English Language and Applied Linguistics

This chapter presents research into the types of questions and tasks that accompany the reading texts in global EFL textbooks.  In essence, the rationale for undertaking such an investigation is the crucial role reading and questions play both in learning per se and language learning in particular and the still dominant place textbooks hold in many classrooms. 

I have identified the different types of comprehension questions and tasks in textbooks and created a taxonomy which consists of two tiers: the first tier represents pre-reading question-types and is composed of five different types and the second tier, which will be the focus of this chapter, represents post-reading comprehension and task question-types (comp-qs).  The latter, the comp-q-types, comprises eight different question types and these are grouped into three categories, Content, comprising three question-types spanning lower to higher order thinking; Language, comprising three question-types, not hierarchical; and Affect, two question-types, one lower order and the other higher order.  I then apply this taxonomy to the questions and tasks accompanying the readings in four series of global intermediate-level EFL textbooks, each of which has undergone at least one revised edition:  Cutting Edge (Cunningham & Moor 1998, 2005) English File (Oxenden & Latham-Koenig 1999, 2006), Headway (Soars & Soars 1986, 1996, 2003, 2009) and Inside Out (Kay & Jones 2000, 2009).  I have considered the distribution of the question-types in terms of frequency, which measures how many of each question-type is asked; in terms of their occurrence, which measures which question-types are present or not in a given reading, regardless of how many times they appear; and their range, which measures how many different question-types there are in any given text, edition or series: that is, how many out of the eight possible comprehension question-types are used, irrespective of how many of each type, or which type.

The results contain a combination of the expected – the existence of very basic, lower order questions – and the perhaps less anticipated – the proportion of questions that promote higher order thinking and linguistic skills.  Across all ten textbooks in the study, the most widely used comprehension question-types are those that require inferential comprehension, although different series demonstrate their own preferences.

In order to provide an informed discussion regarding these results, I held semi-structured interviews with the writers and editors of the series in this study.  This has allowed me to gain an insight into the approaches and priorities these writers have when they are creating the reading skills elements of their textbooks.

This chapter presents research into the types of questions and tasks that accompany the reading texts in global EFL textbooks. In essence, the rationale for undertaking such an investigation is the crucial role that reading and questions play both in learning per se and in language learning in particular and the still dominant place that textbooks hold in many classrooms. I have identified the different types of comprehension questions and tasks in textbooks and created a taxonomy which consists of two tiers: the first tier represents pre-reading question types and is composed of five different types, and the second tier, which will be the focus of this chapter, represents post-reading comprehension and task question types (comp-qs). The latter, the comp-q types, comprises eight different question types, and these are grouped into three categories: Content, comprising three question types spanning lower to higher order thinking; Language, comprising three question types, not hierarchical; and Affect, two question types, one lower order and the other higher order. Then apply this taxonomy to the questions and tasks accompanying the readings in four series of global intermediatelevel EFL textbooks, each of which has undergone at least one revised edition: Cutting Edge (Cunningham and Moor, 1998,2005), English File (Oxenden and Latham-Koenig, 1999, 2006), Headway (Soars and Soars, 1986, 1996, 2003, 2009), and Inside Out (Kay and Jones, 2000, 2009). 1 have considered the distribution of the question types in terms of frequency, which measures how many of each question type is asked; in terms of their occurrence, which measures which question types are present or not in a given reading, regardless of how many times they appear; and in terms of their range, which measures how many different question types there are in any given text, edition or series (that is, how many out of the eight possible comprehension question types are used, irrespective of how many of each type, or which type). The results contain a combination of the expected — the existence of very basic, lower order questions—and the perhaps less anticipated — the proportion of questions that promote higher order thinking and linguistic skills. Across all ten textbooks in the study, the most widely used comprehension question types are those that require inferential comprehension, although different series demonstrate their own preferences. In order to provide an informed discussion of these results, I held semi-structured interviews with the writers and editors of the series in this study. This has allowed me to gain an insight into the approaches and priorities these writers have when they are creating the reading skills elements of their textbooks.

This chapter presents research into the types of questions and tasks that accompany the reading texts in global EFL textbooks. In essence, the rationale for undertaking such an investigation is the crucial role that reading and questions play both in learning per se and in language learning in particular and the still dominant place that textbooks hold in many classrooms. I have identified the different types of comprehension questions and tasks in textbooks and created a taxonomy which consists of two tiers: the first tier represents pre-reading question types and is composed of five different types, and the second tier, which will be the focus of this chapter, represents post-reading comprehension and task question types (comp-qs). The latter, the comp-q types, comprises eight different question types, and these are grouped into three categories: Content, comprising three question types spanning lower to higher order thinking; Language, comprising three question types, not hierarchical; and Affect, two question types, one lower order and the other higher order. Then apply this taxonomy to the questions and tasks accompanying the readings in four series of global intermediatelevel EFL textbooks, each of which has undergone at least one revised edition: Cutting Edge (Cunningham and Moor, 1998,2005), English File (Oxenden and Latham-Koenig, 1999, 2006), Headway (Soars and Soars, 1986, 1996, 2003, 2009), and Inside Out (Kay and Jones, 2000, 2009). 1 have considered the distribution of the question types in terms of frequency, which measures how many of each question type is asked; in terms of their occurrence, which measures which question types are present or not in a given reading, regardless of how many times they appear; and in terms of their range, which measures how many different question types there are in any given text, edition or series (that is, how many out of the eight possible comprehension question types are used, irrespective of how many of each type, or which type). The results contain a combination of the expected — the existence of very basic, lower order questions—and the perhaps less anticipated — the proportion of questions that promote higher order thinking and linguistic skills. Across all ten textbooks in the study, the most widely used comprehension question types are those that require inferential comprehension, although different series demonstrate their own preferences. In order to provide an informed discussion of these results, I held semi-structured interviews with the writers and editors of the series in this study. This has allowed me to gain an insight into the approaches and priorities these writers have when they are creating the reading skills elements of their textbooks.

This thesis is a corpus-based study of two spoken academic corpora in an English as the (foreign) medium of instruction (EMI) context. The first corpus is compiled of transcripts of academic lectures by non-native speakers (NNS) from an EMI medical college in Saudi Arabia. To compare the data, a second corpus is compiled of similar transcripts by native speakers (NS) taken from the British Academic Spoken English (BASE) corpus.

The first part of the research qualitatively and quantitatively investigates the use of English discourse markers (DMs) on two levels: Structural (e.g. okay, so, because) and Interactional (e.g. okay?, I mean, any questions?). Structural DMs are found to function frequently as Topic Initiators, Topic Developers, Summarizers, and Closers, and occur more frequently in NS lectures' discourse. Interactional DMs, which function as Confirmation Checks, Rephrasers and Elicitors, are found to occur more frequently in the NNS lectures. This thesis demonstrates that the uses of DMs by the NS and NNS lecturers are affected by discourse context, pedagogic goals, personal lecturing styles, interaction with students and the need to create a conducive learning environment.

The second part explores the use of Arabic discourse markers (ADMs) in the NNS lecture discourse on similar Structural and Interactional levels. Interactional ADMs (e.g. ya3ni {means}, mafhoom? {understood}) have a higher overall frequency than Structural ADMs (fa {so}, laanu {because}).

The third part of this thesis explores the pedagogical functions of English-Arabic code- switching (CS) in the NNS lectures. When the purpose of CS is to make meaning clearer and convey knowledge more efficiently, it is not a language barrier but an effective communicative strategy. The data shows that CS is used mainly in seven roles in the NNS lecture discourse: (1) solidarity, (2) reiteration, (3) elaboration, (4) topic, (5) elicitation, (6) checking comprehension and (7) classroom management.

This thesis is a corpus-based study of two spoken academic corpora in an English as the (foreign) medium of instruction (EMI) context. The first corpus is compiled of transcripts of academic lectures by non-native speakers (NNS) from an EMI medical college in Saudi Arabia. To compare the data, a second corpus is compiled of similar transcripts by native speakers (NS) taken from the British Academic Spoken English (BASE) corpus. The first part of the research qualitatively and quantitatively investigates the use of English discourse markers (DMs) on two levels: Structural (e.g. okay, so, because) and Interactional (e.g. okay?, I mean, any questions?). Structural DMs are found to function frequently as Topic Initiators, Topic Developers, Summarizers, and Closers, and occur more frequently in NS lectures' discourse. Interactional DMs, which function as Confirmation Checks, Rephrasers and Elicitors, are found to occur more frequently in the NNS lectures. This thesis demonstrates that the uses of DMs by the NS and NNS lecturers are affected by discourse context, pedagogic goals, personal lecturing styles, interaction with students and the need to create a conducive learning environment. The second part explores the use of Arabic discourse markers (ADMs) in the NNS lecture discourse on similar Structural and Interactional levels. Interactional ADMs (e.g. ya3ni {means}, mafhoom? {understood}) have a higher overall frequency than Structural ADMs (fa {so}, laanu {because}). The third part of this thesis explores the pedagogical functions of English-Arabic code- switching (CS) in the NNS lectures. When the purpose of CS is to make meaning clearer and convey knowledge more efficiently, it is not a language barrier but an effective communicative strategy. The data shows that CS is used mainly in seven roles in the NNS lecture discourse: (1) solidarity, (2) reiteration, (3) elaboration, (4) topic, (5) elicitation, (6) checking comprehension and (7) classroom management.

This paper aims to validate the English Language Entrance Test for King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science (hereafter KSAU-ET). It supports the argument regarding using specially designed inhouse entrance tests at health universities by showcasing the test's development, administration, and validation process. It presents a new framework for test validation that is informed by various existing frameworks such as Messick (1996), Sireci (1998) and, Weir (2005), with a specific focus on the notions of unitary and practicality. The proposed framework treats validity as a pre-, during, and post-test process that collects evidence from each phase to support the test's overall validity. The data were collected using different tools and through the three stages of the validation process. The test was taken by 474 candidates who applied to join KSAU-HS Stream II medical program. The data confirmed that the test was reliable (alpha > 7) and reasonably meet the univers...

Spoken political discourse in the UK Houses of Parliament is recorded and transcribed through the Hansard proceedings. This method of transcription and representation captures the oral debates during the weekly parliamentary sessions of Prime Minister's questions. This paper looks at three areas of representation to see how faithfully the spoken discourse is recorded. These areas are: lexical and grammatical fidelity, performance characteristics and interruptions from the audience. The paper also considers how speakers in the House quote from Hansard and how accurate these quotes are to the originals. The findings suggest that overall Hansard is a fairly robust method for representation of spoken political discourse but that modern transcription and digital methods could be employed to augment the system. We argue that a more representational system that uses a multi-tool approach should be employed.

This paper considers the representation of spoken political discourse through the transcription practices of the House of Commons. It considers how the Hansard method of transcription represents the oral debates during the weekly parliamentary sessions of Prime Minister’s questions in three areas: lexical and grammatical fidelity, performance characteristics and interruptions from the audience. The paper also considers how accurately and faithfully speakers in the House quote from Hansard during these sessions as they pursue their arguments. The findings suggest that while Hansard does what it purports to do, modern transcription methods and digital representations necessitate additional tools to augment this system. We argue the case for a more representational, multi-tool approach to the transcription of discourse.

The Tiv language is one of the major languages spoken in central Nigeria. The language is of the Benue-Congo subclass of the Bantu parent family. It has over four million speakers spoken in five states of Nigeria. The language like many other Nigerian languages is in dire need of language planning efforts and strategies. Some previous efforts were made to plan the language and government too has made policies to back up such efforts. This study therefore examines empirically the current state of the status planning of the language and its implication for the future and survival of the language. Status planning deals with the allocation of functions to a community’s language(s). The functions investigated here include the educational, the media and home functions and it has been discovered that the language has a weak functional status. This therefore requires some conscious and deliberate language engineering strategies to be set in motion to rescue the language from its present ble...

In recent years, researchers working within the discipline of applied linguistics and beyond have discovered stimulating opportunities to study human interaction, rituals and behaviours online. But with these opportunities come concerns for the human subjects ‘behind’ online data, most notably, their rights to privacy and freedom from harm. Applied linguists working with data from the internet therefore have a responsibility to continually scrutinise and re-evaluate the ethics of their research methods in line with fast-moving technological developments. In the past decade, an increasing number of scholars have advocated a case-based, context-sensitive approach to the issue of privacy, ethics and internet research. But the mechanisms for applying such an approach are often not made explicit, leaving researchers unsure how to proceed ethically in increasingly complex and shifting research contexts. Using a study of the Mumsnet Talk forum as a case, I show how my self-reflexive and linguistic approach, which draws on established traditions in qualitative research, has helped me to understand what many users of this forum see as normal information flows within this setting. I suggest that such a reflexive-linguistic approach is of value to internet researchers working within the applied linguistic discipline and beyond, who wish to make sensitive, informed ethical judgements that minimise the risk of harm to their participants.

This article explores the discourses and related subjectivities that are negotiated by contributors to the discussion forum of a popular British parenting website, Mumsnet Talk. Drawing on analysis of a single thread posted to this forum, I explore the ways in which participants, who present themselves as women and as parents, negotiate dominant discourses of gendered parenthood that position them as ‘mothers’, and often, by association, as the primary caregiver, who is defined and positioned exclusively in relation to children. I also show that contributors use a range of linguistic and digital resources to challenge such discourses, and that at times their resistance is facilitated by the affordances of the forum itself. The potential to connect with a large community of Mumsnet users, for example, is identified as a powerful resource at their disposal. Overall, I find that Mumsnet Talk is a fruitful site for the negotiation, resistance and subversion of cultural norms, but that it remains difficult here, as elsewhere, for women to escape dominant discourses that work to position them in restrictive gendered subjectivities.

This article uses a feminist poststructuralist approach to explore how contributors to a single thread from the discussion forum of a popular British parenting website, Mumsnet Talk, position themselves as 'good mothers'. The qualitative analysis that is presented here, which draws on both the concept of indexicality, and Goffman's (1974) 'frame analysis', shows that Mumsnet users are able to negotiate the discursive forces that merge to produce the good mother subject position in innovative ways. They are able to position themselves as good mothers in a way that is both normative and transformative; to both legitimise and subvert the discourses that work to position them in this way. This exploration leads me to suggest that the Mumsnet Talk forum can be seen as a space in which dominant discourses continue to position individuals in restricted gendered subjectivities, but also a fruitful site for the negotiation, resistance and subversion of cultural norms.