and engaging.
 Written discourse often uses a more formal register, especially in academic, pro
fessional, or official documents. This involves using complete sentences,
avoiding slang and adhering to grammatical conventions.
7. Modality
- Meaningful and coherent: There are a lot of lexical words (nouns, verbs, adverbs,
and adjectives) having the same or similar meanings with the modal verbs can
replace modal verbs
- It communicates and has a purpose:
Modality shapes the purpose of communication in discourse by expressing degrees of
certainty, obligation, permission, and ability. It helps in aligning the message with its
communicative intent, whether it is to inform, persuade, request, suggest, or
hypothesize.
- It is spoken or written form:
 In spoken discourse, speakers can use modality to express attitudes and emotions
dynamically, responding to the listener's reactions.
 Written discourse, especially in academic and professional contexts, often uses
modality to maintain a formal tone.
8. Pedagogical implications
8.1 Speaking Skills
Instead of teaching vocabulary as isolated words, it is crucial to put them in phrases
and collocations that contribute to coherence in discourse. Also, it is crucial in
teaching speaking skills to:
 Encourage students to use cohesive devices such as pronouns, synonyms,
antonyms, and transitional expressions to link ideas coherently in conversations
and when listening to others.
 Provide practice activities especially in Free Practice where students adjust
their language register and vocabulary choice according to different
communication settings, such as academic presentations, informal discussions.
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 Incorporate tasks where students practice using modal verbs appropriately in

expressing opinions, making suggestions, and discussing hypothetical
situations to develop their language proficiency.
Example: When teaching students about "Job Interviews," instead of simply providing
them with a list of vocabulary and structures, instructors at Free Practice encourage
role-playing. One group plays the role of recruiters, while the other acts as candidates,
allowing them to practice in a realistic context and apply their learning directly to their
conversations.
8.2 Reading and Listening Skills
Based on those concepts, teachers can design different types of Reading and Listening
exercises to help students have deeper insight into those terms and ultimately apply
them into their speaking and writing skills:
 Sentence Completion with Cohesive Devices: Provide a passage where
sentences are missing cohesive devices such as pronouns, synonyms, or
transitional expressions. Students fill in the blanks to complete the sentences,
ensuring coherence.
 Vocabulary Analysis and Contextual Understanding: Present a passage with
vocabulary words highlighted. Students identify the meanings of these words
based on context. This maybe presented in form of multiple choice questions
 Note-taking with Cohesive Devices: Play a lecture or conversation where
speakers use cohesive devices to link ideas. Students take notes and then
reconstruct the main ideas using cohesive language.
 Listening Comprehension with Modality: Play a dialogue or interview where
speakers use modal verbs to express different degrees of certainty, possibility,
obligation, and permission. Students listen and infer the speakers' attitudes
and intentions. This could be designed in forms of Multiple-choice questions
or Matching.
8.3 Writing Skills
It is crucial to help students practice and enhance their skills in using vocabulary
effectively, maintaining lexical cohesion, structuring their writing with appropriate
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textual patterns, adapting their register to different contexts, and expressing modality
in their compositions through various activities in writing lessons:
 Rewrite with Cohesive Devices: Provide a paragraph where cohesive devices
(pronouns, synonyms, transitional expressions) are missing. Students rewrite
the paragraph using appropriate cohesive language to improve coherence.
 Vocabulary Integration: Assign a writing task where students must incorporate
specific vocabulary words or phrases into their compositions. Emphasize using
words that contribute to the clarity and flow of their writing. For example,
write an essay on the benefits of technology, incorporating terms like
"innovation," "digital transformation," and "technological advancements" to
discuss positive impacts.
 Argumentative Writing with Structured Vocabulary: Provide a prompt for an
argumentative essay. Students outline and write their essays using vocabulary
that effectively organizes their arguments, such as transition words for
sequencing and signaling viewpoints.
 Writing for Different Registers: Provide writing prompts for different contexts
(academic essay, informal blog post, business email). Students adapt their
language register and vocabulary choice accordingly to suit the intended
audience and purpose.
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CHAPTER 4. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND PHONOLOGY

1. Pronunciation
- Meaningful and coherent:
The way words are pronounced can affect their semantic interpretation and how they
are understood by listeners. Differences in pronunciation, such as accent or dialect
variations, can also contribute to the meaning and interpretation of the discourse.
- Communicative:
Pronunciation affects the intelligibility and comprehensibility of the message. Clear
and accurate pronunciation allows for effective communication by ensuring that the
intended meaning is conveyed to the listener.
2. Rhythm
- Meaningful and coherent:
Differences in rhythm can emphasize specific words or phrases in the same discourse.
For example, a faster rhythm might indicate excitement or urgency, while a slower
rhythm can convey seriousness or deliberation
3. Word stress and prominence
- Meaningful and coherent:
Word stress and prominence refer to the emphasis placed on certain syllables or words
in speech. By altering the stress patterns, speakers can convey different meanings or
highlight specific information. The placement of stress and prominence can change
the semantic interpretation of a sentence or phrase.
4. Intonational units
- Meaningful and coherent: Intonational units help to help convey the information
structure of discourseby signaling boundaries between phrases, clauses, or other
meaningful units.
- Communicative: Intonational units help convey communicative intentions by
signaling the structure and organization of the discourse. They can indicate pauses,
emphasis, or changes in topic, which aid in conveying the speaker's communicative
goals and make it easier to understand.
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5. Tones and their meanings

- Meaningful: Tones in speech refer to pitch variations that convey specific meanings
or functions. Different tones can indicate questions, statements, commands, emotions,
or attitudes.
- Communicative: Tones in speech can convey various communicative functions, such
as expressing emotions, attitudes, or intentions. Analyzing the tones used in discourse
provides insights into how speakers use intonation to communicate and interact with
others.
6. Pedagogical Implications
Discourse analysis and phonology work together to create clear and effective
communication. Here's how they can be applied in teaching:
 Teachers can use minimal pairs (like "ship" and "sheep") to show how
pronunciation changes meaning.
 Analyze sentences highlighting stressed words ("I saw a movie yesterday") to
demonstrate how stress conveys emphasis.
 Analyze recordings of natural speech, focusing on pauses and rhythm changes.
This helps students sound more natural and avoid monotone delivery.
Examples:
1. Tongue Twisters: Use tongue twisters to practice specific sounds and improve
pronunciation dexterity (e.g., "She sells seashells by the seashore").
2. Shadowing Technique: Students listen to a short recording, then repeat,
mimicking the speaker's rhythm, stress, and intonation. This helps internalize
natural speech patterns.
3. Minimal Pair Games: Play games where students identify minimal pairs and
create new sentences with each word to solidify sound distinctions.
By integrating discourse analysis and phonology, teachers can equip students with the
tools to not only pronounce words correctly but also deliver them in a way that
conveys meaning effectively. This is crucial for clear and natural communication.

CHAPTER 5. SPOKEN LANGUAGE

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1. Adjacency
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Adjacency pairs often involve
multiple sentences, particularly when responses elaborate on questions or
requests.
- Meaningful and Coherent: Each turn in an adjacency pair is contextually
connected, ensuring the interaction is coherent and meaningful.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Each part of an adjacency pair fulfills a
specific communicative function, such as seeking information, providing an
answer, or acknowledging a greeting.
2. Turn-Taking
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Turns can vary in length from
single words to multiple sentences, depending on the context and communicative
purpose.
- Meaningful and Coherent: Effective turn-taking ensures that the conversation
remains coherent, with each speaker building on the previous turns.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Turn-taking facilitates orderly
communication, allowing speakers to contribute to the conversation without
overlap and confusion.
- Spoken or Written: While primarily associated with spoken interactions (e.g.,
conversations, debates), turn-taking also applies to written discourse in formats
like online forums and email chains.
3. Exchanges
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Exchanges typically involve
multiple turns by different speakers, extending over several sentences.
- Meaningful and Coherent: Each turn in an exchange is connected to others,
maintaining the coherence of the interaction.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Exchanges are driven by specific
communicative goals, such as negotiating, clarifying information, or solving a
problem.
 Spoken or Written: Exchanges occur in both spoken (discussions, interviews)
and written forms (written correspondence, chat exchanges).
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4. Transactions and Topics

4.1 Transactions
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Transactions consist of multiple
sentences that form coherent exchanges, like a question-answer pair.
- Meaningful and Coherent: Each part of a transaction is interconnected,
contributing to a cohesive dialogue or narrative.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Transactions are goal-driven, such as
answering questions, providing information, or requesting action.
4.2 Topics
- Meaningful and Coherent: Discourse maintains coherence by sticking to
relevant topics and subtopics, each contributing to the central theme.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Topics align with the discourse's
communicative purpose, ensuring relevance and meaningful communication.
- Spoken or Written: Topics can be introduced in various formats, including
spoken dialogue or written texts like essays and reports.
5. Interactional and Transactional Talk
5.1 Interactional Talk
- Meaningful and Coherent: Maintains coherence through adherence to social
norms and relevant topics, ensuring relational meaning.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Aims to build and maintain social
relationships and facilitate social bonding.
- Spoken or Written: Common in spoken forms (conversations, phone calls) and
written forms (informal emails, social media).
5.2 Transactional Talk
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Involves structured exchanges
extending over multiple sentences for clear communication.
- Meaningful and Coherent: Organized logically to achieve specific
communicative goals.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Focuses on conveying information,
providing instructions, or completing tasks.
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- Spoken or Written: Occurs in meetings, interviews, and written reports, emails,

manuals.
6. Stories, Anecdotes, and Jokes
6.1 Stories
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Require multiple sentences to
provide detailed and coherent narratives.
- Meaningful and Coherent: Structured with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Aim to entertain, inform, teach, or inspire,
communicating specific messages.
- Spoken or Written: Common in oral storytelling and written forms like
folktales and speeches.
6.2 Anecdotes
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Used to support arguments, explain
concepts, or make discourse relatable.
- Spoken or Written: Found in everyday conversation, public speaking, essays,
articles, and memoirs.
6.3 Jokes
- Communicates and Has a Purpose: Aim to entertain and provoke laughter,
building social bonds and easing tension.
- Spoken or Written: Common in casual conversation, comedy, speeches, and
written media like books and social media.
7. Pedagogical Implications
7.1 Speaking Skills
It is important to enhance students’ spoken interactions in real-life contexts to help
them learn how to initiate, maintain, and close conversations effectively through
various activities:
 Conduct speaking activities where students engage in discussions or debates,
focusing on turn-taking etiquette and encouraging active listening.
 Provide scenarios where students practice different types of interactions, such
as ordering food in a restaurant (transaction) or greeting someone in passing
(exchange).
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 Have students share personal anecdotes, tell jokes, or recount stories in small
groups, emphasizing narrative structure, timing, and audience engagement.
For example, when teaching the topic “Giving Directions”, teachers may begin by
providing students with the necessary vocabulary and structures during the
Presentation Phase. Then, move on to the Controlled Practice phase where students
can do substitution exercises to reinforce their learning. Finally, in the Free Practice
phase, have students work in pairs to role-play a conversation where one student acts
as a local person and the other as a tourist asking for directions to the nearest
supermarket. This role-play activity allows students to practice turn-taking, adjacency
pairs, and other conversational skills in a real context.
Moreover, to help students develop the ability to create effective and natural
interactions, it is crucial to expose them to authentic materials. It is essential to utilize
real-life conversations, recorded dialogues, and real-world scenarios to familiarize
students with natural spoken language.

2. Listening Skills
By incorporating elements such as adjacency pairs, turn-taking, and exchanges,
teachers can design various listening exercises that enhance students' listening skills,
which they can then apply to improve their speaking abilities.
 Listening and Matching exercise - Prepare a list of responses and play an audio
recording of a conversation where each speaker discusses their plans for their
final project at school. Have the students listen carefully and match the
appropriate responses to each speaker.
 Dialogue Completion: Provide incomplete dialogues where students fill in the
missing responses based on the preceding questions or statements. This helps
students recognize and apply adjacency pairs.

CHAPTER 6. WRITTEN LANGUAGE

1. Text types
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- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Different text types utilizes different
structures and conventions to extend language for the purpose of conveying a
complete message or story.
- Meaningful and coherent: Each text type aims to be meaningful and coherent
according to its function.
-Communicative: Text types are naturally communicative, as they serve to convey
information, emotions, arguments, or stories to the reader.
- Spoken or Written: Text types specifically apply to the written format of discourse.
Each type follows particular convention and style suitable for written communication,
which distinguishes them from spoken discourse.
2. Speech and writing
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Both speech and writing represent
stretches of language, but in different manners. Written discourse is typically more
structured and planned, allowing for more complex and extended stretches of
language compared to spoken discourse, which can be more spontaneous and
scattered.
- Meaningful and coherent: In written discourse, maintaining meaning and coherence
is crucial yet more challenging since the writer cannot rely on immediate feedback or
clarification from the reader, which is only possible in spoken discourse.
- Communicative: Both speech and writing serve communicative purposes, but they
do so in different fashions. Written discourse often requires more explicit
communication because it lacks the non-verbal cues (like body language or
intonation) that normally present in speech.
- Spoken or Written: Written discourse is distinct from spoken discourse in terms of
format. The conventions, structures, and styles differ significantly between the two.
Written texts need to be more precise and well-organized, as writers are not required
to respond instantly or improvise on the spot like with spoken interaction.

3. Unit of discourse.
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Units in written discourse-words,
sentences, paragraphs, sections, chapters, ... - collectively form the stretch of
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language. For instance, sentences combine to form paragraphs, and paragraphs

combine to form complete texts, making up the stretches of language that form
discourse.
- Meaningful and coherent: Each unit in written discourse contributes to the overall
meaning and coherence of the text.
- Communicative: The units in written discourse follow the communicative purpose of
the text. Each unit from words to paragraphs plays a role in conveying the writer's
message. Effective communication relies on the clear and appropriate use of these
units.
- Spoken or Written: In written discourse, the use of units is tailored to the written
format. Written discourse must use punctuation, formatting, and structure to convey
meaning.
4. Clause relations
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: By linking clauses through various
relationships, writers create longer stretches of language that contribute to the overall
coherence and flow of the text.
- Meaningful and coherent: The relationships between clauses in written discourse
contribute to the text's meaning and coherence. Clear and logical connections between
clauses ensure that ideas are presented in a structured manner.
- Communicative: Clause relations stimulate communication in written discourse.
They help clarify relationships between ideas, highlight important information, and
guide the reader's understanding according to the writer's intentions.
- Spoken or Written: In written discourse, clause relations are specifically tailored to
the written format.
5. Getting to grips with larger pattern
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Larger patterns in written discourse
involve the arrangement of stretches of language into cohesive and meaningful
collective. For example, there is typically a larger pattern which includes introduction,
rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution that organizes the stretch of
language into a complete story.
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- Meaningful and coherent: These patterns ensure that the text is meaningful and
coherent by providing a framework within which every element such as sentences,
paragraphs, … contribute to the purpose of the text. For instance, in an argumentative
essay, the larger pattern might involve presenting a thesis statement, supporting
arguments, counterarguments, and a conclusion, all of which are organized in a logical
and coherent manner.
- Communicative: Larger patterns encourage effective communication by structuring
the text in a way that guides the reader through complex ideas or narratives. They help
convey the writer's intended message clearly and comprehensibly. For instance, in an
instruction menu, the larger pattern might involve presenting information in steps.
- Spoken or Written: These patterns are specifically tailored to written discourse,
making use of textual elements such as headings, subheadings, transitions, … to
maintain coherence and readability. Unlike spoken discourse, which may be more
spontaneous in terms of organization, written texts must abide by plans and larger
patterns to enhance clarity and structure.
6. Patterns and the learner
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Learners may struggle with forming
cohesive and extended stretches of language due to difficulties in maintaining idea
orders and connections between sentences and paragraphs. This can result in chaotic,
fragmented texts that lack continuity and coherence.
- Meaningful and coherent: Problems with patterns can lead to
meaninglessandincoherent text. Learners might struggle to organize their ideas
effectively, resulting in unclear or scattered writing that makes it challenging for
readers to understand the intended message.
- Communicative: Communication is ineffective if learners have difficulties with
patterns in written discourse. Poorly structured texts may fail to convey ideas clearly
or effectively, leading to misunderstandings or confusion on reader’s side.
- Spoken or Written: Learners' problems with patterns specifically impact written
discourse as they struggle to follow the conventions and structures that are expected of
in written communication. This includes issues with paragraph organization, logical
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sequencing of ideas, and the use of cohesive devices that are essential for clarity and
comprehension.
7. Culture and rhetoric
- Stretch of Language Longer than a Sentence: Culture influences the language used in
written discourse, including vocabulary choices, expressions, and styles.
Rhetoricfollows cultural norms and values. For example, different cultures may have
difference preferences for directness or indirectness in communication, which
affectsthe length of language stretches.
- Meaningful and coherent: Culture defines the meanings of written discourse. It
influences the way writers convey ideas, evoke emotions, and construct arguments.
Rhetorical strategies are applied differently across cultures, impacting the coherence
and effectiveness of written communication for readers of different backgrounds.
- Communicative: When it comes to communication styles, politeness, and
appropriateness, written discourse follows cultural norms. Rhetoric depends on
cultural expectations, which leads to differences in the way arguments are structured,
evidence is presented, and conclusions are drawn across cultures.
- Spoken or Written: Culture influences the format of written discourse by shaping
conventions in terms of organization, structure, and presentation. Rhetorical
conventions differ across cultures and impact how information is conveyed in written
form.
8. Discourse and the reader
- A stretch of language longer than a sentence: Written discourse is crafted with the
reader in mind, aiming to provide a coherent and engaging stretch of language that
maintains interest and conveys meaning effectively.
- Meaningful and coherent: Discourse in written form strives to be meaningful and
coherent to the reader. Writers structure their texts to ensure that ideas are presented
logically, transitions between thoughts are smooth, and the overall message is clear
and understandable.
- Communicative: Written discourse is naturally communicative, aiming to convey
information, ideas, emotions, or arguments to the reader. Writers use language
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effectively to attract the reader’s attention, to trigger their emotionalresponse, and to

achieve specific communicative goals.
- Written or spoken: The format of written discourse directly impacts how it is
received by the reader. Writers make use of written conventions such as grammar,
punctuation, and structure to ensure clarity and coherence.
9. Pedagogical Implications
Based on the above concepts, teachers may find proper methods to help students
identify and create each type effectively in English, understand the distinctions
between spoken and written language and develop strategies to instruct students on
sentence and paragraph structure and how clauses within them relate to each other
through various activities.
9.1 Reading Skills
 Provide texts of different types and guide students in identifying structural
elements and rhetorical strategies specific to each type.
 Give students paragraphs or short texts. Have them identify the main idea or
central theme of each passage in form of multiple – choice questions or
matching – heading.
 Assign longer texts with identifiable structures (e.g., chronological order,
cause-effect, problem-solution). Ask students to outline or diagram the text's
structure to visualize its organization. This maybe designed in form of
complete the flow chart.
 Provide sentences or paragraphs where certain words or phrases are highlighted
or give students passages with implicit meanings. Ask students to infer the
meaning of the highlighted words or explicit meanings based on context clues.
 Assign longer texts or passages. Require students to summarize the main ideas
and synthesize key information into a concise summary or annotated outline.
This maybe designed as gap – filling exercises.
9.2 Writing Skills
 Assign students to write compositions in different genres (narrative,
descriptive, argumentative), then provide guidelines on structure, language use,
and audience expectations for each genre. This helps to develop students'
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ability to adapt writing style and format according to different genres,

enhancing their genre-specific writing proficiency.
 Assign exercises where students practice constructing sentences and paragraphs
with varied structures (simple, compound, complex). Include tasks that focus
on using transitional phrases and cohesive devices.
 Provide vocabulary exercises that encourage students to use new words and
phrases in contextually appropriate ways, including prompts for writing
sentences or paragraphs that incorporate targeted vocabulary.
 Provide creative writing prompts (storytelling, personal narratives, imaginative
scenarios). Encourage students to experiment with language, explore different
narrative techniques, and develop unique voices.