Resources
Pragmatics and Discourse 2e
Lecturers and College Tutors
The Routledge English Language Introductions are 'flexi-texts' that you can use to suit your own style of study. The books are divided into four sections:-
A. Introduction - sets out the key concepts for the area of study. The Units of this section take you step-by-step through the foundational terms and ideas, carefully providing you with an initial toolkit for your own study. By the end of the section, you will have a good overview of the whole field.
B. Development - adds to your knowledge and builds on the key ideas already introduced. Units in this section might also draw together several areas of interest. By the end of this section, you will already have a good and fairly detailed grasp of the field, and will be ready to undertake your own exploration and thinking.
C. Exploration - provides examples of language data and guides you through your own investigation of the field. The Units in this section will be more open-ended and exploratory, and you will be encouraged to try out your ideas and think for yourself, using your newly acquired knowledge.
D. Extension - offers you the chance to compare your expertise with key readings in the area. These are taken from the work of important writers, and are provided with guidance and questions for your further thought.
You can read this book like a traditional text-book, 'vertically' straight through from beginning to end. This will take you comprehensively through the broad field of study. However, the Routledge English Language Introductions have been carefully designed so that you can read them in another dimension, 'horizontally' across the numbered Units. For example, Units A.1, A.2, A.3 and so on correspond with Units B.1, B.2, B.3, and with Units C.1, C.2, C.3 and D.1, D.2, D.3, and so on. Reading A5, B.5, C.5, D.5 will take you rapidly from the key concepts of a specific area, to a level of expertise in that precise area, all with a very close focus. You can match your way of reading with the best way that you work.
The key terms and concepts introduced in sections A and B can be set as lecture-support summaries, or as quick preparatory reading in advance of lectures, enabling you to develop a specialist area or detailed argument without having to prepare the elementary ground yourself. Students will be encouraged by being able to see examples (in section B) of the sort of work that they will actually be able to do, and you can refer them here to the Further Reading listings. The examples, excerpts and data collected in section C can be used as the basis for seminar material. Questions here are open-ended, allowing you or your colleagues opportunity for developing the discussion as you wish, and adding your own material and particular interests. Finally, the readings in section D can be used as initial basic follow-up. Alternatively, you might want to set these readings in advance of teaching, so that they form the basis for seminar discussion. The up-to-date references and suggestions for Further Reading will help your students move on from this textbook to more advanced study.
The book can be used as the primary text for courses or modules including Language and Society, Text and Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics and Semantics, The Study of Languages, and Research Methods for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language.
Pragmatics and Discourse will appeal to students of language all around the world, since the texts and data are taken from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, and they are accompanied by cultural commentaries and explanations