The language of chemistry lectures to non-native speakers of English
The language of chemistry lectures to non-native speakers of English
This thesis is a decription of the language used by English and American chemistry lecturers in their lectures to non-native speakers of English at Sultan Qaboos University, in the Sultanate of Oman. Chapter 1 examines previous studies of speech to non-native speakers of English, and finds shortcomings in this mainly quantitative tradition. It is concluded that the process of describing foreigner talk is by no means, as some have suggested, complete. Chapter 2 examines other ways in which classroom language has been described (particularly looking at Interaction Analysis and Discourse Analysis) and finds them insufficiently attentive to details of context. In this chapter the advantages of an ethnographic approach are argued, and various key concepts of this approach are discussed. Chapter 3 describes the collection of data for this study, giving details of recording, transcription, interviews, questionnaires and diaries. Chapter 4 describes the lecturers' ideas about their methods of lecturing and how these methods had to be adapted for lectures to non-native speakers. Chapter 5 describes the 1988-9 lectures given by Dr David Selly, those on which most information was forthcoming. An interview, transcripts of recordings, and the writer's notes made at the time of the lectures are all included in this description, which is made under four categories: Interaction, Attention to Language, Reference and the Introduction of Ideas. Chapter 6 examines the 1986-7 lectures by Drs Stamp, Turton and Hands, and the 1987-8 lectures by Dr Hands, in terms of the same categories. Chapter 7 is a conclusion, relating what has been discovered in this description to the findings of earlier studies both of foreigner talk and of lecturing. An appendix contains information about lecturers and students too bulky for inclusion in the main text: extracts from interviews, summaries of questionnaires, diaries etc.
University of Southampton
Arden-Close, Christopher Martin
1990
Arden-Close, Christopher Martin
Arden-Close, Christopher Martin
(1990)
The language of chemistry lectures to non-native speakers of English.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This thesis is a decription of the language used by English and American chemistry lecturers in their lectures to non-native speakers of English at Sultan Qaboos University, in the Sultanate of Oman. Chapter 1 examines previous studies of speech to non-native speakers of English, and finds shortcomings in this mainly quantitative tradition. It is concluded that the process of describing foreigner talk is by no means, as some have suggested, complete. Chapter 2 examines other ways in which classroom language has been described (particularly looking at Interaction Analysis and Discourse Analysis) and finds them insufficiently attentive to details of context. In this chapter the advantages of an ethnographic approach are argued, and various key concepts of this approach are discussed. Chapter 3 describes the collection of data for this study, giving details of recording, transcription, interviews, questionnaires and diaries. Chapter 4 describes the lecturers' ideas about their methods of lecturing and how these methods had to be adapted for lectures to non-native speakers. Chapter 5 describes the 1988-9 lectures given by Dr David Selly, those on which most information was forthcoming. An interview, transcripts of recordings, and the writer's notes made at the time of the lectures are all included in this description, which is made under four categories: Interaction, Attention to Language, Reference and the Introduction of Ideas. Chapter 6 examines the 1986-7 lectures by Drs Stamp, Turton and Hands, and the 1987-8 lectures by Dr Hands, in terms of the same categories. Chapter 7 is a conclusion, relating what has been discovered in this description to the findings of earlier studies both of foreigner talk and of lecturing. An appendix contains information about lecturers and students too bulky for inclusion in the main text: extracts from interviews, summaries of questionnaires, diaries etc.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 1990
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 461960
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/461960
PURE UUID: f5231648-01d4-45ae-aadf-e3aa5c8df523
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:59
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:59
Export record
Contributors
Author:
Christopher Martin Arden-Close
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics