Cohesive devices in reading texts in the book tiếng anh 12 ban cơ bản

LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OFPOSTGRADUATE STUDIES =========== BÙI THỊ NGA COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN THE BOOK “TIẾNG ANH 12 – BAN CƠ BẢN” Phương tiện liên kết t

LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF

POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ===========

BÙI THỊ NGA

COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN THE BOOK “TIẾNG ANH 12 – BAN CƠ BẢN”

(Phương tiện liên kết trong các bài đọc

trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 12 – Ban cơ bản)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: Linguistics

Code: 60 22 15

HÀ NỘI, 2011

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF

POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ===========

BÙI THỊ NGA

COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN THE BOOK “TIẾNG ANH 12 – BAN CƠ BẢN”

(Phương tiện liên kết trong các bài đọc

trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 12 – Ban cơ bản)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: Linguistics

Code: 60 22 15

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thụy Phương Lan, M.A

HÀ NỘI, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration page……… i

Acknowledgements………ii

Abstract.………iii

Table of contents……… iv

Abbreviation ……… vi

List of tables and charts………vii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Significance of the study 2

5 Method of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Discourse 5

1.1.1 The concept of discourse 5

1.1.2 Discourse and text 5

1.1.3 Spoken and written discourse 6

1.1.4 Discourse analysis 7

1.1.5 Context in discourse analysis 8

1.1.5.1 Context of situation 8

1.1.5.2 Context of culture 8

1.1.6 Register and genre in discourse analysis 8

1.2 Cohesion 9

1 2.1 Definition of cohesion 9

1.2.2 Cohesion vs Coherence 9

1.2.3 Aspects of cohesion 10

1.2.3.1 Topical cohesion 10

1.2.3.2 Logical cohesion 10

1.2.4 Types of coheison 10

1.2.4.1 Grammatical cohesion 11

1.2.4.1.1 Reference 11 1.2.4.1.2 Substitution 12 1.2.4.1.3 Ellipsis 13 1.2.4.1.4 Conjunction13 1.2.4.2 Lexical cohesion 14

1.2.4.2.1 Reiteration 14 1.2.4.2.2 Collocation 14 1.3 Textbook and the book for grade 12 in gerneral throughout Vietnam 15

CHAPTER 2: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 17

2.1 Grammatical cohesion 17

2.1.1 Reference 17

2.1.1.1 Anaphoric reference 17

2.1.1.2 Cataphoric reference 20

2.1.1.3 Exophoric reference 21

2.1.2 Conjunctions 22

2.1.2.1 Additive 23

2.1.2.2 Temporal conjunction 24

2.1.2.3 Adversative conjunction 24

2.1.2.4 Causal conjunction 24

2.1.3 Substitution 25

2.1.4 Ellipsis 26

2.2 Lexical cohesion 28

2.2.1 Reiteration 28

2.2.2 Collocation 30

2.2.2.1 Lexical collocation 31

2.2.2.2 Grammatical collocation 33

2.3 Summary of cohesive devices in the textbook 34

CHAPTER 3: IMPLICATION FOR TEACHING ENGLISH 36

3.1 Teaching cohesion through teaching reading 36

3.1.1 In terms of grammatical cohesion 36

3.1.1.1 Teaching conjunctions through teaching reading 36

3.1.1.2 Teaching reference through teaching reading 37

3.1.1.3 Teaching collocation 37

3.1.1.4 Teaching reiteration through teaching reading 38

3.1.2 Teaching cohesion through teaching writing 39

3.1.2.1 Teaching grammatical cohesion through teaching writing 39

3.1.2.2 Teaching lexical cohesion through teaching writing 39

PART C: CONCLUSION 40

1 Major findings 40

2 Suggestions for further study 41

REFERENCE 42

SOURCES OF DATA……… 44 APPENDIX I:……… ……… .I

APPENDIX II: VI

APPENDIX III: VII

APPENDIX IV……… X

APPENDIX V: XI

APPENDIX VI: XII

APPENDIX VII: XIV

APPENDIX VIII: XV

APPENDIX IX XXI

APPENDIX X: XXII

APPENDIX XI XL

APPENDIX XII: XLI APPENDIX XIII: XLII APPENDIX XIV: XLIII APPENDIX XV: XLIV

APPENDIX XVI: XLV

APPENDIX XVII: XLVI

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Tracing back to these two national examinations recently, the high occurrence proportion of cohesive devices can not be denied Moreover, on the process of mastering language in general, English in particular, to Vietnamese secondary students, reading is seen as the crucial tool that aids the learning of the other skills However, during my process of teaching high school students, I come to realize that one of the foremost reasons for which students often make errors at sentence and discourse levels is due to their inattention to the cohesive devices used in the context of texts Apart from a variety of mentioned things, many people have done researches on linguistics and discourse analysis; yet, no suggestions have been given to high school teachers and students so that they can do tasks relating to cohesion more successfully

2 Aims of the study

The study aims to

- describe and analyze lexical and grammatical cohesive devices in the new English textbook 12

-give some suggestions for teaching reading skill for 11th grade students

The following research questions are raised for exploration while carrying out the study:

1 What are the cohesive devices used in the textbook “Tiếng Anh 12 – Ban Cơ

Bản” for grade - 12 students general throughout Vietnam?

2 How can the findings help teachers and their students in the teaching and

learning the textbook for grade 12 students?

3 Scope of the study

Within the limited time and knowledge, only grammatical and lexical cohesion in the textbook “Tiếng Anh 12” for grade - 12 students general throughout Vietnam edited by Hoang, V.V et al (2010), Education Publication House are observed

4 Significance of the study

 Theoretical significance: It is hoped to prove the existing ideas on cohesion to

satisfy the individual’s question and, to some extent, hopefully to open a new way of

revising and preparing for candidates of the GCSE examination and the entrance

examination to university

 Practical significance: This research gives out some practical applications, such as

combining linguistic theory and practice in analyzing written English discourses in the researched textbook

5 Method of the study

2

-The tackling methods are statistic and descriptive, analytical and synthetic

6 Design of the study

Part A: Introduction

Part B: Development

Chapter 1: Literature review

Chapter 2: Findings and discussion of textbook observation Chapter 3: Pedagogical implications of the

study Part C: Conclusion

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Discourse

1.1.1 The concept of discourse

According to Halliday and Hasan (1989:38), discourse is seen differently in the simplest

way as a text and that “it is language that is functional.” McCarthy (1991: 5), on the other

hands, puts discourse in the relationship between language and the contexts in which it is used Crystal, in the book “Introduction to linguistics” (1992:25) considers discourse to be

“a continuous stretch of language larger than a sentence, often constituting a coherent unit

such as sermon, argument, joke, or narrative.”

1.1.2 Discourse and text

In the view of Halliday and Hasan (1976: 23), “text” is employed to refer to “discourse”; they see “text” as a “semantic unit” characterized by cohesion Sharing the same ideas, Brown & Yule (1983) support that text is the representation of discourse and the verbal record of a communicative act In other words, they all view the notion of text is the representation of discourse, text is the form of discourse and they have a close relationship

1.1.3 Spoken and written discourse

Brown and Yule (1983:13), moving on the same route, differentiate spoken discourses from written ones in terms of their various functions: the first is used for the establishment and maintenance of human relationships (interactional use) and the second for the working out

of and transference of information (transactional use)

1.1.4 Discourse analysis

Yule (1996: 139) state in his book study of language

“ in the study of language, some of the most interesting questions arise in connection with the

way language is used”, rather than what its components are (…) we were, in effect, asking how it

is that language-users interpret what other language-users, make sense of what we read in texts, understand what speakers mean despite what they say, recognize connected as opposed to jumbled or incoherent discourse, and successfully take part in that complex activity called conversation, we are undertaking what is known as discourse analysis."

1.1.5 Context in discourse analysis

Nguyen, H (2000: 39) sees context as “the most elusive and fluid concepts on modern

linguistics.” Nunan (1993:7) emphasizes “Context refers to the situation giving use to the discourse, and within which the discourse is embedded.”

1.1.5.1 Context of situation

According to Eggins (1994:30), context of situation is usually discussed under three

variables: “what is talked about, what the relationship between the communicators is; what

4

-role the language plays.” Halliday (2002:52) thought of context of situation as a

determining environment which affects text meaning

1.1.5.2 Context of culture

As stated by Malinowski (1923) “if you are not a member of the culture, you cannot

understand what is meant”.

1.1.6 Register and genre in discourse analysis

Halliday and Hasan (1976:22) give the concept and components of the context of situation, which shows the features of register by FIELD, TENOR and MODE In terms of genre, Eggins (1994:32) believed

“Genre, or context of culture, can be seen as more abstract, more general - we can recognize a particular genre if we are not sure exactly what the situational context is Genre, then, can be thought of as the general framework that gives purpose to interactions of particular types, adaptable to the many specific context of situation that they get used in.”

1.2 Cohesion

1 2.1 Definition of cohesion

Halliday and Hasan in “Cohesion in English” (1976: 4-5) see cohesion as “part of the

system of language”, more exactly as “a semantic one” which refers to “relations of meaning that exist with the text and that defined it as a text.”

1.2.2 Cohesion vs Coherence

Cohesion is a formal network which connects or links many parts of a text together by grammar or words Meanwhile, coherence is the connections which bring interpretation of linguistic messages

1.2.3 Aspects of cohesion

1.2.3.1 Topical cohesion

What topical cohesion concerns about is Theme and Rheme

1.2.3.2 Logical cohesion

Logical cohesion, in Nguyen, H’s view (2000:28), is also powerful sentence connectors

1.2.4 Types of cohesion

In his book An A-Z of ELT: a dictionary of terms and concepts used in English Language

Teaching, Thornbury (2006:32) confirms Halliday and Hasan’s idea that by means of

grammar and lexical, cohesion can help connect texts, either spoken or written The two types of cohesion, grammatical and lexical, can be classified as follows:

Grammatical cohesion

Reference

Substitution

Ellipsis

Conjunction

Table 1.2: Grammatical and lexical cohesion 1.2.4.1 Grammatical cohesion

1.2.4.1.1 Reference

Reference, in Halliday and Hasan’s viewpoint, can be accounted as “exophoric” or

“endophoric” functions

1.2.4.1.2 Substitution

Halliday and Hasan (1976:89) classify substitution into 3 types: nominal, verbal and

clausal Most of the substitutes are pro-forms within sentences, which are used across

sentences In specific words, substitutes may be pro-forms for adverbials, pro-forms for predicate and predication, and also pro-forms for the direct object clause According to

Halliday and Hasan (1976: 91), nominal substitution includes “one”, “ones”, “same”,

verbal substitution consists of “do”, and clausal substitutes are “so”, “not”.

1.2.4.1.3 Ellipsis

Hasan’s viewpoint (1976:146), ellipsis is divided into three subtypes, namely, nominal

ellipsis, verbal ellipsis, and clausal ellipsis.

1.2.4.1.4 Conjunction

There are four types of conjunction: Additive , Adversative, Causal , Temporal

1.2.4.2 Lexical cohesion

1.2.4.2.1 Reiteration

Reiteration, according to Halliday and Hasan (1976: 318) is “the repetition of a lexical item,

or the occurrence of a synonym of some kind, in the context of reference; that is, where the

two occurrences have the same referent.” Reiteration involves repetition, synonyms and

near synonyms, super-ordinates, and general words (ibid: 278).

1.2.4.2.2 Collocation

In terms of structure, there are two types of collocation: grammatical collocation and

lexical collocation (Halliday and Hasan, 1976:284).

1.3 Textbook and the book for grade 12 in general throughout Vietnam

The syllabus for “Tiếng Anh 12” is the continuation of the textbook for grade 10 and 11 The book is designed under theme-based approach with 16 units There are 5 parts in each unit Each part is carried out in a period of forty-five minutes They are arranged as follows:

A reading -> B Speaking -> C Listening -> D Writing -> E Language Focus

Reading is the beginning part of each unit Each reading passage is about 300 words in length

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-CHAPTER 2: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

OF TEXTBOOK OBSERVATION 2.1 Grammatical cohesion

2.1.1 Reference

2.1.1.1 Anaphoric reference

Anaphoric reference means referring to backwards In this study, reference takes up 357 items The table below summarizes different patterns of reference in reading texts in the book

Anaphoric reference

Definite article

Personal pronoun

Personal determiner

Demonstrative pronoun

Comparative adjective

Demonstrative adverb

Comparative adverb

Table 2.1: Different types of reference words for anaphoric ties

2.1.1.2 Cataphoric reference

In spite of a small part in inferential ties, cataphoric is proved to be quite necessary to vary the direction of reference and contribute to the cohesion of the text The percentage of different types of reference words for cataphoric ties is illustrated in the table below

Cataphoric reference

Definite article

Comparative adjective

Comparative adverb

Demonstrative adverb

Demonstrative pronoun

Personal pronoun

Personal determiner

Table 2.2: Different types of reference words for cataphoric ties 2.1.1.3 Exophoric reference

Exophoric reference

Personal pronoun

Definite article

Personal determiner

Comparative adjective

Demonstrative adverb

Demonstrative pronoun

Comparative adverb

Table 2.3: Different types of reference words for exophoric ties 2.1.2 Conjunctions

There are 315 items of conjunctions in total throughout the observed book The following

Chart 2.1: The percentage of conjunctions in the textbook

As can be seen from the chart, the highest frequency, which is up to 75, 24%, among the four types of conjunctions belongs to additive items The second next top is temporal conjunctive devices with 12.06 % Adversative, with 8.89%, is a low-encounter conjunction type compared to additive and temporal However, it is not adversative, but causal, that stands at the lowest position Causal items account for only 3.81 % The details of each type are discussed in the following texts

2.1.2.1 Additive

The high percentage of additive items means that the reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 12” mostly provide students with knowledge by adding information, rather than stating causes and effects, or contrasts

2.1.2.2 Temporal conjunction

Temporal conjunction totals 38 items in all texts The most common temporal words belong

to the simple temporal relations, such as “before” (6 times), “after” (6 times), “since” (2 times), “then” (1 time), specific complex temporal relations like “three years later,”, “at the same time,” etc Sequence words such as “first,” “second” are not widely used This may be because the texts in the textbook mostly narrate the events to give students information rather than describe them in order

2.1.2.3 Adversative conjunction

Adversative conjunction is often used to contrast ideas, illustrate and prove the facts Yet, the main purpose of the reading texts in the textbook is to provide information Consequently, the expression of contrast is reduced maximum There are only 27 cases of adversative conjunction

2.1.2.4 Causal conjunction

Causal conjunction stands at the end of the scale with only 12 times of occurrence The reading texts in the textbook do not focus on any phenomenon; hence, the fact that they contain few signals of cause and effect is understandable

2.1.3 Substitution

In the textbook for final year students at upper secondary school, there are only 11 cases of substitution in total Their frequency occurrence is expressed in the following chart: