49 research outputs found
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Multimodal layout in school history books: The texturing of historical interpretation
No full textAbout the book: Texture – the quality that makes a text ‘hang together’ as a text – is a key focus of investigation in discourse analysis. This volume provides a systematic overview of recent research on textual resources that are used to construct texture, and on the ways in which these resources are deployed differently in different text types. Theme is the major resource that is explored in the first part of the book. The opening papers set out the current understanding of Theme and explore aspects of the concept which remain controversial in the field. This is followed by an examination of thematic choices in a range of text types. Issues raised include the different kinds of meanings appearing in Theme which are particularly significant for each genre, the ways in which these relate to the broader socio-cultural context, and the ways in which thematic choices interact with other kinds of texturing. In the second part of the collection, the scope widens to include an examination of other resources, particularly the contribution to texture made by patterns of interpersonal choices, in Theme and more broadly across texts as a whole. The volume closes with an overview and illustration of a methodological approach by which our understanding of texturing can be further extended
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Communication skills in contemporary service workplaces: some problems
No full textIt is widely agreed that in the globalized service economy considerable emphasis is placed on workers' communication skills. In this chapter, we scrutinize the notion of communication skills as it is understood in call centres and point to some of its problems and limitations. Drawing on authentic audio-recorded customer service transactions collected from an onshore call centre in Scotland, we show that predetermining the spoken interaction of call centre workers is only partially possible and even potentially counterproductive
Globalization, communication and the workplace : talking across the world /
No full textThe global developments in Information Technology Enabled Services have transformed customer service encounters which were until recently face-to-face. The major business areas of healthcare, insurance, banking and media are increasingly moving their customer processes to call centres, web-based interaction, and email. ITES is set for explosive growth over the next decade, alongside being increasingly outsourced to non-English speaking destinations. The need for good English language communication skills is becoming ever more acute.This book looks closely at interactive communication in customer-facing services, featuring the voices of academics and those in industry. It aims to integrate the work of applied linguists, teachers, trainers and businesses. After an initial discussion on the value of research to applied training, the major issues of ITES communications are addressed with either an academic analysis being followed by a training example derived from it, or with an analysis of a workplace problem followed by a research-based solution proposal. Each section is introduced and summarized by the editors.The volume strikes a balance between academic discussion of language description, needs, teaching and research and aspects of language that businesses and their trainers see as crucial. These theoretical and applied perspectives (on service encounters that are essentially dependent on the linguistic aspects of communication since other aspects such as gesture and eye contact are absent) open up other important avenues of research. This volume will appeal to a wide readership in both academic and business training and HR departments.Gail Forey is Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.Jane Lockwood is Head of the Language Centre at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong. --Book Jacket.Includes bibliographical references and index.The global developments in Information Technology Enabled Services have transformed customer service encounters which were until recently face-to-face. The major business areas of healthcare, insurance, banking and media are increasingly moving their customer processes to call centres, web-based interaction, and email. ITES is set for explosive growth over the next decade, alongside being increasingly outsourced to non-English speaking destinations. The need for good English language communication skills is becoming ever more acute.This book looks closely at interactive communication in customer-facing services, featuring the voices of academics and those in industry. It aims to integrate the work of applied linguists, teachers, trainers and businesses. After an initial discussion on the value of research to applied training, the major issues of ITES communications are addressed with either an academic analysis being followed by a training example derived from it, or with an analysis of a workplace problem followed by a research-based solution proposal. Each section is introduced and summarized by the editors.The volume strikes a balance between academic discussion of language description, needs, teaching and research and aspects of language that businesses and their trainers see as crucial. These theoretical and applied perspectives (on service encounters that are essentially dependent on the linguistic aspects of communication since other aspects such as gesture and eye contact are absent) open up other important avenues of research. This volume will appeal to a wide readership in both academic and business training and HR departments.Gail Forey is Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.Jane Lockwood is Head of the Language Centre at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong. --Book Jacket
Learning from a corpus of students' academic writing
No full text202202 bcvcVersion of RecordOthersThis study is based on the proposal won by Dr Gail Forey and funded by the Teaching and Learning Fund of the Hong Kong University Grants Committee (2017). It was supported by the Research Centre for Professional Communication in English (RCPCE) of the Department of English of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.PublishedC
Workplace texts : do they mean the same for teachers and business people?
No full textAlthough in recent years there has been an increase in the research and development of resources for workplace English, work in this field is still rather limited. This article reports a study which combined a text analytical approach with a social perspective to consider the ways in which certain thematic choices construe different meanings for different types of reader. The study analysed Theme in two sample workplace texts, and contrasted this with informant interpretations drawn from focus group interviews with 12 business people and 15 EFL teachers. The findings not only identified some of the functions that Theme performs in workplace texts, but showed that the differing interpretations of Theme from the perspectives of teachers and business persons respectively are due to the interpersonal meanings carried by the texts. The findings concerning Theme, especially how thematic choices create different interpretations in workplace genres, could be used to inform and improve the pedagogy of writing in the workplace.Department of Englis
A whole school approach to SFL metalanguage and the explicit teaching of language for curriculum learning
No full textAspects of theme and their role in workplace texts
No full textSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN059528 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
