WRITTEN AND SPOKEN DISCOURSE MARKERS: ATTITUDES OF KURDISH EFL UNIVERSITY INSTRUCTORS

Abstract

Taking written and spoken discourse into considerations, Discourse Markers are regarded as crucial elements of written and spoken discourse by native speakers of English. In addition, their pivotal role and use are also inevitable in EFL Language classrooms. Thus, the current study aims to investigate the attitudes of Kurdish EFL University instructors concerning the role and use of Discourse Markers with regard to Pedagogic value, Identification with the native speaker norm, Pragmatic value, Dispensable value, Acceptance of the local usage, how Discourse Markers are represented in EFL classrooms, and how they should be highlighted in EFL classrooms. A questionnaire was distributed to 106 Kurdish EFL instructors at various universities in Kurdistan Region. The quantitative findings revealed that the instructors had positive attitudes towards the role and use of written and spoken Discourse Markers in EFL classrooms. Discourse Markers were found to have both pragmatic and pedagogic values but they were underrepresented in written and spoken materials in Kurdish EFL classrooms and were not highlighted by the instructors in their writing and speaking classes. The study requires the integration of Discourse Markers in the curriculum for both language productive skills. The implications that were drawn from this study for further studies were to investigate role and use of Discourse Markers in the receptive skills of language and the learners’ perceptions concerning this role or use.