EFL Learners’ Use of Discourse Strategies for and Investment in Engaging Audience in English Oral Presentations

• Main Authors: Yang, Min, 楊敏
• Other Authors: Chang, Yu-Jung
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/48426311251471452522

碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 外國語文學系 === 102 === When giving English oral presentations in ESP or EAP courses, it is important for learners to manage this interactional aspect when presenting, because appropriately engaging audience may make the presentation more effective and is a skill valued in academic fields and at the workplace. As limited studies have examined EFL learners’ engagement or non-engagement of audience in English oral presentations, this study explores Taiwanese EFL undergraduates’ audience engagement in English oral presentations, including their use of discourse strategies and reasons behind their investment in engaging audience. Analytical frameworks utilized are audience engagement strategies primarily adopted from Hyland’s(2001, 2005a) model of engagement and Norton’s (2000; Norton Peirce, 1995) theory of investment. A total of 34 Taiwanese EFL learners were recruited from two English Oral Training courses at a university in Northern Taiwan during the 2013 Spring semester. All informants were English majors, except one who was Technology Management major. Data sources includes: (1) 55 video-recorded English oral presentations given by the participating EFL learners, (2) classroom observations, and (3) one-on-one semi-structured interviews and reviewing of recorded oral presentations with volunteer informants. It is found that most informants were able to engage audience with directives and questions, and their choice of strategies was influenced by various factors. It is also found that some informants decided to invest in engaging audience because this would bring them immediate or potential future returns that granted them more material or symbolic resources. With the findings, it is suggested that instructors raise the learners’ awareness toward the linguistic resources for engaging audience and help the learners effectively target their investment toward their goals.