Abstract
The intent of this interdiscursive endeavor is to argue that EAP text interpretation (reading) and production (writing) can be effectively integrated through the task of summary writing (SW), which academically-oriented students must be able to perform. A discourse-level error analysis enabled us to focus on various features of the summaries which, taken together, indicate how well the (SW) class students had mastered both the goals of text interpretation and the conventions of summary writing, the identification of superordinate and subordinate points, the inclusion of an opening statement of the gist of the primary text, explicit reference to the primary author and text, and successful paraphrasing and representation of substantial claims without pragmatic failure or cross-cultural fatigue. It is a pragmatic feasibility to teach EAP students to be discourse analysts to the extent required by this discourse relevant task, and by learning to do such analysis, they can, in psycholinguistic coinage, integrate formative techniques of comprehension by production and summative techniques of production by comprehension.
Highlights
During the past decade or so, much of applied linguistics has been based on discrete paradigms and structuralism
This paper describes and illustrates an approach at integration of both skills associated with the process of summary writing
The summaries described in this paper were written by 40 graduates admitted to the EAP program under the auspices of the English Language Center, at AlGhad Colleges in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Summary
During the past decade or so, much of applied linguistics has been based on discrete paradigms and structuralism. We used a discourse analysis approach because it encourages careful reading and conscious awareness of text organizing strategies, and because it focuses attention on the text that the students have produced To illustrate this I will first provide a working definition of the task of summary writing, focusing on the interpretation of texts (reading) and production of summaries (writing). In addition to how they corresponded to the original texts in the selection of details in paraphrasing These examples are meant to illustrate how inter-discourse analysis can be materialized in EAP classroom instruction. Interdiscursivity affects academic writing by tertiary students from non-English speaking backgrounds These interdiscursive effects are analyzed in terms of how students directly draw on other texts in their writing, and how they adopt discourse conventions to shape their texts. I shall draw on examples from student writing to argue that inter-discourse shapes what kinds of things can be enounced and conditions the act of enunciation
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