Oral Academic Discourse Socialization of an ESL Chinese Student: Cohesive Device Use

Framed in language socialization theory, this study examines the longitudinal cohesive device development of an ESL Chinese graduate student over time during his discourse socialization by focusing on his oral presentations through a systemic functional linguistics approach. The study found that the participant improved in his use of textual resources as he continued his discourse socialization in the academic community that he had joined. Yet the problems and challenges the participant faced during his development of cohesive devices also illustrated the complexity and non-linear characteristics of academic discourse socialization. The study contributes to language socialization research by employing a systemic functional linguistics approach as an analysis tool for longitudinal linguistic discourse development. The findings inform second language curriculum and instruction, particularly oral language instruction. Disciplines Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Language and Literacy Education Comments This article is published as Wang, Sue, and Tammy Slater. "Oral Academic Discourse Socialization of an ESL Chinese Student: Cohesive Device Use." International Journal of English Linguistics 6, no. 1 (2016): 65. 10.5539/ijel.v6n1p65 Posted with permission. This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/engl_pubs/122 International Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 6, No. 1; 2016 ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 65 Oral Academic Discourse Socialization of an ESL Chinese Student: Cohesive Device Use Sue Wang & Tammy Slater 1 School of Foreign Studies, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China 2 Applied Linguistics and Technology Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States. Correspondence: Sue Wang, School of Foreign Studies, Central University of Finance and Economics, 39 South College Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China, 100081. E-mail: [email protected] Received: November 10, 2015 Accepted: December 13, 2015 Online Published: January 31, 2016 doi:10.5539/ijel.v6n1p65 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v6n1p65