The global
realization of the use of So, And and But in
Academic Lectures.
Discourse markers are perceived as ‘discourse glue’ (Schiffrin 1987), signaling speakers’ communicative intentions (Fraser 1990) or as tiny linguistic forms that connect clauses (Georgekapolou 1997). A considerable attention to the use of discourse markers in academic lectures is given by linguists whose interests relate to ELT or EAP such as Richards& Chaudron (1986) or Flowerdew & Miller (1992) and some others. This paper demonstrates the ‘patterning’ of the ways discourse markers function in academic lectures, presents the multiple meanings and uses of discourse markers in a different context other than dialogical and also presents the NS lecturers’ perceptions at Lancaster University on their use of these markers in their lectures. The analysis presents the three categorical sets of markers found in my corpus data; 1) the connectives, 2) the interactional feature markers 3) the conversational markers and it demonstrates the multiple meanings of discourse markers; So, And and But. In short, this study demonstrates the reality of use of markers in academic lectures and highlights the significance of recognizing the multiple functions of linguistic features such as discourse markers in contributing to lecture genres. The analysis should have an impact on EAP practitioners to equip students with the ability to ‘notice the flow of informational content’ in lectures (Crawford Camiciotolli 2004) and also to raise a global awareness amongst lecturers of higher institutions since “English is the international language of academic exchange” ( Flowerdew 1994).
Zarina Othman
Linguistic and English Language Department.
zothm@yahoo.co.uk / z.othman@lancaster.ac.uk
Globalization and Global Literacy Benefits in World Language
Education: A Window from
Today our worlds (both global and local) are increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse. Administrators and educators at all levels have recognized this increasing diversity and responded by attempting to “internationalize” their curricula. One of their most frequent targets is the inclusion and strengthening of foreign or world language offerings because of the common belief that the study of world languages both enhances an individual’s ability to communicate effectively with others and contributes to creating productive members of the world community (Frantz, 1996; Weatherford, 1986). There are also economic, social, and academic benefits to the mastery of a second language, including job advancement (Morris, 2002). From a humanitarian perspective, the study of world languages is indeed an avenue for global understanding and, perhaps leads to a lessening of national security concerns through improved communication amongst people from different cultural groups (Pratt, 2002). Ruth Simmons, the first African American to lead an Ivy League institution, chose to study languages in the sixties as a way of overcoming racial ignorance, and she has “argued persistently in favor of language study as an essential element of any long-term strategy for abating conflict and sustaining peace” (Simmons, 2004, p. 682). This paper presentation will highlight recent initiatives in globalization at the national, state and university level related to language teaching and learning, including an exploration of the International Education Council’s document International Education Recommendations: Global Literacy for Wisconsin and the implementation, at UWM, of a Bachelor’s Degree in Global Studies with tracks such as Global Management, Global Cities, Global Classrooms, Global Communications, and Global Security.
Raquel Oxford
TELETANDEM:
A way to foreign language education in a globalized
world
João A. Telles (
Ana Mariza
Benedeti (
Maria Helena Vieira Abhrão,
Ana Clotilde
Tomé Williams (
The objectives of this presentation are: (a) to introduce the theoretical background and the practices of a project aimed at placing people of different parts of the world into contact and (b) associate its practices with the concept of globalization, FL teaching and learning and FL teacher development.
Language learning in-tandem involves pairs of native speakers of different languages working collaboratively to learn each other’s language. Each partner becomes student of the foreign language he/she wishes to learn and teacher (guide/facilitator) of his/her own language (or a language in which he/she feels proficient enough).
TELETANDEM BRASIL is an educational
research project in the areas of distance foreign language teaching and
learning that is being developed at UNESP -
The tandem modality used in the TELETANDEM Brazil project is that of a distance tandem in which the teacher/learner uses the audio/video resources of the MSN Messenger 7,5 for performing oral (listening and speaking) and writing (reading and writing) activities in real time (synchronous communication). In addition to being a free software that can be easily downloaded from the web, the MSN Messenger is faster than using email (asynchronous communication). We believe that, if it is used properly and it is mediated by facilitators properly prepared for that, the MSN Messenger can function as a useful tool for pedagogical interaction. TELETANDEM constitutes itself in a new method of teaching and learning, which allows the democratic and free access to foreign language learning.
TELETANDEM Brazil has three objectives: (1) to verify the use of the MSN Messenger as pedagogical tool for distance teaching and learning of foreign languages in-tandem; (2) to verify the linguistic, cultural and pedagogical aspects of the interaction between the pairs of learners; and (3) to verify the role of the teacher-mediators within the context of the teletandem.