File Download

There are no files associated with this item.

  Links for fulltext
     (May Require Subscription)
Supplementary

Article: “I found it very special and interesting”: Evaluative language in Master's thesis defenses in Taiwan universities

Title“I found it very special and interesting”: Evaluative language in Master's thesis defenses in Taiwan universities
Authors
KeywordsEvaluation
Appraisal theory
Oral defenses
Postgraduates
Taiwan
Issue Date2021
PublisherPergamon. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jeap
Citation
Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2021, v. 53, p. article no. 101035 How to Cite?
AbstractEvaluation has been identified as a significant feature of both written and spoken academic discourse. However, few studies have discussed how evaluative language is used to construct meaning in oral defenses, and even less is known about the topic in oral defenses conducted in English as a lingua franca contexts. To fill this research gap, the present study draws on Martin and White’s (2005) appraisal theory to quantitatively and qualitatively examine evaluative language in a corpus of English-medium Master's thesis defenses carried out in Taiwan universities. The results show that the three attitudinal resources were used to surprisingly similar extent, which suggests that the theses and oral presentations preceding the Q&A sessions are objectively appreciated, that the examiners are emotionally affected, and that the candidates' abilities, particularly their research capacity, are being judged. This phenomenon can be attributed to the common academic discourse convention of objectifying the subjective practice of the evaluating entity and the physical presence of the participants. Examiners draw on expressions of subjective feelings to personalize their evaluative discourse, which contributes to the creation of interpersonal relationships during these high-stakes assessment events. This effect is enhanced by the use of evoked attitude type and graduation.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/301673
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 3.1
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 1.589
ISI Accession Number ID

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorLin, CY-
dc.contributor.authorLau, K-
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-09T03:42:32Z-
dc.date.available2021-08-09T03:42:32Z-
dc.date.issued2021-
dc.identifier.citationJournal of English for Academic Purposes, 2021, v. 53, p. article no. 101035-
dc.identifier.issn1475-1585-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/301673-
dc.description.abstractEvaluation has been identified as a significant feature of both written and spoken academic discourse. However, few studies have discussed how evaluative language is used to construct meaning in oral defenses, and even less is known about the topic in oral defenses conducted in English as a lingua franca contexts. To fill this research gap, the present study draws on Martin and White’s (2005) appraisal theory to quantitatively and qualitatively examine evaluative language in a corpus of English-medium Master's thesis defenses carried out in Taiwan universities. The results show that the three attitudinal resources were used to surprisingly similar extent, which suggests that the theses and oral presentations preceding the Q&A sessions are objectively appreciated, that the examiners are emotionally affected, and that the candidates' abilities, particularly their research capacity, are being judged. This phenomenon can be attributed to the common academic discourse convention of objectifying the subjective practice of the evaluating entity and the physical presence of the participants. Examiners draw on expressions of subjective feelings to personalize their evaluative discourse, which contributes to the creation of interpersonal relationships during these high-stakes assessment events. This effect is enhanced by the use of evoked attitude type and graduation.-
dc.languageeng-
dc.publisherPergamon. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jeap-
dc.relation.ispartofJournal of English for Academic Purposes-
dc.subjectEvaluation-
dc.subjectAppraisal theory-
dc.subjectOral defenses-
dc.subjectPostgraduates-
dc.subjectTaiwan-
dc.title“I found it very special and interesting”: Evaluative language in Master's thesis defenses in Taiwan universities-
dc.typeArticle-
dc.identifier.emailLau, K: lauken@hku.hk-
dc.identifier.authorityLau, K=rp01419-
dc.description.naturelink_to_subscribed_fulltext-
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jeap.2021.101035-
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-85111068007-
dc.identifier.hkuros323846-
dc.identifier.volume53-
dc.identifier.spagearticle no. 101035-
dc.identifier.epagearticle no. 101035-
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000696952900003-
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdom-

Export via OAI-PMH Interface in XML Formats


OR


Export to Other Non-XML Formats