Explicit teaching of hedges: Bringing hedging in academic writing into the thai EFL classroom

Abstract

Hedging or ‘tentative language’ is considered one of the essential linguistic features of scientific research articles. However, as proper hedging requires nuanced linguistic skill, it is often difficult for non-native writers to hedge appropriately. This study examined the effectiveness of explicit teaching of hedging for Thai EFL health science undergraduates in a leading university in Bangkok, Thailand, in terms of awareness of the need for hedging and ability to accurately hedge. The data were common lexical hedges found in a pretest, posttest and the discussion section of student research articles. These hedges were analyzed and compared in terms of frequency, variety, use in context and appropriateness of use. A questionnaire was also used to obtain data on learner’s perceptions of the direct instruction of hedging and positive results were found. Learners’ awareness of the need for hedging was evident in the higher frequencies of hedges found in the posttest and discussion corpora. Their ability to hedge was somewhat improved, which could be seen in the greater variety of hedges used in appropriate contexts after the direct instruction. This study also discussed the pedagogical implications for teaching hedging and recommendations for further research.