A Comparative Study of Stance and Engagement Used by English and Thai Speakers in English Argumentative Essays

Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating the similarities and differences of interactional metadiscourse markers and 3-word and 4-word participant-oriented bundles used in English argumentative texts of native speakers of English (NATIVE) and L1 Thai speakers (THAI) through the use of AntConc. The findings revealed that stance resources were used more often in THAI. The differences in the frequencies of hedges and attitude markers between the two corpora were significant, but this was not the case for boosters and self-mentions. Fewer hedges but more self-mentions, attitude markers and boosters were used by Thai learners than native speakers. Regarding engagement markers, a significant difference of the use of reader references and directives was evident in THAI, but there were significant differences in the use of questions, appeals to shared knowledge, and personal asides. For stance bundles and engagement bundles, although the number of the overall stance bundles found in NATIVE was lower than in THAI, there was lesser variety in the use of stance bundles in THAI. With respect to the structural patterns, both groups were similar, albeit with differences in terms of frequency. The findings of the study could shed light on interactional metadiscourse patterns and norms, and thus be beneficial for EFL stakeholders such as learners and teachers.