doi: 10.18178/IJLLL.2024.10.3.535
The Pragmatic Functions of High-Frequency Discourse Marker So in Chinese EFL Teacher Talk
Wei Kexin *
,
Li Siqing
- Foreign Languages College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Manuscript received March 21, 2024
- revised April 15, 2024
- accepted May 3, 2024
- published June 25, 2024
Abstract
Discourse markers have multiple pragmaticfunctions and have significant influences on classroomorganization and teaching. This study aims to analyze thepragmatic functions of discourse marker so in a self-builtcorpus of Chinese middle school English classroom discourse.The corpus analysis shows that discourse marker so hasvarious pragmatic functions, including marking results andinferences, managing topics, summarizing, rewording andgiving examples at the textual level. Besides, at theinteractional level, so functions as a marker of speech acts suchas questions, requests, opinions, elicitations and confirmations.The research shows that discourse marker so can makeclassroom discourse more closely linked, promote students’understanding of teacher’s discourse and create a harmoniousclassroom atmosphere. The findings of this research mighthave important implications for English teaching and teachers’professional development in middle schools.
Keywords
- Chinese middle school English class
- discoursemarker
- so
- pragmatic functions
How to Cite
Wei Kexin and Li Siqing, "The Pragmatic Functions of High-Frequency Discourse Marker So in Chinese EFL Teacher Talk," International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 323-325, 2024. https://doi.org/10.18178/IJLLL.2024.10.3.535
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2024 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).