1

Critical Discourse Analysis #1 This critical discourse analysis is of an instructional conversation in a TESOL Masters class. The dialogue took place between seven students, one of which was the conversation leader. The group was given a written prompt provided by the instructor. The group was instructed to read the prompt and to discuss it without time limit. The purpose of the instructional conversation was to analyze discourse. Additionally, the group was made up of different cultures. For example, Arab, Korean, Chinese and American (Anglo) were represented. The following critical analysis will focus on analysis of participation, turns, leadership, use of gambits, and adjacency pairs. Count and Analysis of Turns Person Leader Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Student 6 Turns 35 13 7 5 7 16 6 Word count 672 427 181 61 155 388 66 Average 19 31 26 12 22 23 11

Analysis of Turns The leader had thirty-five turns and 672 words with an average of nineteen words per turn. On the other hand student number three had the least participation with five turns and sixty-one words with an average of twelve words per turn. However, although the leader had a higher number of turns, student number one had a higher number of words per turn of any student. That said, the two students with the highest percentage of participation are both native speakers of English. Nevertheless, student number two who had a low number of turns, word count and average words per turn was the interlocutor that touched on the main theme of the conversation. Content Analysis (prompt) The themes to be analyzed in the dialogue were not given to the students. The students were instructed to draw conclusions from a brief scenario used as a prompt and to follow the dialogue in whichever direction it went. The main theme to emerge was communication. Subthemes were: young adults independence, family relations, parental interference, and differences in cultures. The themes were developed by the students with direct conversation which included questions and personal anecdotes. Meaningful Exchanges: Adjacency Pairs Student number two brought up the issue of lack of communication between parent and young adult. This was then addressed by other members of the group and it stayed as the main theme of the discussion, as can be observed by the difference in turn numbers. For example, the main theme was brought up during turn number ten and it continued as the main theme during turn number eighteen and as far as turn number forty and beyond. The theme was also introduced

in different manners by other students without using the word communicate or communication but rather by the word talk as can be observed in turn number
Turn # 10 Student 2 Comment In this situation I think the problem is not only for this her problem is to communicate with her parents effectively Deeper issue, right, why would her dad go behind her back and set up a job that she wasnt interested in. Obviously communication isnt ideal in her relationship with her dad so yeah I agree that there needs to be some communication there What Im thinking is maybe how she talk to her father is the matter

11

Leader

18

40

Another meaningful exchange occurred between the leader and student number one which interrupted and indeed shut down student number fives input into the conversation. Student number five in several attempts tried to input her cultural beliefs of parental-young adult relationships. However, the leader and student number one overpowered her and kept talking as student five continued in different ways to relate the issue to the nature of relationships between parents and children in her culture. The dialogue went as follows:
Turn # 21 Student 5 Comment But in this situation and listening Jacob its uh she must be happy to to know her her father is very take care of her and around job and make something for her Yeah but at the same time its good for her to be near her father I think if this situation come to me I would be happy and I would go offer my father and I take this job and get more experience and

25 29

5 5

4
then talk with my father to look to any other job and apply for that because she did not get a job

As can be observed student number five a non-native speaker of English attempted to introduce her cultural views as it relates to the way parents are treated in her country but the native-speakers of English were not able to relate to student number five and proceeded to hold a conversation that in fact negated student number five participation. The individualistic, NorthAmerican philosophy was given more importance than the other cultures collectivist point of view. Leadership Analysis The leader in this instructional conversation dove into the discussion without any introductions or instructions to the participants. Additionally, there was no review of unfamiliar words or ideas for the benefit of the non-native speakers of English. This led to a slow start as a student asked questions regarding unknown words. However, upon being asked as to the meaning of certain words, the leader was very effective in providing a definition and examples to the students. That said, the main theme was not developed fully and in the instructional

conversation the non-native speakers of English were obviously at a disadvantage as they tried to not only keep up with the language and cultural perspective where they were seriously lacking but the native speakers of English seemed to have a parallel discussion of the sub-themes that did not include the non-native speakers at times.

Gambits used During the Instructional Conversation One of the objectives for the instructional conversation was the incorporation of gambits into the discourse by the various participants. The gambits were provided by the instructor and were a part of the overall schema of the class. That said, this particular instructional conversation was one of the very first few ones and as a consequence there was a very limited number of gambits used by the participants. That said, there was use of gambit in this conversation. For example, in turn number thirty-eight student number two said: I agree on Jacobs point. Another instance of a gambit being used is in turn number ten as student number two also said: In this situation, I think the problem In addition, student number four said in turn number fifty: In my experience It is safe to say that the gambits used were already in the speakers vocabulary previously. Actions Taken and Actions not Taken While it is very difficult to predict how the conversation could have been different based on actions taken or not, there were obvious actions taken and not taken that contributed to the outcome of the instructional conversation. An action that led to a positive result was when student number five asked for clarification on unknown vocabulary. This not only served to clarify unknown words and or idioms, but it signaled to the group that the conversation would have to be modified to include the non-native speakers of English in the group. An example of an action that lead to a less positive result is when student number one gave a solution to the main theme related to the scenario in the prompt. This action closed the discussion on the main theme. Perhaps due to the fact that student number one is a male and the

rest of the group female the resolution given by him to the group was the final word on the main theme. An example of a non-action was when the leader forgot to ask if there were any question as to vocabulary and or concepts. This oversight gave one of the group members the necessary incentive to speak up and ask questions. Theoretical Analysis (Text, Institutions, and Sociocultural) The following theoretical analysis utilizes Faircloughs three-dimensional framework for studying discourse. Fairclough has attempted to show that language and power are entirely linked. The purpose of his framework is to rationally justify the linkage between language and power by delineating three separate forms of discourse analysis onto one another: analysis of spoken or written language texts (text), analysis of discourse practice (interpretation of institutions) and analysis of discursive acts as instances of sociocultural practice (explanation of sociocultural context). Text The text being analyzed is the instructional conversation. The group was an intercultural mixture of Masters students of TESOL. The vocabulary was easy to understand and was free of jargon. The group was agreeable and had the same objective. There were differences in cultural beliefs but these were not contested. That said, the majority of the conversation was Euro-centric and the dominant culture interlocutors dominated as to the theme, pace, and content of the conversation. The primary register maintained by all the participants was informal. The general complexity of the grammar was ordinary college level native English mixed with advanced ESL college level English.

Interpretation of Institutions The institutions of family, education and employment were discussed. For example, family was an obvious theme due to the prompt itself. The theme of education and employment after graduating from college was also based on the prompt itself. Furthermore, the instructional conversation took place as part of a graduate level class and in the confines of a university. Some participants mixed the theme and the sub-themes with personal anecdotes. Sociocultural context The three primary sociocultural elements to consider in the instructional conversation are: age, gender, and culture. In Korean society, as well as in the Arabic community women

generally defer to men. This was obvious as student number one was the leader in the themes to be discusses. Additionally, although the majority of the students are young adults, the influence of an older woman was instrumental in finding the main theme. That said, her participation was brief but managed to cover very important points. That said, the majority of the conversation took part between native speakers and the more advanced non-native speakers of English. Summary Upon close analysis of the instructional conversation, it is obvious that the cultural differences as well as the language limitations were instrumental in the fact that the conversation was very superficial. For example, the above mentioned instance of student number five making a case for the fictional father and defending his motivations and the lack of interest by the native speakers of English which obviously was due to the culture in which she was raised could have led to the sub-theme of independence which could have included the non-native speakers of English. In addition to the cultural differences, the fact that it is in a classroom setting which is

intimidating was probably another factor that contributed to the lack of depth in the conversation. Furthermore, the fact that the conversation was recorded might have influenced the course of the conversation. Finally, the fact that the participants knew that the conversations were going to be analyzed could have also played an important role in the development or lack of themes and dialogue.