Written Discourse Analysis and its Application in English Language Teaching

Abstract

Discourse analysis is the study of language in either spoken or written form. Written discourse is considered an imperative aspect that needs to be analysed. Cohesion, coherence, clause relations and text patterns are all parts of written discourse. This paper, therefore, aims to shed some light on the analysis of several written texts by discussing the possibility of applying written discourse analysis in English language teaching contexts. The paper starts by reviewing related literature about the meaning of cohesion, coherence, cohesive devices and text patterns, followed by reasons for choosing written discourse analysis in particular. Following this, an analysis of several written texts, together with the possibility of applying written discourse analysis in English language teaching, is presented. Before concluding this paper, an evaluation of the proposed application is provided. It is found that applying written discourse analysis in teaching written texts via the use of a problem solution pattern (SPRE) can increase what to expect in reading texts and the ability to write coherently. Although the author did not have the opportunity to apply this task, generally speaking, most text patterns involving SPRE are highly recommended for students when it comes to shaping their writing and this therefore makes students' writing coherent and easily readable. Introduction Discourse analysis in terms of both spoken and written language is believed to be helpful for both linguists and language teachers. It is simply " the study of language in use " (Gee & Handford, 2013:1). Written texts are considered an important aspect that needs to be analysed. Doing so means that writers gain the ability to make their writing more cohesive and easier to read. Cohesion, coherence, clause relations and text patterns are all parts of written texts. This paper, therefore, aims to shed some light on the analysis of written texts. The paper consists of three parts. In the first part, the literature regarding the meaning of texts and discourse analysis is briefly reviewed. An illustration of cohesion and coherence is presented. After this, grammatical and lexical devices and text patterns that help written texts to be understood are presented and discussed. The rationale for choosing to analyse written texts is addressed. The second part provides an analysis of several written texts, with a focus on the cohesion devices and text patterns discussed in the first part. The third part offers some suggestions and an evaluation of one of the written texts analysed in the second part, and suggests how to apply the analysed discourse in the classroom in such a way as to help teach written texts.