Discourse and Language Education

Language educators often talk about "communicative competence"--the ability of learners to use language appropriately in different social settings. Discourse analysis describes how such communication is structured so that it is socially appropriate and linguistically accurate. This book gives practical experience in analyzing discourse. It includes analyses of spoken language--conversations, classroom interactions, the ways we structure social acts such as complaints, advice-giving, and compliments--and the structure of "scripts," such as the jury trial script, the restaurant script, the doctor's office script. Discourse analysis also includes the study of written language--the rhetorical structure of compositions or more informal written material such as personal letters. The analyses show the ways we use linguistic signals (from lexicon to syntax to intonation or prosody) to carry out our discourse goals. These signals differ across written and spoken language, and these differences are analyzed. The organization of discourse also differs across languages, and Hatch highlights these differences. Example data are drawn from a variety of native speakers and language learners of all ages and all proficiency levels. Discourse and Language Education can be used as a manual in teacher education courses and linguistics and communications courses. It will be of great interest to teachers of ESL/EFL, foreign language teachers, and special education teachers (especially those involved with the hearing impaired). Its distinctive features are its text plus practice format and the variety of examples from language users and language learners from many different languages, backgrounds, and age groups.