The Pedagogical Impact of Discourse Markers in the Lecture Genre: EFL Learners' Writings in Focus

Abstract

[...]the analysis of the use of cohesive devices has been of great interest for researchers and language instructors involved in the study and teaching of academic writing (Connor, 1984; Hinkel, 2001; Nesi & Basturkmen, 2006). First of all, as marking criteria set the standard for judging a piece of writing, teachers and learners should be familiarized with the marking criteria for different writing tests. After each task is finished, it is necessary for the writing teacher to choose a sample composition for critique, stressing the importance of using cohesive devices effectively and appropriately and reminding the students to avoid overusing or underusing cohesive devices. Since the acquisition of English vocabulary by EFL learners is a thorny task because there are subtle devices in each word as far as meaning and use are concerned, this kind of teaching may not be effective on the learning of lexical devices, which concern far more aspects of language such as semantics and pragmatics. [...]foreign language learning through classroom interaction.