What Teachers Say When they Write or Talk about Discourse Analysis
WHAT TEACHERS SAY WHEN THEY WRITE ABOUT DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Treatment of the data
The analytical focus of the written data was the language of Attitude, part of the theoretical framework developed by Martin (2000 and 2002), which addresses the various ways in which something or someone may be depicted in text. The system is divided into three different categories, namely, AFFECT, JUDGEMENT and APPRECIATION. The semantics of AFFECT is typically construed within a cline ranging from positive (enjoyable, to be welcomed) and negative (unwanted, to be avoided). JUDGEMENT encompasses meanings which evaluate human behavior by reference to a set of cultural norms. APPRECIATION evaluates objects (manufactured and natural), texts, and more abstract constructs such as plans, policies, and processes.
Patterns such as I love/hate X, X interest/bore me, adverbials such as sadly, unfortunately X has happened, or adjectives as in I am happy that X, and through nominalizations as in My fear was X, or I was overcome with joy/despair are clear signals of AFFECT. Because JUDGEMENT involves assessments of cultural codes of behavior, which have either been adhered to or broken, it is signaled by items of the same semantic field as immoral, virtuous, unjust, fair-minded, law-abiding, murderous, cruel, brutal, compassionate, caring, dishonest, honest, deceptive and fraudulent. Finally, APPRECIATION is thing or process-oriented and may thus be further sub-divided into REACTION, SOCIAL VALUE and COMPOSITION. This division depends on whether things/objects/processes are viewed in terms of the reaction or interest they inspire, in terms of the degree to which they are seen as beneficial or socially valuable, and in terms of their composition. Thus, the lexical signals for APPRECIATION may range from X is beautiful, X is valuable to X is well-built.
In view of our input questions, all of which focused on a particular interface between the course taught and the research subjects’ ability both as EFL users and teachers, the category of APPRECIATION was foreseen as being particularly prevailing in our data.
