Analysing Stance in a CLIL University Context: Non-native Speaker Use of Personal Pronouns and Modal Verbs

Abstract

In recent years, many European countries have witnessed a rapid implementation of the CLIL approach at tertiary level. In Spain, although English has been introduced as the language of instruction in some master and doctoral courses, the application of the CLIL approach is still isolated. Similarly, little research has been done into CLIL discursive features and teacher student positioning in the Spanish university context. Focusing on university lectures by non-native speakers, the present paper explores the use of two relevant areas of stance: (i) pronominal forms, and their discursive functions; and (ii) modal verbs occurring within verbal clusters that accompany pronouns. The study is based on a quantitative analysis of these two linguistic devices in terms of number of occurrences and frequency. The results show that inclusive we is by far the most frequent pronominal form, functioning as a solidarity mechanism and helping to establish common ground. Furthermore, the functions assigned to the two most recurrent modal verbs, can and have to, are found to minimise also the speaker’s authority while inserted within a problem-solving framework and guiding the steps of scientific reasoning. doi: 10.2167/beb464.

A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education

“…Two features of lecturer discourse were investigated by Dafouz, Núñez & Sancho (2007), in particular the use of the pronoun 'we' and in relation to modal verbs. Three lecturers with Spanish L1 were recorded teaching a group of Aeronautics Engineering students through the medium of English on a summer school in Spain.…”

Is English-medium instruction effective in improving Chinese undergraduate students' English competence?

“…Bruton (2011b), for example, drew attention to problems with research design (e.g., lack of pretests) and possible misinterpretations of findings in several studies. Additionally, several researchers (e.g., Dafouz, Núñez, & Sancho 2007;Dupuy 2000;Sert 2008) have pointed out that most extant research on FI, CBI and CLIL focused on primary and secondary contexts, with little attention paid to tertiary education. In regard to this, some researchers (e.g., Dalton-Puffer, Nikula, & Smit 2010;Dupuy 2000;Lasagabaster 2008) have cautioned against extrapolating findings from one context to another, because the effectiveness of integrating foreign language learning with content learning largely hinges on contextual factors.…”

An Action Research Into Task-based CLIL Applied to Education Majors: From Chinese Students’ Perspective

“…Tasks are important in developing students' abilities in many areas but they cannot replace the important role of the teacher and lectures in the classroom. (Dafouz et al, 2007) Secondly, the tasks can be arranged according to their specific functions. The input tasks can run through the whole semester to stimulate students' prior knowledge and give a purpose for their reading.…”