Discourse Analysis

💡 Welcome to Discourse Analysis!

Class location: M2 A3
Class schedule: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM (Tuesday - Friday)
Instructor: Benjamin L. Stewart (Benjamin L. Stewart, Phd)

Course Description

This theoretical and practical subject focuses on analyzing the relationship between language and the diverse contexts in which it is used—both in written and oral forms—from various existing approaches. It promotes the analysis of the meaning and structure of communicative acts while considering their context from the perspective of teaching English as a foreign language. Through its content and learning experiences, this course contributes to the objectives of the Institutional Humanistic Training Program and its partial accreditation. The course precedes Introduction to Linguistics and Morphology, English Phonology and Phonetics, Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Spanish Grammar, English Grammar, and English Literature I and II; is taken concurrently with Group Practice; and is an antecedent to Applied Linguistics, Teaching Practice, Professional Practicum I and II, and the Integration Seminar.

Course Objective

Upon completion of the semester, the student will analyze oral and written texts in the English language from different approaches to discourse analysis. This will serve as a foundation to support the teaching of English in a pluralistic, high-quality manner, maintaining an openness to diverse cultural, social, and ideological contexts.

Books

A Simple Guide to Discourse Analysis: How Words Shape Ideas, Identity, and PowerA Simple Guide to Discourse Analysis: How Words Shape Ideas, Identity, and Power - Notes

Discourse Analysis: An IntroductionDiscourse Analysis: An Introduction - Notes

Discourse and Context in Language Teaching: A Guide for Language Teachers (Cambridge Language Teaching Library)[Discourse and Context in Language Teaching: A Guide for Language Teachers (Cambridge Language Teaching Library) - Notes](../Weblinks/Discourse%20and%20Context%20in%20Language%20Teaching%20A%20Guide%20for%20Language%20Teachers%20(Cambr.md)

Discourse in English Language EducationDiscourse in English Language Education - Notes

Readings

Discourse Analysis Modules

Learning Modules

• DA Module 01 Entering the World of Discourse
• DA Module 03 How Texts Hold Together
• DA Module 04 Theme, Rheme, and the Flow of Information
• DA Module 05 Time, Viewpoint, and Narrative Movement
• DA Module 6_Positioning the Writer and Reader
• DA Module 07 Doing Things with Words

Methodology

The course methodology promotes a student-centered learning environment in which dynamic lectures, guided inquiry, and collaborative interaction support the development of critical reading, reflective thinking, and discourse-analysis skills. Students will participate in individual, pair, small-group, and whole-class activities based on authentic written, spoken, digital, and multi-modal texts. The instructor will facilitate discussion, model analytical procedures, and provide contextualized learning experiences that connect theoretical concepts with practical applications. Through project-based learning, students will identify relevant questions, collect and organize discourse data, apply appropriate analytical frameworks, and communicate evidence-based findings. When authorized, generative artificial intelligence may support brainstorming, pattern identification, comparison of interpretations, and preliminary analysis. Students will critically evaluate and verify AI-generated content rather than accept it uncritically. By applying linguistic knowledge, pedagogical reasoning, collaboration, and reflection, students will develop analytical competence and gain a transparent understanding of discourse analysis from the perspectives of both language learners and future English language educators.

Assessment

NOTES:

1. 80% attendance is required to pass the course.
2. The use of English will have a 50% value of the grade on each item evaluated.
3. Class rules will be agreed upon on the first day of class. It is the student’s responsibility to become informed of said class rules if student is absent that day.
4. APA style will be required for all written assignments.
5. Plagiarism found in any of the required work – which includes unauthorized use of GenAI - will result in an automatic zero (0) for that work.
6. Partial grades will be uploaded to E-SIIMA as a reference example of students’ assessment progress. Final grades will not correspond to the average of the uploaded grades.

Orientation

To get started, review the following:

• Content will be published online using Capacities, which you may access either through your browser or through the Capacities app.

• Review the UAA language departmental plagiarism policy 2024 (under revision).

• Review the following:

  • Embracing one’s originality and process in academic writing: A guide for English language learners,
  • ELT Cast 126: How to increase one’s originality score when writing an academic text, and
  • Strategies for Enhancing Academic Originality and Precision to see my stance on self-expression and human-generated text. I always come from a place of support when assisting you find your orig

• I often use codes when giving feedback on your writing and will often use these codes to refer to common errors made when writing an academic text: Writing error code list.

• Install Ámbito Académico UAA App if you want to use the mobile app on your phone.

Discourse Analysis In Action

• Prosodic Transcription (Discourse Analysis Annotation) will be used for analyzing text.

• Different tools will be used to analyze text (see How to Do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit).