Information technology students’ metadiscourse:: Boosting and hedging in classroom argumentative debates
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216305%3A26220%2F25%3APU151948" target="_blank" >RIV/00216305:26220/25:PU151948 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://doi.fil.bg.ac.rs/volume.php?pt=journals&issue=esptoday-2025-13-1&i=7" target="_blank" >https://doi.fil.bg.ac.rs/volume.php?pt=journals&issue=esptoday-2025-13-1&i=7</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.18485/esptoday.2025.13.1.7" target="_blank" >10.18485/esptoday.2025.13.1.7</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Information technology students’ metadiscourse:: Boosting and hedging in classroom argumentative debates
Original language description
Despite many empirical studies focusing on English as a second language (L2) learners’ use of different metadiscourse markers in general academic English contexts, a systematic analysis of co-existing discourse strategies of boosting and hedging that contribute substantially to the dynamic flow of conversation in English for specific purposes (ESP) contexts is still missing. Understanding how ESP learners use boosters and hedges in conversation might provide valuable insights into their pragmatic competence. Therefore, this study scrutinizes the functions of boosters and hedges employed by information technology (IT) students in classroom argumentative debates related in content to their discipline. Boosters and hedges were identified and analysed using Sketch Engine. A total of 34 IT students participated in 8 debates in the course English for IT at Brno University of Technology. The whole corpus of the transcribed debates includes 20,052 tokens and 17,016 words. The research results revealed that while boosters were used by IT students to enhance persuasive communication, express stance, and share professional knowledge within their discourse community, hedges were employed to acknowledge the potential gaps in their understanding of the ever-changing nature of IT and mitigate face-threatening acts performed when asserting and rebutting in the debates.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60203 - Linguistics
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
ESP Today-Journal of English for Specific Purposes at Tertiary Level
ISSN
2334-9050
e-ISSN
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Volume of the periodical
13
Issue of the periodical within the volume
1
Country of publishing house
RS - THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
Number of pages
22
Pages from-to
134-155
UT code for WoS article
001377450500007
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105000298041