Discourse Coherence Research Articles

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS IN IMPLEMENTING CLASSROOM DEBATING STRATEGY TO INCREASE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL

This study aimed to investigate university students' perspectives regarding the implementation of classroom debating strategies to enhance speaking skills. This study employed a descriptive qualitative methodology involving the distribution of questionnaires, conducting interviews, and gathering documentation. To assess the data, the researcher employed a 5-point Likert scale, which contained twenty items in the questionnaire and five questions during the interview session. Thirty-six respondents completed a full questionnaire, while eight students participated in an interview session with detailed questions. The findings of this study indicate that university students possess favorable attitudes regarding the utilization of classroom debate strategies to enhance their speaking skills. The debate effectively motivated students to enhance their speaking skills and improve several elements of speaking, including vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, comprehension, and grammar. University students encounter numerous hurdles in executing classroom debating strategies, including difficulties in defining the motion, articulating reasons, formulating rebuttals to opponents' arguments, structuring logical and coherent discourse, and managing uneasiness and anxiety during presentations.

Preliminary findings of expository discourse in older adults

Aims: The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine older adults' ability to deliver coherent discourse in expository discourse elicitation tasks; and 2) explore whether cognitive ability and social behavior activity predict coherent discourse production in healthy older adults, separately by gender. Methods: Study participants included 58 neurologically healthy older adults–male (n\,=\,19) and female (n\,=\,39). For the discourse elicitation task, participants provided their opinion in response to four controversial topics. They also completed executive function measures and social engagement questionnaires. Results: Years of education significantly differed between the two groups; thus, education was used as a covariate. A 2 × 4 mixed analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted. Main effect differences for gender and topic for discourse coherence were not found. In order to examine the contributions of executive function and social engagement on discourse coherence by gender, multiple regression analysis was conducted. For the male group, social activity and social network were significant predictors of the ability to convey coherent discourse on the healthcare topic. For the female group, only executive function was a significant predictor of the coherent discourse production on the marriage topic. Conclusions: The findings suggest that in the same type of discourse elicitation task, the nature of topic influences performance in elicited expository discourse. Moreover, results indicated that the influence of cognitive ability and social engagement on discourse coherence differed between the two gender groups.

Education, propaganda, and visual discourse in socialist Romania (1948–1989)

ABSTRACT The official discourse during the communist regime in Romania (1948–1989) has not been paid much attention by researchers and the official visual discourse, addressing adults and children, even less so. My study aims to address this research gap and identify the identity markers of the Romanian territory during socialism by exploring spatial representations and the territorial identity that were produced through official visual imagery. Using qualitative discourse analysis and critical visual methodology, I analyse the visual construction, through discourse, of themes and places created starting with the 1950s and were featured repeatedly during the 1970s and 1980s Romania (the period of national communism), and which constructed and highlighted traits of the country’s territorial identity. To achieve the research aim, I explore three types of research materials and ways of realising spatial education and socialisation through (propaganda) images or a visual pedagogy of space: (1) photographs in three textbooks about the Geography of Romania – a tool in educating people’s representations of their homeland, (2) official (state-produced and distributed) picture postcards reflecting progress during socialist Romania, and (3) comics about work and class identities in Cutezătorii [The Daring Ones] youth magazine – a tool in the edutainment of Romanian communist pioneers. These three official visual discourses were part of a coherent cultural visual discourse about the socialist nation, pervading representations about Romania, about its urban area, and about who the Romanians were meant to have been. This plural discourse was constructed through the visual intertextuality of these three widely distributed media.

Analysis of Cohesion and Coherence of Middle Eastern News Discourse and its Implications for Indonesian Language Learning in High School

Cohesion and coherence are parts that form a text/discourse. Both of them characterize the completeness of a text/discourse. This research aims to describe 1) the form of cohesion of Middle Eastern news discourse in the June 2024 edition of Sindonews.com and its implications for Indonesian language learning in high school, 2) the form of coherence of Middle Eastern news discourse in the June 2024 edition of Sindonews.com and its implications for Indonesian language learning in high school, and 3) the implications of the results of the analysis of the form of cohesion and coherence of Middle Eastern news discourse in the June 2024 edition of Sindonews.com and its implications for Indonesian language learning in high school. This research is qualitative descriptive research. The subject of this research is news text about the Middle East in the June 2024 edition of Sindonews.com. The results of this research are 1) the form of cohesion contained in the news discourse about the Middle East in the June 2024 edition of Sindonews.com in the form of lexical and grammatical forms. In grammatical cohesion, the dominant parts are references and conjunctions. Meanwhile, the dominant part of lexical cohesion is repetition. 2) the form of coherence contained in the news discourse about the Middle East in the June 2024 edition of Sindonews.com, namely cause and effect, conditions for results, applicative, identification, specific generic, background to conclusions, and means of results. Meanwhile, the dominant coherence relationship is the cause-and-effect relationship. 3) The implication for learning is that this form of cohesion and coherence in news texts can be used as teaching material for Indonesian language subjects, news text material in high school.

Effect of Age and Education on Discourse Cohesion

ABSTRACT Background Several studies have proven the presence of cohesion difficulties in neurogenic communication disorders. However, we still have very little information about discourse cohesion in the intact adult population and the factors that influence it. The aim of the present study is to provide additional information on this topic and to assess the effect of age and education on discourse cohesion. Methods One hundred and eighty-two healthy Slovak-speaking adult participants were divided into three age groups and three education groups were asked to tell Cinderella's story. The cohesion of the obtained discourse samples was evaluated. Results Our study indicates no significant effect of age. However, an increasing tendency of the occurrence of cohesive tie errors with increasing age was described. Education, on the other hand, turned out to be a statistically significant factor and had an impact on the overall use of cohesive ties as well as the use of referential pronouns. Conclusion Our findings suggest that monitoring the influence of education when creating normative data for discourse cohesion is more important than monitoring the effect of age.

Between deep comradeship and nationalism: The social dynamics of solidarity on the battlefield

AbstractThis article explores the social mechanisms that facilitate the transformation of micro‐level bonds into coherent nationalist narratives of solidarity. The aim is to explain the paradox: while the armed forces are highly nationalist institutions, most ordinary combatants detest nationalist rhetoric on the battlefield. Drawing on the interviews with the combatants who fought in the 1991–1995 wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the analysis of the mass media reports, I examine how deep bonds of micro‐solidarity forged in the violent experiences are transformed into coherent nationalist discourses. I explore how social ties generated in the protracted face‐to‐face interactions can be enveloped by the specific social organisations and then ‘translated’ into nationalist ideologies that project deep comradeship as ‘national solidarities’. I aim to show that the direct war experience does not automatically generate strong bonds of national solidarity. Instead, nationalism is always a product of protracted coercive‐organisational, ideological and micro‐interactional work.

Erotikos ir pornografijos reguliavimas viešojoje sferoje nepriklausomybę atkūrusioje Lietuvoje: Vilniaus atvejis (1990–1996)

This article examines the state control of erotica in the public sphere and the activities of regulatory institutions in Lithuania between 1990 and 1996. Based on archival documents, the study reveals the methods used by the Press Control Commission and the Vilnius City Ethics Commission to regulate the distribution of erotica after the restoration of independence, and the criteria used by these institutions to assess sexualized content. A key issue in shaping a coherent legal discourse on the regulation of erotic and pornographic content is the ambiguity and blurring of the terms ‘erotica’ and ‘pornography.’ The study shows that these institutions sought to control erotic content primarily through three argumentative models: 1) the tradition and values model, 2) the “I know it when I see it” model, and 3) the threat of homosexuality model. The findings indicate a strong tendency within the Press Control Commission and the Vilnius City Ethics Commission not only to regulate (e.g., through age limits) but also to eliminate such content. The vague legal rulings and conceptual uncertainties of the 1990s gave these commissions considerable autonomy, allowing them to assume a proactive role that resembles that of an inquisitor or moral policeman.

From general rejection to individual normalization: Ambivalences in discourses on intimate partner violence by young Spaniards.

Violence against women continues to be a serious social and public health problem all over the world, despite its high level of social condemnation. The aim of this study is to include the concept of ambivalence in order to analyze the perceptions that young people have of intimate partner violence (IPV). We conducted a qualitative study based on 20 semi-structured interviews with young Spaniards (men and women) who were segmented according to involvement or not in activism against IPV. A critical discourse analysis was performed based on situational, attitudinal and temporal ambivalences. The results show the presence of ambivalent discourses that express a high level of condemnation towards IPV and, at the same time, justify certain violent practices when considering the situational framework. This leads to discursive contradictions when considering jealousy in a couple's relationship, the responsibilities of violence that women suffer and the social origin of IPV. These ambivalences are influenced by the social context, as those involved in activism against IPV express a more coherent discourse that does not justify or accept any kind of violence. Nonetheless, non-activists represent ambivalences in their attitudes towards IPV studied in this research. The results suggest the need to reflect on the strategies used with young people to eradicate IPV by considering the ambivalent nature of attitudes.

Connectives in written narratives by German-speaking children in fourth grade and adults

Abstract Connectives are a central means for creating a coherent discourse. The relationships between specific connectives, coherence relations and syntactic relations are complex for children to acquire. In this paper, we systematically compare the use of clause-initial connectives in written narratives by German-speaking children in fourth grade (10-year-olds, N = 32) and adults (N = 52). The overall use of connectives, the types of syntactic relations and coherence relations expressed and the connective types used as well as the relationships between syntactic relations, coherence relations and connective types are analysed. The results show that the groups expressed coherence relations with connectives equally often. Additive relations were the most frequent in both groups, but the children expressed temporal relations more often than the adults, who showed a larger diversity in the types of coherence relations. There was no difference in the overall use of subordination and coordination, but the adults expressed temporal relations more frequently with subordination. The children used adverbs to a greater extent than the adults. The connective da ‘then’ played an important role in the children’s expression of temporal relations, whereas the adults used a wider variety of different connectives to express different types of temporal relations. The results suggest that children in the fourth grade have not yet fully acquired an adultlike use of connectives in written narratives.

An Investigation into the Feedback of Automated Writing Evaluation System on EFL Learners’ Writing

Computer technology has developed at a rapid pace in recent decades. The combination of artificial intelligence and writing teaching has become an important development trend. For better utilization of Automated Writing Evaluation System in teaching, the quality of its feedback on various types of errors in compositions is one of the issues worth exploring. In order to investigate this issue, this study compares the diagnosis of EFL learners' compositions by Automated Writing Evaluation System with the actual errors in the compositions, and calculates the Precision and Recall of the iWrite system's feedback. Unlike previous studies, this study synthesizes macro discourse elements such as propositional logic, across-sentence logic, and discourse structure, and categorizes the actual errors in learners' compositions into seven kinds. The results show that the iWrite system performs excellent in detecting three kinds of errors, which are lexical errors, grammatical errors, and other detail-type errors, and is moderately effective in detecting pragmatic errors, while it fails to provide feedback on propositional logic, discourse cohesion and coherence, and paragraph structure, which are the high-level error types, indicating that iWrite system is completely unable to capture errors in terms of macro-discourse elements. These findings provide a strong basis for improving Automated Writing Evaluation System, and at the same time provide English teachers with a reference for writing teaching, which helps to better serve the field of foreign language education.

Story Recall in Peer Conflict Resolution Discourse Task to Identify Older Adults Testing Within Range of Cognitive Impairment.

The current study used behavioral measures of discourse complexity and story recall accuracy in an expository discourse task to distinguish older adults testing within range of cognitive impairment according to a standardized cognitive screening tool in a sample of self-reported healthy older adults. Seventy-three older adults who self-identified as healthy completed an expository discourse task and neuropsychological screener. Discourse data were used to classify participants testing within range of cognitive impairment using multiple machine learning algorithms and stability analysis for identifying reliably predictive features in an effort to maximize prediction accuracy. We hypothesized that a higher rate of pronoun use and lower scores on story recall would best classify older adults testing within range of cognitive impairment. The highest classification accuracy exploited a single variable in a remarkably intuitive way: using 66% story recall as a cutoff for cognitive impairment. Forcing this decision tree model to use more features or increasing its complexity did not improve accuracy. Permutation testing confirmed that the 77% accuracy and 0.18 Brier skill score achieved by the model were statistically significant (p < .00001). These results suggest that expository discourse tasks that place demands on executive functions, such as working memory, can be used to identify aging adults who test within range of cognitive impairment. Accurate representation of story elements in working memory is critical for coherent discourse. Our simple yet highly accurate predictive model of expository discourse provides a promising assessment for easy identification of cognitive impairment in older adults. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26543824.

From Periphery to Center: The Emotional Sequence of Cognitive Revision in L2 Writing Assessment.

Peripheral self-proofreading activities, such as grammatical correction, spelling checks, and word modifications, have traditionally been viewed as essential components of writing feedback. However, central revision tasks-including cognitive processing, critical thinking, and emotional sequencing-have received insufficient attention. These central revision activities are crucial for assessing the emotional flow of writing. This study seeks to explore central revision processes to uncover authentic issues faced during writing tasks. We analyzed the revision processes of 113 college students, aged 19 to 22, using Inputlog Version 6 software to evaluate emotional sequences based on 4,629 revision traces. The study revealed that emotional sequences in central revision could be identified through four key indicators: language proficiency, discourse coherence, perceptual pathway, and perceptual processing. We also observed that nuanced emotional sequences were associated with higher writing proficiency. These findings have significant implications for enhancing central revision practices in second language (L2) writing, aiming to improve the efficiency of writing revisions. They also provide valuable guidance for both educators and students, highlighting the importance of emotional sequencing in the writing process.

Exploring Clause Complexity: A Detailed Analysis Within a Specific Text

This study investigates the role of clause complexity in students' academic writing, focusing on the application of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) symbols to create persuasive and coherent discourse. Employing a qualitative single-case method, the analysis examines a specific text on the dangers of smoking produced by students. The findings showcase the students' effective use of varied clause types and relationships, as well as their ability to present a systematic and logical flow of ideas supported by factual evidence. The results emphasize the importance of mastering multiple elements, such as utilizing diverse clause types and maintaining a strategic narrative flow, for successful academic writing. These insights can serve as valuable information for educators and academic writers alike, offering a deeper understanding of the implications of clause complexity and its role in fostering effective communication in academic writing.

FIRST LANGUAGE TRANSFER IN CHINESE UNDERGRADUATES’ USE OF CONNECTORS IN ENGLISH NARRATIVES

Background and Purpose: Connectors are vital tools for cohesive discourse, significantly influencing the writing proficiency of learners. In Chinese educational contexts, many learners grapple with the correct application of connectors, due to potential first language (L1) influence. Previous research primarily delves into lexical and syntactic aspects, overlooking discourse-level considerations. This study aims to assess the frequency and accuracy of connector usage in English narratives among Chinese learners. It also seeks to investigate the extent of language transfer concerning connectors among Chinese learners and discern how this transfer evolves as learners' second language (L2) proficiency advances. Methodology: To amass data, 150 narratives composed by 30 Chinese learners were analyzed. Initial qualitative analysis was followed by quantitative examination. Findings: The findings underscore temporal words as the most frequently employed connectors, closely trailed by additives and causal words. Notably, temporal words and adversatives exhibited higher accuracy when compared to other connector types. Positive transfer manifested more frequently than negative transfer. Moreover, positive transfer displayed a noticeable inflectional change across the five-time narratives, whereas little variation was observed in negative transfer. Contributions: This study suggests that stakeholders, including educators, learners, and policymakers, should leverage positive transfer as a strategic resource when instructing connectors to enhance L2 writing proficiency. Keywords: First language, language transfer, connector, narratives, Chinese undergraduates. Cite as: Ma, Y. Q., &amp; Stapa, M. B. (2024). First language transfer in Chinese undergraduates’ use of connectors in English narratives. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 9(2), 131-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss2pp131-159

On the Application of Discourse Cohesion Theory to English Reading Teaching in Senior High School

On the Application of Discourse Cohesion Theory to English Reading Teaching in Senior High School

Research on Relevance Devices and Discourse Markers in English Discourse Analysis

The coherence of discourse is a core issue in discourse analysis. Relevance and discourse markers, as important means of achieving discourse coherence, are of great significance for understanding the meaning and structure of discourse. In recent years, scholars both domestically and internationally have achieved fruitful results in the study of associative devices and discourse markers, but there are still many issues worth further exploration. This article aims to explore the use of associative devices and discourse markers in English discourse and their roles in discourse construction, in order to provide theoretical references for the field of English teaching and research.

The association between discourse production and schizotypal personality traits

Discourse abnormalities are a prominent feature in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, including poor lexical diversity, and have been found to differentiate patients from healthy subjects. However, discourse processing in individuals with high schizotypal personality traits is less understood and is often overshadowed by research on clinical psychotic symptoms. In the present study, we examined schizotypal traits at a non-clinical threshold and their association with lexical diversity and discourse coherence using two automated Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools - Type-Token-Ratio (TTR) measures from the Tool for the Automatic Analysis of Lexical Diversity (TAALED) and discourse coherence using sentence-level average cosign similarity with FastText to assess sentence similarity. 276 college students completed the full assessment including the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire- Brief Revised (SPQ-BR) and recorded a speech sample describing a detailed painting. Results revealed that high schizotypal traits, specifically positive traits, were associated with lower lexical diversity and higher sentence similarity. Our findings suggest that even when clinically significant symptoms are not present, discourse abnormalities are present in healthy populations with high ST. The stronger association with positive traits suggests that theories of perseveration and top-down processing may warrant further investigation in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

Integrating relational and intentional theories of discourse coherence

This paper explores the ways in which insights from the two influential formal pragmatic theories of discourse&amp;nbsp;coherence, namely, Question Under Discussion (QUD) and Rhetorical Relation (RR) models, can be integrated to&amp;nbsp;build a more inclusive theory of discourse coherence. It proposes a simple and concrete procedure to derive the&amp;nbsp;hierarchical structure of discourse from the subquestion relations between implicit QUDs reconstructed using&amp;nbsp;informational structural principles (Riester, 2019; Reyle &amp;amp; Riester, 2016) and contextual entailment relations&amp;nbsp;(Roberts, 2012). It applies the procedure to discourse examples involving various RRs to determine subordinating&amp;nbsp;and coordinating relations and to create a parsimonious feature-based inventory of RRs with formal definitions. The&amp;nbsp;resulting theory shows that establishing the QUD-RR correspondence is possible, contrary to what has been claimed&amp;nbsp;(Hunter &amp;amp; Abrus&amp;aacute;n, 2017; Onea, 2019; Riester, 2019).

A Corpus-based Investigation on the English Majors’ Use of Cohesive Devices in Argumentative Writing

Many factors affect the quality of English writing. Among them, the cohesion of discourse has been an important topic in writing research. This study aims to investigate the use of local, global, and text cohesion features in Chinese English majors’ argumentative writing and how EFL learners of higher proficiency (Grade 4) develop their written discourse competence as compared with the lower proficiency (Grade 1). The Written English Corpus of Chinese Learners (WECCL 2.0) was adopted as the main corpus. The research finds that connectives and lexical overlaps are more frequently used in English writing, and a tiny minority of cohesive devices showed growth across the two grade levels. The findings provide important insights for researchers and teachers on second language acquisition, English writing development and English writing teaching.

Global coherence in structured and unstructured discourse types in neurotypical adults

BackgroundResearch on global coherence in neurotypical aging has predominantly focused on different methods of elicitation and their impact on age. The use of structured versus unstructured discourse tasks can have varying effects on global coherence. Comparative studies investigating this effect within Tamil language-speaking populations are scarce. This study seeks to address this gap by examining global coherence in structured and unstructured tasks among speakers of Tamil language.AimThis study aimed to identify any significant differences in the global coherence of discourse, as measured through structured (picture description) and unstructured (conversation) tasks, in middle-aged and older neurotypical individuals across ages and genders.MethodThirty Tamil-speaking individuals participated in the study, which included 15 middle-aged adults (aged 44–59 years) and 15 older adults (aged 60–80 years), with an equal number of males and females. Discourse samples were audio recorded using structured (picture description) and unstructured (conversational discourse) tasks. The picture description task included describing a single picture (of a birthday scene) and a sequential picture stimulus (depicting an argument event). The conversational task consisted of two topics of conversation (family and work) with the investigator. Each discourse task lasted for at least a minute. The recorded samples were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a 4-point Global Coherence Rating Scale.ResultsParticipants exhibited significant differences, with the unstructured discourse task having a significantly higher global coherence rating (p ≤ 0.05) than both structured discourse tasks. The varying cognitive demands, functional purposes, and contextual factors across various discourse elicitation tasks could be attributed to these differences. No significant differences were observed in the coherence ratings between middle-aged and older adults or between genders.ConclusionThe method used to elicit discourse and the type of discourse need to be considered when exploring global coherence measures. The current study has important methodological implications for the coherence analysis of the Tamil-speaking population in both structured and unstructured tasks.