Showing papers in "Applied Linguistics in 2004"

If you look at …: Lexical Bundles in University Teaching and Textbooks

Abstract: This paper investigates the use of multi-word sequences in two important university registers: classroom teaching and textbooks. Following Biber et al. (1999), we take a frequency-driven approach to the identification of multi-word sequences, referred to as 'lexical bundles'. We compare the lexical bundles in classroom teaching and textbooks to those found in our previous research on conversation and academic prose. Structural patterns are described first, and then we present a functional taxonomy, including stance expressions, discourse organizers, and referential expressions. The use of lexical bundles in classroom teaching turns out to be especially surprising, both in frequency and in function. Classroom teaching uses more stance and discourse organizing bundles than conversation does, but at the same time, classroom teaching uses more referential bundles than academic prose. The analysis indicates that lexical bundles - the most frequent sequences of words in a register - are a unique linguistic construct. Lexical bundles are usually not complete grammatical structures nor are they idiomatic, but they function as basic building blocks of discourse. In the conclusion, we discuss the implications of our study for the theoretical status of lexical bundles.

Metadiscourse in academic writing: A reappraisal

Abstract: Metadiscourse is self-reflective linguistic material referring to the evolving text and to the writer and imagined reader of that text. It is based on a view of writing as social engagement and in academic contexts reveals the ways that writers project themselves into their discourse to signal their attitude towards both the propositional content and the audience of the text. Despite considerable interest in metadiscourse by teachers and applied linguists, however, it has failed to achieve its explanatory potential due to a lack of theoretical rigour and empirical confusion. Based on an analysis of 240 L2 postgraduate dissertations totalling 4 million words, we offer a reassessment of metadiscourse, propose what we hope is a more robust model, and use this to explore how these students used metadiscourse. Essentially our argument is that metadiscourse offers a way of understanding the interpersonal resources writers use to present propositional material and therefore a means of uncovering something of the rhetorical and social distinctiveness of disciplinary communities.

Teachers' Stated Beliefs about Incidental Focus on Form and their Classroom Practices

Abstract: This article reports a case study investigating the relationship between three teachers' stated beliefs about and practices of focus on form in intermediate level ESL communicative lessons. Focus on form was defined and studied in terms of incidental time-outs taken by students and teachers to deal with issues of linguistic form during communicative lessons. The teachers' statements of belief about focus on form were compared to their management of focus on form during lessons in which all the teachers used the same communicative task. Results showed some inconsistencies in the teachers' stated beliefs, in particular in relation to when it is legitimate to take time out from a communicative activity to focus on issues of form, and preferred error correction technique. While some statistically significant differences in the teachers' practices were reflected in differences in their stated beliefs, others were not. These results indicated a somewhat tenuous relationship between the teachers' practices and stated beliefs regarding focus on form. It is argued that future investigations of teachers' beliefs, especially of unplanned elements of teaching such as focus on form, need to be based on both stated beliefs and observed behaviours.

Citation Analysis and Discourse Analysis Revisited.

Abstract: John Swales's 1986 article 'Citation analysis and discourse analysis' was written by a discourse analyst to introduce citation research from other fields, mainly sociology of science, to his own discipline. Here, I introduce applied linguists and discourse analysts to citation studies from information science, a complementary tradition not emphasized by Swales. Using replicable bibliometric techniques, I show that interdisciplinary ties have grown among citation researchers from discourse analysis, sociology of science, and information science in the years since Swales wrote. Key authors, journals, articles, and books are presented in tables based on cocitation data from the Institute for Scientific Information. While theoretical integration of the different strands of research is far from complete, this article carries the effort forward by reviewing contributions from the 1970s to the present in three major lines of research: citation classification, content analysis of citation contexts, and studies of citer motivations. I pay particular attention to ideas that bear on teaching the art of citing-for example, in courses in English for research purposes-and to controversies in citation research of interest to discourse analysts.

Author Identification, Idiolect, and Linguistic Uniqueness.

Abstract: For forty years linguists have talked about idiolect and the uniqueness of individual utterances. This article explores how far these two concepts can be used to answer certain questions about the authorship of written documents—for instance how similar can two student essays be before one begins to suspect plagiarism? The article examines two ways of measuring similarity: the proportion of shared vocabulary and the number and length of shared phrases, and illustrates with examples drawn from both actual criminal court cases and incidents of student plagiarism. The article ends by engaging with Solan and Tiersma's contribution to this volume and considering whether such forensic linguistic evidence would be acceptable in American courts as well as how it might successfully be presented to a lay audience.

Transfer of Reading Comprehension Skills to L2 is Linked to Mental Representations of Text and to L2 Working Memory

Abstract: Two notions from cognitive psychology were examined in relation to the transfer of reading comprehension skills from L1 to L2: (1) the notion that reading comprehension proceeds by the comprehender's building of a mental structure representing the text and (2) the notion of working memory. Two groups of French learners of English (at upper-intermediate and lower-intermediate proficiency levels) participated in the study: members of both groups were proficient comprehenders in L1 French, but they differed in their ability to comprehend texts in L2 English, even when the lower-intermediate learners had no problem in processing the individual sentences of those texts. Performance in pro-form resolution in two distance conditions provided strong support for the hypothesis that the lower-intermediate group had failed to transfer to L2 the ability to build well-structured mental representations of texts, while the upper-intermediate group had succeeded in transferring this ability. This structure-building ability was in turn linked to the development of working memory in L2.

Developmental trends in lexical diversity

Abstract: This article discusses issues in measuring lexical diversity, before outlining an approach based on mathematical modelling that produces a measure, D, designed to address these problems. The procedure for obtaining values for D directly from transcripts using software (vocd) is introduced, and then applied to thirty-two children from the Bristol Study of Language Development (Wells 1985) at ten different ages. A significant developmental trend is shown for D and an indication is given of the average scores and ranges to be expected between the ages of 18 and 42 months and at 5 years for these L1 English speakers. The meaning attributable to further ranges of values for D is illustrated by analysing the lexical diversity of academic writing, and its wider application is demonstrated with examples from specific language impairment, morphological development, and foreign/second language learning.

Criteria for Re-Defining Idioms: Are We Barking Up the Wrong Tree?.

Abstract: A large proportion of text is made up of a variety of multi-word units (MWUs). One type of MWU is 'idioms'. While previously linguists have established criteria to define an idiom, the criteria have often been general so as to apply to the wide-ranging MWUs found in this category, and have been a description of them rather than a definition. We present a more restrictive definition of idiom in the form of a test which divides MWUs into 'core idioms', 'figuratives', and 'ONCEs'. The result of applying the test is that the majority of idioms would be put into the 'figuratives' category. While 'figuratives' also present problems for the EFL/ESL learners, the more narrowly defined 'core idioms' are the most difficult set of MWUs for learners to come to terms with and are therefore the motivation for redefining idioms.

Vocabulary input through extensive reading: A comparison of words found in children's narrative and expository reading materials

Abstract: The role of extensive reading in building vocabulary continues to receive considerable attention in first and second language research and pedagogy. This study analyses the lexical differences between narrative and expository reading materials used in upper-elementary education (10- and 11-year-old children), and explores how these differences could affect children's potential vocabulary acquisition through reading. Results of a computerized analysis of nearly 1.5 million word tokens reveals marked differences between 28 narrative and 28 expository children's books in terms of overall token distribution and individual type repetitions at all levels of vocabulary analysed in the study (i.e. general high frequency words, academic high frequency words, and specialized words). Further exploration of the lexical data indicates high numbers of register-specific words at all levels of vocabulary, particularly at the more specialized levels where the potential for protracted vocabulary growth is the greatest. A subsequent discussion addresses qualitative differences in the characteristics of these exclusive narrative and expository types. These lexical findings are used to assess claims of Wide Reading and Free Reading relative to children's acquisition of vocabulary through extensive reading, especially the default claims of 'incidental' word acquisition through repetitive encounters with unknown words while reading large volumes of material for pleasure.

Talking, Creating: Interactional Language, Creativity, and Context

Abstract: When creative uses of spoken language have been investigated, the main examples have been restricted to particular contexts such as narrative and related story-telling genres. This paper reports on an initial investigation using the 5 million word CANCODE corpus of everyday spoken English and discusses a range of social contexts in which creative uses of language are manifested. A main conclusion reached is that creative language use often signposts the nature of interpersonal relationships, plays an important role in the construction of identities and is more likely to emerge in social contexts marked by non-institutionalized, symmetrical, and informal talk. The paper also argues that different creative patterns of talk are produced for different purposes, that dines and continua best capture such distinctions and that applications of such understandings to language learning and teaching, including the teaching of literature and culture, can benefit from closer scrutiny of such data.

Word Meaning in Academic English: Homography in the Academic Word List

Abstract: The Academic Word List (Coxhead 2000) consists of 570 word families that are frequent and wide ranging in academic texts. It was created by counting the frequency, range, and evenness of spread of word forms in a specially constructed academic corpus. This study examines the words in the Academic Word List (AWL) to see if the existence of unrelated meanings for the same word form (homographs) has resulted in the inclusion of words in the list which would not be there if their clearly different meanings were distinguished. The study shows that only a small proportion of the word families contain homographs, and in almost all cases, one of the members of a pair or group of homographs is much more frequent and widely used than the others. Only three word families (intelligence, offset, and panel) drop out of the list because none of their homographs separately meet the criteria for inclusion in the list. A list of homographs in the AWL is provided, with frequencies for those where each of the members of a homograph pair are reasonably frequent.

Understanding Aboriginal English in the Legal System: A Critical Sociolinguistics Approach.

Abstract: This paper reviews sociolinguistic work which has addressed the provision of justice for Aboriginal English (AE) speakers in Australia. It questions the assumptions about cultural and linguistic diversity and inequality which underlie this work, and proposes a critical sociolinguistic approach, which draws on social theory in the analysis of how language is involved in the failure of the legal system to deliver justice.

The Joint Construction of Meaning in Writing Conferences

Abstract: Using an analytical framework that combines insights from a variety of previous studies, the current paper aims to contribute to the description of the joint construction of meaning in pedagogical discourse, in particular in one-on-one teacher-student interaction in writing conferences in a Japanese-as-a-foreign language (JFL) class. The argument is made that it is not the formal properties of the interaction, such as the use of triadic dialogue or the types of questions that teachers ask, that in themselves determine the pedagogical effectiveness of the interaction, but the way in which they are used to achieve particular instructional purposes in a specific setting. The findings indicated that the conferences were characterized by a back and forth movement between dialogic and monologic instructional sequences (Nystrand 1997). The teacher under study made flexible use of triadic dialogue, evident in the manner of exchange initiation and the options selected in follow-up moves, in order to achieve particular pedagogical goals in the moment. The patterns of discourse that occurred varied according to: the students' self-selected revision goals, which were related to their level of target language proficiency; the choice of discourse topic; and the teacher's underlying pedagogical goals.

Modelling vocabulary loss

Abstract: This paper describes some simple simulation models of vocabulary attrition. The attrition process is modelled using a random autonomous Boolean network model, and some parallels with real attrition data are drawn. The paper argues that applying a complex systems approach to attrition can provide some important insights, which suggest that real attrition data may need to be treated with caution. It concludes that simulation methods - a technique that is not widely used in applied linguistic research - may be able to throw interesting new light on attrition, and provide a way of examining some of the assumptions that we take for granted in attrition experiments with human subjects.

Collocation, Connotation, and Courtroom Semantics: Lawyers' Control of Witness Testimony through Lexical Negotiation

Abstract: A great deal has been written about the ways in which lawyers' questioning strategies, particularly during cross-examination, may be considered coercive and intimidating for witnesses, even potentially contributing to the wrongful acquittal of guilty defendants. The primary focus of analytical attention in identifying such practices has been the use of closed and/or leading questions, which restrict the response options for the witness, either by prescribing a range of ‘acceptable’ responses, or by restricting the witness to a yes–no answer. In contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to lexical aspects of witness (cross-)examination and, in particular, the role of lexis in creating nuances of meaning for the jury. This article draws on a 5-million word corpus of rape/sexual assault and domestic violence trials held in the late 1990s in the UK, and applies a combination of corpus linguistic and discourse analytic approaches to study the lexicalizations and re-lexicalizations of the crime, its participants and its circumstances and the process of lexical negotiation which takes place between lawyers and witnesses.

How Not to Strike it Rich: Semantics, Pragmatics, and Semiotics of a Massachusetts Lottery Game Card

Abstract: In 2001, the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission released for sale a new 'instant lottery ticket' 'scratch-and-play' game card named 'Caesars [sic] Palace®' (played by scratching the surface of each card at designated spots to reveal hidden numbers or images). It offered ten grand prizes of $1,000,000 each and a number of lesser prizes. Very soon, a number of purchasers began to claim million-dollar prizes; most of these demands-for-payment were denied by the Commission on the grounds that the claims were based upon a misreading of the game-card instructions. The rejected claimants appealed, but their appeals were denied by a special hearing board appointed by the Commission. Further appeals to state courts in Massachusetts may still be pending. This paper analyses the semantic, pragmatic, and semiotic bases for the claimants' and Commission's conflicting interpretations of the instructions - a somewhat new application of linguistics to the field of language and law. The essay also raises theoretical questions concerning the relationship between linguistics and semiotic theory in the context of real-world data.

Foreign Language Students' Conversational Negotiations in Different Task Environments

Abstract: This study examined the effect of structural and content characteristics of language tasks on foreign language learners' conversational negotiations. In a 2×2 Greco-Latin square design, degree of structural support of language tasks, students' degree of familiarity with German video segments, and task order were varied. Twenty-eight pairs of third-semester German-language students were videotaped while interacting with each other in computer-supported language learning environments. Transcripts of their conversational exchanges were analysed with regard to indices of conversational negotiations, coded on a functional level and a topical level. Results showed a large effect of structural task support, with the Low Support Task being associated with negotiating exchanges in German to a greater degree than the High Support Task. In addition, students' conversations about single topics were significantly longer than in the High Support Task, which already provided linguistic content for discussion. The effect of content familiarity was evident primarily in its relation to task order, with the unfamiliar video aggravating order effects. In the discussion, the perception of communicative task affordances for conversational negotiations in a foreign language is emphasized.

Author Identification in American Courts

Abstract: Recent work has taken different approaches in attempting to use linguistics to identify the authors of documents by the style of their writing. Traditionally, linguists have sought to identify similarities and differences in a host of features, including spelling, syntax, word usage and others, and to draw inferences regarding authorship based on a comparison of those features. However, developments in the law of evidence in the United States during the past ten years have focused the attention of courts on the validity and reliability of a technique before an expert will be permitted to offer an opinion based upon it. Courts are especially mindful of whether a technique can identify an error rate with sufficient reliability. In this context, it is incumbent on the field to respond with methods that will be acceptable to courts. This paper discusses some significant achievements being made in meeting this challenge, including efforts to identify syntactic features that are diagnostic of authorship, eclectic methods that look for constellations of similarities, and the use of linguistic corpora, a development in which Malcolm Coulthard played a pioneering role.

Explanatory Adequacy and Theories of Second Language Acquisition

Abstract: A partir de l'affirmation de K.R. Gregg selon laquelle il est necessaire de disposer d'une theorie de la propriete et d'une theorie de la transition pour expliquer l'acquisition d'une seconde langue, l'A. tente de determiner quels sont les criteres qui doivent etre pris en compte pour evaluer la validite des modeles theoriques dans ce domaine