1. modern linguistics as a change of paradigms

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Lecture 27. Peculiarities of oral and written discourse

1.Oral and written discourse

2. Positive and negative characteristics of spoken and written discourse
If we ask our students what they think the goal of language learning is, they would probably answer that it is to be able to communicate in that language. Therefore, the goal of today’s education is providing the skills for effective communication for the students. So what does communication mean? Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior(Merriam-Webster dictionary).Communicative competence The student of today should have not only “linguistic competence”, but “communicative competence” as well. What do these terms mean? Communicative competence is a term coined by Dell Hymes in 1966 in reaction to Noam Chomsky’s (1965) notion of “linguistic competence”. As Hymes observes:“...a normal child acquires knowledge of sentences not only as grammatical, but also as appropriate. In short, a child becomes able to accomplish a repertoire of speech acts, to take part in speech events, and to evaluate their accomplishment by others.”(Hymes 1972, 277)In other words, a student needs to use the language not only correctly, based on linguistic competence, but also appropriately based on communicative competence. Of course, it does not mean that grammatical rules of a language are not important. In fact, it is one of the four components of communicative competence (see Figure 1):What are they (four communicative competences)? It will be explained in the following table below(Linguisticator.com)Figure 2:Linguistic competence1.It is the knowledge of the language code, i.e. its grammar and vocabulary, and also of the conventions of its written representation (script and orthography). 2.The grammar component includes the knowledge of the sounds and their pronunciation (i.e. phonetics), the rules that govern sound interactions and patterns (i.e. phonology),3.The formation of words by means of e.g. inflection and derivation (i.e. morphology)4.The rules that govern the combination of words and phrases to structure sentences (i.e. syntax), and the way that meaning is conveyed through language (i.e. semantics).Sociolinguisticcompetence1.It is the knowledge of 2.The appropriateness depends on the 3.Moreover, being appropriate depends on knowing what the Communicative Competence Linguistic Sociolinguistic Discourse Strategic sociocultural rules of use, i.e. knowing how to use and respond to language appropriately. setting of the communication, the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating. taboos of the other culture are, what politeness indices are used in each case, what the politically correct term would be for something, how a specific attitude (authority, friendliness, courtesy, irony etc.) is expressed etc.Discoursecompetence1.It is the knowledge of how to produce and comprehend oral or written texts in the modes of speaking/writing and listening/reading respectively. 2.It’s knowing how to combine language structures into a cohesive and coherent oral or written text of different types. Thus, discourse competence deals with organizing words, phrases and sentences in order to create conversations, speeches, poetry, email messages, newspaper articles etc.Strategiccompetence1.Itis the ability to recognize and repair communication breakdowns before, during, or after they occur. For instance, the speaker may not know a certain word, thus will plan to either paraphrase, or ask what that word is in the target language. 2.During the conversation, background noise or other factors may hinder communication; thus the speaker must know how to keep the communication channel open. etc.3.If the communication was unsuccessful due to external factors (such as interruptions), or due to the message being misunderstood, the speaker must know how to restore communication. These strategies may be requests for repetition, clarification, slower speech, or the usage of gestures, taking turns in conversation Discourse As we have mentioned before in learning English our students should be able to communicate both in oral and written form.We should teach them for oral discourse and written discourse. What does discourse mean? Understanding the term “discourse” is very challenging because discourse is an object of research in many disciplines. Discourse is: a) spoken or written communication between people, especially serious discussion of a particular subject(Collinsdictionary.com). I tried to answer this question in my article “The notion of the term discourse. Is there difference between “text”and “discourse”?(Tuleshova, 2018)” Oral and written discourse?
Oral discourse is communication or transfer of information using words that are spoken. It might include congratulating, ordering, demanding, promising, hinting, warning, or greeting. Oral discourse often also contains discourse markers, such as words that create pause or separation of ideas (such as ''well,'' ''so,'' ''anyway,'' or ''you know.'')Written discourse is also the transfer of information, but, as its name suggests, it involves the written word. Written discourse is often tied with genre, or the type and/or structure of language used to imply purpose and context within a specific subject matter, especially when looking at literature. Examples of written communication include letters, memos, research papers, reports, etc(Kristen, 1993).
Positive and negative characteristics of spoken and written discourse
Teachers play a major part in a classroom. They control the learning activities of students in and even outside the classroom. Teachers can affect their students’ behaviour and mood by changing their style of communication.The on-going communication can have an effect on the student’s learning immediately or even much later in the student’s life. Thus it is important to pay attention to the way in which teachers communicate and what kind of communication style is seen positive in the learning progress. There are certain characteristics of spoken and written discourse. We try to show the characteristics of both type of discourse in the following table below (Kristen, 1993) Figure 3:OralWrittenPositive
Meaning is supported by nonverbal communication and other factors such as tone, intonation, etc.Can be done spur of the moment.Audience is known to the one delivering the message.Pace of communication is generally determined by the speaker.More personable and involves a shared situation between speaker and listener.More precise as words can be thought through and carefully chosen.Once written, words can still be changed or rearranged in order to make communication more precise.Tendency to use larger words and more complex sentences to make the message more interesting.Writing can happen over a period of time with much consideration given to the message and its delivery.The receiver can spread reading out over a period of time so as to give full attention to meaning.Writing is a permanent record of information.NegativeSometimes not as reliable as words are often not given as much consideration before they are spoken (except in cases of carefully planned speeches or lectures).Often is less planned and contains less structure.Tendency to use words with fewer syllables and less complex sentences.Once delivered, it cannot be changed or taken back.The receiver of information must listen to the whole speech or presentation at once in order to get full meaning.Pace of communication is determined by the reader or receiver of information.Audience for written discourse is not always known.Meaning might be supported by visual graphics, but there are no nonverbal communication cues to read.Less personable and can be very one-sided. (Rarely do the writer and reader share in the situation together. Communication refers to the ways in which language is used to promote interaction. We should teach our students to interact. Consequently, there should
be constant interaction in the classroom. Interaction is the most important thing on the curriculum. A number of studies have compared the discourse of the classroom with ‘real’ communication (e.g. Nunan, 1987). As Van Lier says (1988:267), “the classroom is the part of the real world, just as much as the airport, the interviewing room, the chemical laboratory, the beach and so on (Steve,2011).”Therefore teachers using the classroom discourse can teach students for oral discourse and written discourse.
References:
1.Communication[Def. 1]. (n.d.).Merriam-Webster Online.In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved March 9, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication
2.Chomsky, N. (1965).Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
3.Communicative competence. Linguisticator.com Retrieved March 9, 2018, fromhttps://linguisticator.com/communicative-competence
4.Discourse[Def. 1].Collins.Retrieved December4, 2017, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/discourse
5.Hymes, D. (1972). “On communicative competence”. In Pride, J.B.; Holmes, J.Sociolinguistics: selected readings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. pp.269–293.
6.Kristen, G.(1993). Oral & Written Discourse: Definitions & Characteristics.Retrieved from: https://study.com/academy/lesson/oral-written-discourse-definitions-characteristics.
7.Steve, W. (2011).Exploring Classroom Discourse: Language in Action. Retrieved from: https://books.google.kz
8.Tuleshova, K. (2018).The notion of the term discourse. Is there difference between “text” and “discourse”?International conference: Science days.Czech Republic, Prague.pp.66-70.