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Introduction

Do you wonder what the analysis of language beyond the sentence is? Is it

relevant when listening to people’s own narratives of a situation?

Discourse analysis is the right thought for that. It is a research method for

studying whether written or spoken language in relation to its social context. Its purpose

is to clearly understand how language is used in real life circumstances. Discourse

analysis might focus on: The purposes and effects of different types of languages, how

values, beliefs and assumptions are inter-connected, how language use related to its

social context, and cultural rules and conventions in communication.

Discourse analysis means determining how language functions and how

meaning is produced in different social contexts. It can be applied to any instance or

oral or written language, as well as non-verbal aspects of communication such as tone

and gestures.

This paper discusses the way of knowledge produced within different discourses

and the performances, linguistic styles and rhetorical devices used in particular

accounts. In which, we will analyze the language with the above framework in mind as a

research technique through retrieving excerpts from a source that is related in some

way to my major field of study or my professional goals, and assess how the analysis of

discourse is relevant to my study and career interests.

The excerpt I retrieved is related to my career interest which is the English Language. It

came from a blog for English language teachers, focusing on methodology, tips and

activities. This blog’s objective is to facilitate a positive teaching experience for both the

teacher and students for them to have a successful learning outcome.

My chosen excerpt is titled ‘Teaching the Value of Passive Vocabulary’ and it is briefly

about the author having scrolled through a news briefing, came across a word she didn’t

knew: excoriate. The author had some thinking about the basic ideas of needing

multiple encounters to learn a word and the tendency to have a lot more passive

vocabulary than active vocabulary.

Lebedev, J. (2018, Nov. 20) Teaching the Value of Passive Vocabulary. English with

Jennifer.

Retrieved from: https://englishwithjennifer.wordpress.com/2020/11/20/teaching-the-

value-of-passive-vocabulary/

Nouns – yellow

Pronoun - pink

Verbs – green

Objects – blue

Adjectives – red

Adverbs – gray

One way to view vocabulary is to see it like an onion. Some words are going to sit there

with the peel intact. We know it’s an onion, but we don’t need to cut it up. Other words

are worth peeling back and dicing up. If you try to cut up too much, though, you’ll cry.

You can’t memorize too much at once or convert all your passive vocabulary into active

vocabulary overnight. Peel the layers back gradually. No one will excoriate you for

learning at a moderate rate. Repetition and review is the key. Like a slow-cooked stew,

vocabulary acquisition takes time.

Upon reading the paragraph, I was convinced that encountering unfamiliar words and

words that look vaguely familiar serves as a challenge for me being in this field I have

chosen. These are high level words that are not necessarily used in everyday basis.

You’ll view them in academic texts and in the news. We should have the skills to deal

with unfamiliar words and make them part of your passive vocabulary. As we encounter

them more times, we’ll have a better chance of retaining them and use them actively.

I am moved in a positive way, because this excerpt’s motive is to widen and sharpen

the reader’s passive vocabularies by being keener to their usage especially when

writing papers or conducting talks, and engaging in everyday conversation, making the

discourse informational rather than persuasive.

The target audiences of the discourse are English teachers of different sorts, including

aspiring ones, teachers who are seeking new content to make a lesson from, and

students who came for additional information.

Proper grammar leads to effective communication. One may be able to get a meaning

across, without it. But there are ample opportunities for miscommunication or

misunderstandings to occur. Communication is an integral part of our daily life; we

cannot live in an isolated society without any interactions. It is a process used to

express ideas and feelings or used by people for giving information, it involves sharing

of ideas and information from one person to another. Communication is a learned skill.

To express them well and properly, we must learn how to communicate effectively.

Grammar is very important because it helps enhance accuracy, meaning grammar rules

can help learners develop a habit of thinking logically and clearly and will become more

accurate when using language. Proper use of grammar is a sign of respect, both for

speakers and listeners. For speakers, speaking clearly means they took their time to

polish themselves with a good and neat impression from the listeners, on the other

hand, a person with poor grammar skill can form negative impression on the first time

meeting and this may last for a long time. For listeners, a proper use of grammar shows

that their thought is concise and concerned at the same time, not wanting them to waste

time trying to figure out what they are saying. Just like in the excerpt I presented, the

author conveys her clear intentions and concerns with regards on learning passive

vocabularies and using them accordingly. The author used familiar and precise words

on telling her thoughts and concerns to help the reader on being aware of his

vocabularies.
Assessing discourse with relevance to my career

Discourse analysis is the analysis of language beyond the sentence. This contrasts with

types of analysis which are mainly concerned with grammar, word meanings, sounds,

and rules for making meanings. Discourse analysts are interested in studying larger

chunks of language as they flow together. Their concern is how to interpret the

relationship of grammatical forms of utterances to given interlocutors and meanings

expressed through discourse.

As a future educator, assessing discourse on my field is a very important one. Because

in the generation now, students have a different way of learning like we are doing right

now in this pandemic (virtual classes). Being an English language teacher, I should be

aware of the type of tone I will convey to my students through my teachings, and to be

more accurate and precise on my words and vocabulary usages because not meeting

their scope upon learning the medium will affect mostly my performance as a language

teacher. Apart from scholarly applications, discourse analysis has some very pragmatic

uses as well. Specialists in the field are tasked with helping world leaders understand

the true meaning behind communications from their peers. In the field of education, it's

used to help teachers find ways to ensure they're better understood by their students

with understandable and accurate language skills, as well as guiding them in dealings

when giving students a challenging activity.

For example, in one instance, loads of conversations between teachers and students

were analyzed to determine where misunderstandings on the lectures had occurred.

In the field of English language teaching, i have summed up to this conclusion

differentiating discourse analysis to grammar analysis. Unlike grammar analysis, which

focuses on the structure of sentences, discourse analysis focuses on the broad and

general use of language within and between particular groups of people. Another

important distinction is that while grammarians typically construct the examples they

analyze, the analysis of discourse depends on actual writings and speech of the group

being studied to determine relevant usage.

In terms of textual analysis, grammarians may examine texts in isolation for elements

such as the art of persuasion or word choice (diction), but only discourse analysis takes

into account the social and cultural context of a given text.

In terms of verbal expression, discourse analysis takes in the colloquial, cultural, and

living use of language—including each and every "um," "er," and "you know," as well as

slips of the tongue, and awkward pauses. Grammar analysis, on the other hand, relies

entirely on sentence structure, word usage, and stylistic choices. This does, of course,

often include a cultural ingredient but it's missing the human element of spoken

discourse.
In sum, teachers can use discourse analysis not only as a research method for

investigating their own teaching practices but also as a tool for studying interactions

among language learners. Learners can benefit from using discourse analysis to

explore what language is and how it is used to achieve communicative goals in different

contexts. Thus discourse analysis can help to create a second language learning

environment that more accurately reflects how language is used and encourages

learners toward their goal of proficiency in another language.

Lebedev, J. (2018, Nov. 20) Teaching the Value of Passive Vocabulary. English with

Jennifer.

https://englishwithjennifer.wordpress.com/2020/11/20/teaching-the-value-of-passive-

vocabulary/

Admin, B. (2017, Jul 11) Why is Grammar Important in Communication. Bodhih

https://bodhih.com/training-and-development/grammar-important-communication/

Grammar helps us to communicate more effectively (2020, Apr 20) Parlia

https://www.parlia.com/a/grammar-helps-communicate-effectively

Discourse Analysis—What Speakers Do in Conversation. Linguistic Societies of

America’

https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/discourse-analysis-what-speakers-do-

conversation

How Do We Bend the Truth? The Linguistics of Propaganda and Censorship. (2017 Jul

23) Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X82SFZ_eXOU

Van Dijk, Teun A. "Handbook of Discourse Analysis Vol. 4: Discourse Analysis in

Society." Academic Press. December 1997.

Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 26). Understanding the Use of Language Through

Discourse Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/discourse-analysis-or-

da-1690462