The purpose of the present study is to expand our current understanding of second language classroom discourse by exploring how four English as a second language (ESL) teachers working in an intensive English program structurally organize classroom language lessons through the use of language; how students and teachers perceive the functions of the various stages in a lesson; how teachers prepare for their language lessons; and how various discourses and texts in this teaching context influence teachers‘ spoken discourse in the classroom. In order to carry out the exploratory study of language lessons, a multidimensional genre-oriented approach is utilized that is sensitive to both textual and contextual analyses of language lessons. The findings suggest that despite the spontaneous nature of classroom settings and sometimes improvised nature of classroom teaching, experienced ESL teachers have generated and internalized schemata of language lessons, which consists of a stable schematic structure and linguistic patterns that are recognizable by both teachers and students. However, rather than viewing a language lesson as a distinctive genre, the study suggests that it might be described more precisely as a sub-genre of the classroom discourse genre proper that shares broad communicative purposes with other classroom discourse sub-genres, although also maintaining its own distinct characteristics. Further, the analysis indicates that seven resources appear to interact in dynamic, dialogic, and complex ways as experienced teachers set about constructing lessons that are goal-oriented, activity-driven, cohesive, and meaningful for both themselves and their students. Finally, the results demonstrate that experienced teachers integrate various material resources in the classroom that influence their talk; consequently, a language lesson can be regarded as both a process and a product that is highly multimodal, multimedial, and intertextual. The study concludes with implications for genre studies, classroom discourse studies, and second language teacher education, and with suggestions for future research.

The purpose of the present study is to expand our current understanding of second language classroom discourse by exploring how four English as a second language (ESL) teachers working in an intensive English program structurally organize classroom language lessons through the use of language; how students and teachers perceive the functions of the various stages in a lesson; how teachers prepare for their language lessons; and how various discourses and texts in this teaching context influence teachers‘ spoken discourse in the classroom. In order to carry out the exploratory study of language lessons, a multidimensional genre-oriented approach is utilized that is sensitive to both textual and contextual analyses of language lessons. The findings suggest that despite the spontaneous nature of classroom settings and sometimes improvised nature of classroom teaching, experienced ESL teachers have generated and internalized schemata of language lessons, which consists of a stable schematic structure and linguistic patterns that are recognizable by both teachers and students. However, rather than viewing a language lesson as a distinctive genre, the study suggests that it might be described more precisely as a sub-genre of the classroom discourse genre proper that shares broad communicative purposes with other classroom discourse sub-genres, although also maintaining its own distinct characteristics. Further, the analysis indicates that seven resources appear to interact in dynamic, dialogic, and complex ways as experienced teachers set about constructing lessons that are goal-oriented, activity-driven, cohesive, and meaningful for both themselves and their students. Finally, the results demonstrate that experienced teachers integrate various material resources in the classroom that influence their talk; consequently, a language lesson can be regarded as both a process and a product that is highly multimodal, multimedial, and intertextual. The study concludes with implications for genre studies, classroom discourse studies, and second language teacher education, and with suggestions for future research.

This work explores various methods teachers can use to promote high quality second language oral production. It consists of a review of empirical research and pedagogical implications related to the following factors: 1) Pre-task planning, 2) within-task planning, 3) task repetition, 4) task design, 5) formulaic sequences, 6) learner strategies, 7) form instruction, and 8) error correction. The work concludes with a consideration of issues within the literature and a brief summary of pedagogical implications. / text

The research presented in this thesis examined whether incidental recasts provided by a teacher in a small-group outside a classroom were beneficial to adult ESL learners. The 26 ESL learners who participated in the study were divided into seven small groups (3-5 students per group) and each group participated in an oral activity with a teacher. During the activity, which was videotaped, the teacher provided incidental and extensive recasts to half of each student’s errors; the other half of the errors received no feedback. One day after the small-group activity, students were tested on their ability to detect and correct errors in their own speech. From the videotape, three types of episodes were identified for testing: episodes that involved an error by the student and a recast (error+recast) (n = 111), episodes that involved an error but no recast (error-recast) (n = 111), and episodes that involved no error in the student’s speech (correct) (n = 111). Students’ ability to detect and correct their errors in the three types of episodes was assessed using two types of tests: a stimulated correction test (a video-based computer test) and a written test. Students’ reaction time on the error detection portion of the stimulated correction task was also measured. The results of the study showed that the students benefited from the recasts. It was found that students were able to detect more errors in error+recast episodes than in error-recast episodes (though this difference did not reach statistical significance). They were also able to successfully and partially successfully correct more errors from error+recast episodes than from error-recast episodes, and this difference was statistically significant on the written test. The reaction time results also point towards a benefit from recasts, as students were able to complete the task (slightly) more quickly for error+recast episodes than for error-recast episodes. It was concluded from the results that recasts, even when provided extensively and in a non-dyadic context, can be of benefit to ESL students.

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Born into a visual culture, today’s generation of learners generally prefer a visually-rich multimodal learning environment. Tapping into the potential of visuals in language pedagogy, this study was aimed at discovering the impact of a visual presentation of grammatical concepts related to sentence structure on student writing. The study used a mixed methods design to analyse the impact of the visual approach first by statistically measuring sentence variety and syntactic complexity of student pre and post intervention texts and then using interviews to explain the nature of the impact of visuals on student conceptual understanding and its effect on their writing development. Statistical findings reveal that the experimental groups of Chinese students who were taught grammatical concepts in the context of writing instruction using a visual approach outperformed the students in the control groups who were given similar lessons in the context of writing instruction but using traditional printed hand-outs. Qualitative findings suggest that the visuals seems to have increased these students’ conceptual understanding of grammatical items that were taught, and this resulted in more sophisticated and syntactically complex texts after the intervention. The study supports the theory of contextualized teaching of grammar and proposes the use of external visuals that lead to internal visualization based on the cognitive theory of multimodal learning. In so doing, it extends the use of visual learning to grammar pedagogy. However, the findings also suggest that the visual approach would not work effectively in cultures that promote rote learning and decontextualized exercises in grammar with the sole aim of passing the exams. A shift in attitude towards grammar pedagogy in China is deemed necessary.