Aims and Fit of Module

The main aims of the module are: 

•	To develop students’ knowledge of some main concepts, categories and frameworks relating to written and spoken discourse;

•	To develop students’ critical understanding of form, meaning and use of language and the principles involved in the interpretation of texts, both written and spoken;

•	To develop students’ awareness and knowledge of the contextual influences which affect English language in use；

•	To encourage students to consider the implications of discourse analysis for the teaching of English language and the research of teaching English as a foreign language;

Learning outcomes

On the completion of the module, students will be able to 


•	Demonstrate an understanding of the relationships between the contexts of use and linguistic features in written and spoken texts;

•	Identify and describe the structural elements, textual patterns and organisation of a range of written and spoken interaction;

•	Demonstrate an understanding of the ways of describing meaning at word, clause and text levels, in particular, an understanding of how texts are constructed beyond sentence level;

•	Become familiar with some up-to-date frameworks for critical analysis of written and spoken texts;

•	Develop an awareness of how discourse norms and their realisations differ between cultures;

•	Apply discourse analysis to examine classroom discourse, both written and spoken;

•	Apply discourse analysis to describe differences between English and Chinese to guide English language teaching and researching in teaching English as a foreign language.

Method of teaching and learning

The teaching sessions are divided into two components: lectures and seminars.