Discovering disciplinary ethos in ESP: A discourse analysis of the civil engineering undergraduate survey field report

Abstract

<p>Disciplinary genre is an important resource to inform our understanding of the practice specific in a subject area and in ESP teaching (Nesi & Gardner, 2012). In engineering, while extensive research has been conducted on the laboratory report and the final-year research dissertation, the survey field report is under-researched. The survey field trip is a critical and mandatory learning activity in civil engineering undergraduate education which simulates the professional practice of landscape survey and construction site visit.<br></p><p>Drawing on the textual framework of metadiscourse (Hyland, 2005) and APPRAISAL (Martin & White, 2005), this qualitative case study investigates the role of text in reifying the disciplinary knowledge and arguments specific to field work in civil engineering. To highlight the nature of civil engineering work, the survey field report was contrasted with the laboratory report in mechanical engineering. In addition to student writing, report assignment prompts and discourse-based interviews with students and professors in engineering were also examined.<br></p><p>Findings show that a variety of linguistic resources and rhetorical strategies were employed in the survey field report different from those in the laboratory report. These resources and strategies exemplify not only the knowledge of natural sciences for precision and procedure but also, surprisingly, that of personal expression and tenacity promoted by challenging field conditions. Recognizing the distinctive ethos afforded in a disciplinary genre is considered crucial in a learner’s enculturation into the future disciplinary practice. As an ESP teacher and programme coordinator for more than a decade at HKU, in addition, I will offer high-level suggestions on the use of disciplinary genre in the design of ESP teaching materials.</p>