ERIC Number: EJ1112916
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0729-4360
EISSN: N/A
The Paradigmatic Hearts of Subjects Which Their "English" Flows Through
Pilcher, Nick; Richards, Kendall
Higher Education Research and Development, v35 n5 p997-1010 2016
Much research into the use of corpora and discourse to support higher education students on pre-sessional and in-sessional courses champions subject specificity. Drawing on the work of writers such as Bakhtin [(1981). "The dialogic imagination: Four essays by MM Bakhtin" (M. Holquist, Ed.; C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.). Austin: University of Texas Press] and Voloshinov [(1973). "Marxism and the philosophy of language" (L. Matejka, & I.R. Titunik, Trans.). New York: Seminar Press. (Original work published 1929)], in this article we extend this research by showing how the specific subject "context" is fundamentally linked with the "English" used within it. We first detail some of the literature related to corpus and genre studies and discuss some of the literature related to the importance of providing a context for language. We then present and discuss data from 21 interviews and five focus groups with subject lecturers to illustrate how the "English" used in the subject areas of "Design," "Nursing," "Business" and "Computing" subjects flows through what we term their "paradigmatic hearts." By "paradigmatic heart" we mean the set of values, beliefs and perceptions that represent the central or innermost engine of the subject, through which its "English" flows. In "Design" the paradigmatic heart is "visual," "philosophical" and "persuasive"; for "Nursing" it is "emotional" and "empathetic," yet also "technical"; for "Business" subjects it is "income generating," "numerical" and "persuasive"; and for "Computing" it may be "visual," "numerical" or "code-based." We demonstrate how "English" flows through the paradigmatic heart of its subject and that to remove the "English" from its subject paradigmatic heart changes its nature. Thus, we argue that if students are not being taught "English" in the context of the subject, the "English" we are teaching them will be different, and that preparation and support needs to be undertaken in the subject itself.
Descriptors: Models, Writing (Composition), English, English for Academic Purposes, Writing Instruction, Higher Education, College Students, Interviews, Focus Groups, Nursing, Design, Business, Programming
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
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