7.2 Implications of the Current Study
This study analyzes the CMs in EAPs in three disciplines and written by both AEs and ANEs.It has both theoretical and practical implications.
Theoretically,CMs are usually employed as the cohesive devices in texts but their interpersonal function is undervalued.In the general framework of SFL,employing related theories such as metafunctions,statification and realization,grammatical metaphor,expansive clause complexes,etc.,this research,based on the parameter of expectation,divides the conjunctive markers into two types:CMFEs and CMCEs.Furthermore,this study divides CMFEs into appositive,clarificative,causal,spatiotemporal,positive additive,positive comparative and positive conditional CMs,and divides CMCEs into adversative,negative additive,varying,concessive,negative comparative and negative conditional CMs.Finally,the dissertation also analyzes the distribution of CM and.All these results could contribute to the research of the function of CMs in construing authorial stance.
Practically,this research is pedagogically significant.From the perspective of a cross-disciplinary comparison,this research shows clearly there is a close relationship between stance construing and the social organization of disciplinary communities,and these disciplinary differences crucially influence the ways in which the authors typically argue and engage with their readers.Furthermore,the value of this disciplinary analysis not only lies in producing a list of the features of disciplinary discourses,but also uncovering more sophisticated understanding of disciplinary communities.The research will offer the teachers a useful way of assisting students towards controlling over disciplinary-sensitive writing practices.As Hyland(2004:148)proposes,the teachers could help the students to move beyond the conservative prescription of the style guides and into the rhetorical contexts of their disciplines,investigating the preferred patterns of expression in different disciplinary communities.If the students could understand and master their subject area well,it is crucial for them to know the most frequent CMs and how they are used in their disciplines.Students can be assisted to read rhetorically and to reflect on the practices they observe.For example,what is the author’s purpose in using this kind of CM in this kind of academic paper?Why does he/she choose to summarize or explicitly mark a topic shift here?What is achieved by using this conjunction here?Why do academic writers prefer different kinds of CMs in papers of different disciplines?etc.The teachers need to take into account the ways in which CMs create texts in their classroom practices.The research provides a richer picture for academics and for teachers of EAPs and so helps them to improve the conventions the students use in their academic writings.
By analyzing the distributions of CMs in AE EAPs and ANE EAPs,the influencing factors such as writing conventions,the roles of authors and readers,cultural backgrounds and rhetorical patterns can shed light on the teaching and learning English writing,especially for the students from non-English speaking countries(e.g.,Chinese students).Lee(2006:2)mentions that the academic writing in English is“particularly problematic for non-native speakers of English”,who are often both linguistically and rhetorically inexperienced in writing argumentative/persuasive types of essays,letters and papers.As Chapter 3 proposes,Chinese students are not so good at critical writing.Their educational experiences is mostly based on teacher-centered teaching rather than on a learner-centered approach.So they demonstrate a lack of critical comment in their writing.That is also why AEs use more CMs than ANEs,just as this dissertation indicates.
Furthermore,this study can contribute to the teaching and learning English writing in Chinese universities.According to Qin(2011:122),there are various reasons which are related with the Chinese writers’problems when writing EAPs.Firstly,there is no enough systemic training in writing an EAP.Students receive very little instruction of the culture,the norms and the conventions of various disciplines and academic genres involved in an argument.Secondly,Chinese students mainly focus on grammar and downplay the social and cultural factors.According to Qin(2011:124),what the college students concern most is to pass the exams and get a high score by reading,intimating,memorizing and mastering some grammatical patterns and sentence structures.This learning style“starts from primary school and continues through high school and lasts till students go to college”(Qin,2011:124).It indicates that Chinese students are capable of writing correct English phrases and sentences but their social-cultural competences,is not sufficient.Scholars(e.g.,Grobe,1981;Spack,1988;Shaugnessy 1997)point out that the phenomenon often happen in students from non-English speaking countries.Thirdly,students in China are not so good at the ability of critical thinking.The teachers or the academic texts usually serve as the authority and the students receive them passively.
Based on the problems mentioned above,this study can shed light on the teaching and learning to write EAPs in China.When teaching how to write an academic paper,it is necessary for the teachers to combine the instruction of the grammatical patterns and the introduction of the cultures,norms and conventions in the specific discourse communities.Spark(1988:40)claims that“the best we can accomplish is to create programs in which students can learn general inquiry strategies,rhetorical principles,and tasks that can transfer to other course work”.The students should be sensitive to the social-cultural factors rather than merely intimating and memorizing fixed grammatical patterns.Finally,the students should have a clear understanding of the nature of the argument and learn to think and write critically.