The dynamic ecology of the writing process and agency: A corpus-based comparative case study of stancetaking among native speakers and non-native speakers of English in first-year composition conferences.

摘要

While previous research into writing conferences and tutorials has found that sessions with non-native speakers of English (NNSs) differ from those with native speakers of English (NSs), these studies using conversation analysis have tended to approach conferences through more qualitative methodologies. This thesis builds upon and enriches these previous studies by incorporating more of a quantitative analysis through the use of corpus linguistics to systematically analyze the frequency with which particular grammatical devices that express the attitude of the speaker, otherwise known as stance, and power are used and how these frequencies may vary within a specific set of NS and NNS conferences for a first-year composition (FYC) class. Though it is determined in this particular context that the frequencies of these devices do differ somewhat between these two populations, indexing possible differences in stancetaking and power, it is also asserted that these different frequencies may reflect variation in the concerns being discussed. Discussions involving assignment requirements, for example, may predispose interlocutors to position each other differently than would discussions involving organization or ideas. For this reason, stance may constitute a highly dynamic and ecologically situated behavior, one in which native-speaking status plays a role alongside and interacts with other matters.