Teaching spoken discourse markers explicitly: A comparison of III and PPP

Abstract

This article reports on mixed methods classroom research carried out at a British university. The study investigates the effectiveness of two different explicit teaching frameworks, Illustration -Interaction -Induction (III) and Present -Practice -Produce (PPP) used to teach the same spoken discourse markers (DMs) to two different groups of Chinese learners and compared to a control group. Univariate analysis of the pre-and post-tests indicated statistically significant differences between the PPP group and III/control groups in terms of a higher mean usage of the target DMs in the immediate post-test. Qualitative results demonstrated that the PPP group generally found this method to be more useful, which tallied with their better performances in the tests. Both groups also articulated a desire for a different kind of practice to be used in class, based on rehearsal for real world tasks. This suggests a need to re-conceptualise practice within III, PPP or other teaching frameworks. RESUMENEste artículo presenta resultados obtenidos a través de una investigación en el aula en una universidad británica. El objetivo del estudio es la comparación de la efectividad de dos modelos explícitos de enseñanza diferentes: Ilustración -Interacción -Inducción (III) y Presentación -Práctica -Producción (PPP), empleados para enseñar marcadores del discurso a dos grupos distintos de estudiantes chinos y comparados con un grupo de control. Los resultados de un análisis univariado de las puntuaciones en el pre-test y el post-test indican diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el grupo PPP y el grupo III (el grupo de control) relativas a un mayor uso de los marcadores del discurso durante el post-test inmediato. Los resultados cualitativos demuestran que, en general, los participantes del grupo PPP consideran este método más útil. Dichas opiniones coinciden con el mejor rendimiento en los tests. Otra conclusión relevante es que los dos grupos expresaron su deseo de que se aplicase otro tipo de práctica en la clase, como, por ejemplo, actividades que sirviesen de entrenamiento para tareas fuera de la clase, en el mundo real. Esto sugiere la necesidad de reformular el concepto de práctica en III, PPP y otros modelos de enseñanza. PALABRAS CLAVE:Marcadores del discurso, gramática hablada, enfoques explícitos en la enseñanza, PPP, III.

The use of discourse markersbutandsoby native English speakers and Chinese speakers of English

“…Moreover, a comparative analysis of DMs by native and non-native speakers in authentic situations can be highlighted in teaching so that students can have more opportunities to critically reflect on their own DM use and communicative experiences using native models. More studies need to be conducted to explore how DMs can be taught in speaking classes to empower L2 speakers to become communicatively competent (Fung 2011;Jones and Carter 2014;Wei 2011b;Yoshimi 2001). Schourup, Lawrence.…”

A Pragmatic Analysis of Discourse Particles in Filipino Computer Mediated Communication

“…Through the use of discourse particles, speakers could say what they really intended to say, establish closeness or familiarity, and guide the listener as to how and what to infer from the discourse. Additionally, DPs, do the job of making the conversation flow smoothly and become more interesting, understandable, polite and engaging, while not compromising and distorting its underlying meaning (Jones & Carter, 2014). Hence, DPS are essential linguistic devices that serve as bridges in arriving at relevant and certain interpretation of discourse (Tay et al, 2012).…”

The use of micro-level discourse markers in British and American feature-length films: Implications for teaching in EFL contexts

“…Another reason might also be related to how language teachers and program developers approach DMs. As mentioned by Jones and Carter (2013), DMs, with the cultural identity they represent, might be considered as part of the native corpus, so that they are not included in the contexts where English is taught as a foreign language.…”

“…Therefore, to understand and acquire their function, it might be better to teach them with authentic materials. Studies support the view that the acquisition of DMs can be successful when they are taught with authentic materials instead of the texts sounding artificial (Flowerdew & Tauroza, 1995;Jones & Carter, 2013;Rahimi & Riasati, 2012). Unfortunately, in contexts where English is used as a foreign language, exposure to authentic linguistic items is extremely limited in daily life.…”