Information technology students’ metadiscourse:: Boosting and hedging in classroom argumentative debates

Kód výsledku v 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>

Výsledek na webu

<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>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Information technology students’ metadiscourse:: Boosting and hedging in classroom argumentative debates

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

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.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Information technology students’ metadiscourse:: Boosting and hedging in classroom argumentative debates

Popis výsledku anglicky

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.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

60203 - Linguistics

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

ESP Today-Journal of English for Specific Purposes at Tertiary Level

ISSN

2334-9050

e-ISSN

—

Svazek periodika

13

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

1

Stát vydavatele periodika

RS - Srbská republika

Počet stran výsledku

22

Strana od-do

134-155

Kód UT WoS článku

001377450500007

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-105000298041