This paper aims to analyze the concepts of the deictic shift theory and discourse theory of silencing. It has been written on the basis of synchronic descriptive method in the study of the English language. For this purpose we wish to introduce a theoretical framework for the study and then we hope to present the deictic shift theory and discourse…

This paper investigates readers' recognition of unsourced evidentials in texts in association with critical reading. To this end, we involved four Iranian postgraduate students at an Australian university in a collective case study where each student read four Persian texts and participated in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Data…

Metadiscourse guides how readers interact with a text and process the information they find. Because texts differ in purpose and audience, so do patterns of metadiscourse use. This research examines the patterns of metadiscourse use in topic-based writing, developed following a structured authoring method. The resulting writing is modular,…

This study investigates the rhetorical choices of the engagement features in Pakistani Academic Research Discourse (PARD) of natural and social sciences. Using the 'Interaction Model' (Hyland, 2005), it explores how the writers of different disciplinary cultures employ engagement features to define and maintain their knowledge territories in their…

Learning styles theory has been fiercely criticized, however, many educationalists continue to use learning style typologies. This study gives an argument as to why a hermeneutical perspective in the learning styles debate is needed. A critical discourse analysis (CDA) is presented on four critical texts that aim to discourage the use of learning…

Literacy is a critically important and contemporary issue for educators, scientists, and politicians. Efforts to overcome the challenges associated with illiteracy, and the subsequent development of literate societies, are closely related to those of poverty reduction and sustainable human development. In this paper, the authors examine literacy…

A well-versed writer on the limitations and possibilities of the English language, Seuss follows the conventional primers the wrong way, not by retracing the tradition of the genre, but by working his way against the current. Drawing upon Jean-Jacques Lecercle's notion of nonsense, this essay is a small attempt to examine three of Dr. Seuss's…

Learning occurs when students engage in discursive processes that include actively considering the comments and perspectives of others, allowing for interpretation and explanation of the topics being discussed (Gillies). Teachers should "resist the urge to turn close reading into an independent activity. The point of close reading is to…

While important work has been done on assessing classroom texts and investigating classroom discourse, there is little research on teachers doing systemic functional linguistics (SFL) with students for critical ends, especially in the high school arena. This article discusses how instructional use of SFL analytic resources in subject English…

Nowhere is the need for handling complexity more pertinent than in addressing environmental issues. Our study explores students' situated constructs of complexity in unfolding discourses on socio-scientific issues. Students' dialogues in two group-work episodes are analysed in detail, with tools from Systemic Functional Linguistics. We identify…

This study examines the potential of translation activities as a means for introducing a discourse approach to teaching culture in the beginner-level language classroom. For this purpose, a translation session was implemented to a group of beginner-level learners of Japanese at a UK university. Analysis of classroom interaction and students'…

This discourse analytic study explored the interconnection between resistance and perspectival understanding when students negotiated and constructed understandings in computer-mediated discussions in a graduate level course on the psychology of learning. Findings showed that resistance expressions often accompanied perspectival understanding as…

Preemptive censorship occurs when educators avoid particular books because they dislike the ideas or values the books contain or fear the controversy the books may evoke. Although not as blatant as other forms of censorship, preemptive censorship has the unfortunate consequence of restricting children's access to ideas and information. Moreover,…

Science reporting in the media often involves contested issues, such as, for example, biotechnology, climate change, and, more recently, geoengineering. The reporter's framing of the issue is likely to influence readers' perception of it. The notion of framing is related to how individuals and groups perceive and communicate about the…

This article shows how universities represent themselves through the use of language on their institutional websites. Specifically, it compares and contrasts how a long established university, the University of Melbourne and a young university, Macquarie University construct their institutional identities and build up a relationship with potential…