From Discourse Knowledge To Discourse Consciousness

The significance and application value of discourse theories in foreign language educationhas been well acknowledged. While discourse-based EFL teaching and learning makes upfor traditional shortcomings of lopsided focus on language forms, it is still faced withmany challenges such as the lack of integrity in pedagogical theories, the lack ofsystematicness in knowledge learning, and the deficiency in its evaluation systems.With30English major freshman students as the research subjects, the current case studyfirst evaluated the subjects’ discourse consciousness via a questionnaire investigation andan analysis of the use of cohesion in their English writings. Then the researcher carried outa teaching experiment in which the subjects were systematically introduced to discourserelated knowledge including the five types of cohesion advanced by Halliday and Hasan,namely, reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion. After theteaching program, the subjects were ask to revise their original writings, and throughcomparative discourse analysis, the practical influences and functions of teaching andlearning discourse knowledge were examined.The study has found that (1) most students do not have a clear understanding of discourseconcepts, and tend to rely on their instincts when judging whether a passage is coherent ornot;(2) the most frequently occurring type of cohesion is lexical cohesion, word repetitionin particular; and high-score writings feature greater frequency as well as sophistication inusing cohesion;(3) an notable increase in the number of cohesion is seen in the revisedwritings, more so in low-score writings than in high-score writings; yet the addedcohesions in high-score writings are still more varied in types than in low-score writings.From these findings, it can be concluded that currently students do not have a reliablediscourse consciousness; but learning theoretical discourse knowledge not only strengthensstudents’ understanding of discourse concepts, but also contributes to their awareness ofrecognizing and utilizing means of cohesion; therefore it is of considerable applicationvalue to EFL teaching and learning. However, students’intake of the theoretical knowledgemay vary, so the teaching and learning must be adjusted and personalized according to thelearners’ competence, aptitude, and other practical factors. On the basis of theseconclusions, the author further puts forward suggestions for improving and reinforcingdiscourse-based teaching and learning through reforms in classroom teaching, syllabusdesign, material development, and teaching and learning evaluation.