Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers

Cambridge Language Teaching Library

by Michael McCarthy

Discourse Analysis for Language Teaching gives a practical introduction to the field of discourse analysis and its relevance for language teaching. It begins by answering the question 'What is discourse analysis?' and examines how discourse analysts approach spoken and written language. Different models of analysis are outlined and evaluated in terms of their usefulness to language teachers. This is followed by chapters on discourse-oriented approaches to grammar, vocabulary and phonology. The final section looks at spoken and written language in the light of native-speaker and learner data and considers examples of teaching approaches. Discourse Analysis for Language Teaching has a very practical orientation, and the text is interspersed with reader activities with guidance on appropriate responses at the end.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

MIchael McCarthy is Emeritus Professor of Applied
Linguistics at the University of Nottingham, UK. He is also
Adjunct Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Pennsylvania
State University and at the University of Limerick, Ireland.
He is the author of many titles of interest to teachers, including
Spoken Language and Applied Linguistics. Well known as an
expert on the teaching and learning of vocabulary, he is a co-author of the basic and upper-intermediate levels of Vocabulary in Use, and is also Academic Consultant to the Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs and the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms. He is co-author of the 2 latest successful corpus-informed publications by Cambridge University Press: Touchstone and Cambridge Grammar of English.

Reviews

[Christopher Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

McCarthy's text is now nearly thirty years old, and yet it feels fresh and, most importantly, vital. I'm currently studying for a masters degree in Applied Linguistics and this was one of the books recommended for our unit on Discourse Analysis - so I decided to read it from cover to cover to see what I might learn. And I learnt a huge amount, both of a theoretical nature (such as the relationship between theme and rheme) and of a more practical, teachable nature (such as the idea of back-channel speech - expressions like 'Oh?' and 'Uh-huh' that punctuate the discourse of an active listener - and how important it can be for to keep this aspect of discourse in mind when you want to carry on a conversation in the same way a native speaker might). Fully recommended.

[Tiina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains plenty of theoretical information on (foreign) language teaching with many examples from different languages. It was easily understandable and while I didn't enjoy reading it all the time, it was a good educational experience. I read this book as part of a course on pragmatics in university during my Master's degree. I recommend this book to all language teachers, but in particular to beginners like me.

[Carolina Campoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! It’s relevant and filled with important information as to why some aspects of discourse analysis are relevant to language teaching. I great book to read as an intro.

[Rania]

It is a wonderful book

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Structured in a very logical way with helpful reader activities.