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January 05, 2007
Industry Events- Discourse, Communication and Enterprise
Hello Readers,
As a masters degree student who has just finished writing a term paper on discourse analysis, I know that the upcoming conference in Nottingham is of interest to me... and hopefully it will appeal to some of the rest of you as well.
Discourse can be defined as the "use of language"; discourse analysis then is simply the "analysis of the use of language". As ESL teachers, we are (or at least should be) concerned with how we use language and how we present its use in the classroom to our students. One question that often arises in ESL classrooms is that of the authenticity of the language presented in textbooks.
More than once did I find myself teaching the old-fashioned British greeting, "How do you do" to Chinese students who were interested in going to America. Though they would not be thrown out of the country for saying such a thing, they would not be using the language that is commonly used in America, and therefore, their language ability would be questioned either explicitly or implicitly. This is...
...a question of discourse.
If this sounds mildly interesting to you, then check out the Discourse, Communication and Enterprise Convention in Nottingham taking place September 10-12, 2007.
The aims of the convention are to promote and expand research networks among those working in the area of discourse and communication in organizational settings.
If you are interested in presenting a paper of your own, the abstract deadline is swiftly approaching- January 31st, 2007.
For more information about registering for the convention, submitting an essay, traveling to Nottingham or any other details about the convention, please go to the following website: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/conference/dicoeniv/index.htm
Alternatively, you can also contact one of the coordinators at the following email address: louise.mullany@nottingham.ac.uk
Good luck!
Carol Rueckert
Writer, ESL Lesson Plan
E-mail: crueckert@eslemployment.com
Blog: www.esl-lesson-plan.com
"I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand." - Chinese Proverb
*For the COMPLETE list of Industry Events mentioned on ESL-Lesson-Plan, click HERE!
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About the author of this entry:
Carol, a native English-speaker who hails from the small town of St. Joseph in Minnesota, USA, and lived and worked in China for more than 7 years. During that time, she worked with students that range in age from three to more than sixty years old. She worked in universities, private language schools, grade schools, international schools, as well as private tutoring. Besides teaching, she also worked as a head teacher, an education manager, and a material development manager. In addition to working on this newsletter, she currently writes a monthly column for Time Out Beijing. Carol is also currently working on her MA in TESOL at the Oxford Brookes University in England. Look for her posts on the ESL-Jobs-Forum discussion boards!
Posted by crueckert at January 5, 2007 11:34 AM
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