Abstract
In this book, John Flowerdew offers a wide-ranging and thorough overview of the many approaches to discourse studies and their application to the teaching and learning of languages. Clearly aimed at the student reader, Discourse in English Language Education is arranged in 10 chapters, working from an exposition of the fundamental principles of discourse research to more advanced discussion of analytic issues in specific contexts. Each of the chapters goes beyond the simple presentation of theories, terms and methods, seeking to introduce the reader to strategies, procedures and techniques that would help them apply these theories in practical pedagogical contexts.
Chapter 1 gives a clear and simple definition of discourse, discussing how its broad application in different disciplines requires a significant amount of critical scrutiny; no matter how explicitly the notion of discourse is defined, any form of discourse analysis is always affected to some extent by the analyst’s subjective selection of features that are deemed worthy of attention. Articulating this awareness provides an honest and realistic point of departure for reliable and valid discourse research.
The book’s exposition of discourse analytical models places systemic functional linguistics (SFL) at its focus, discussing register in Chapter 2, cohesion in Chapter 3 and thematic development in Chapter 4. Although alternative accounts from disciplines such as rhetoric and argumentation theory could have rounded out these initial chapters, they nevertheless provide a compelling argument for the usefulness of SFL as a methodological and explanatory resource, discussing both its strengths and potential weaknesses.
The following chapters offer a concise presentation of discourse analytical approaches anchored in philosophical pragmatics, such as speech act theory (Chapter 5) and the cooperative principle (Chapter 6), with enlightening critiques and discussion of their limitations. Chapter 7, on the topic of conversation analysis (CA), extends the discussion of speech acts by turning to spoken language and describing how it relates to notions such as turn-taking and adjacency pairs.
Chapter 8 expounds on the concepts of genre and register, explaining how these notions are linked, but simultaneously emphasizing the importance of keeping them distinct. The discussion, while accessible, nevertheless reveals Flowerdew’s keen theoretical insight. In his contrastive presentation of the approaches of the Sydney School, English for specific purposes and rhetorical genre studies, he illuminates the differences in their perspectives while also suggesting that it is the awareness of these very differences that allows us to arrive at an analysis that takes seriously the social context as well as the linguistic level.
After an overview of the methodological benefits of using corpus linguistics in discourse studies (Chapter 9), the book’s final chapter is devoted to critical discourse analysis (CDA). Saving this analytical approach for last is highly appropriate, because studies using CDA can potentially draw on all the techniques dealt with in the preceding chapters. The account of CDA emphasizes its advantage in providing a unified frame under which different discourse-analytic tools can be combined to shed light on both the sociocultural and linguistic dimensions of a research area. The notion of positive discourse analysis (PDA), the proposed opposite of CDA, is briefly mentioned and justly called into question because CDA in itself is not inherently negative.
In addition to giving a rich, balanced and interesting overview of the major approaches to discourse analysis, the book has a pedagogical structure that makes it accessible for both students and researchers. Each chapter starts with a simple introduction to a few key concepts that are illustrated by clear textbook examples. Subsequently, concepts and issues are increasingly exposed to problematizing scrutiny that is both generous and perspicacious, resulting in a summary critique of the main theses of each approach. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter are thought-provoking and, if taken seriously, can contribute to revealing strengths and weaknesses of the models described. All this makes the book an excellent guide to discourse studies for students, teachers and researchers in English, especially those interested in applied linguistics and education, while its clear presentation and the detailed practical strategies it offers also make it a uniquely valuable pedagogical resource for teachers wishing to introduce discourse-based concepts in their classroom practice.