Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 14. Number 2 June 2023                                             Pp. 268-280
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no2.19

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That- stance Found in Discussion Sections in Applied Linguistics Research Articles

 Wichanon Phongjit
Language Institute
Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
Corresponding Author: wichanon_p@kpru.ac.th

Chanika Gampper
Language Institute
Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand

 

Received: 02/13/2023                         Accepted:05/21/2023                          Published:06/24/2023

  

Abstract:
This study identified the use of evaluative ‘that’ stance embedded in rhetorical move structures in applied linguistics research articles in discussion sections written in English and published in international and Thai journals. The study aimed to investigate the uses of the evaluative ‘that’ stance in discussion sections for observing the evaluative ‘that’ stance practices in both international and Thai journals. The data was gathered from 80 research articles. The rhetorical moves from the discussion sections were analyzed. Occurrences of the evaluative ‘that’ stance were identified and counted within the embedded rhetorical move-step. The results revealed that international journals and Thai authors employed a similar amount of evaluative ‘that’ stances, although they occurred in different moves and steps. The International authors used an evaluative ‘that’ stance for commenting on results, whereas Thai journal authors tended to use an evaluative ‘that’ stance for reporting results. In the subtypes of evaluative ‘that’ stance, Doubt stance was heavily used in move four: commenting on the results from the international corpus. The findings confirmed that Certainty stance was found in the same contexts from both corpora. Surprisingly, the international journal authors tended to use only a few instances of Neutral stance for commenting on the results. The findings show the differences in the common convention between both journals that could provide information in terms of how the discussion section moves and the evaluative ‘that’ stance presented to help novice EFL scholars to write discussions that comply with international conventions.
Keywords: evaluative ‘that’ constructions, evaluative ‘that’ stances, applied linguistics research articles,
international journals, Thai journals

Cite as:   Phongjit, W., & Gampper, C. (2023). That- stance Found in Discussion Sections in Applied Linguistics Research Articles.
Arab World English Journal, 14 (2) 268-280.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no2.19

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Received: 02/13/2023
Accepted: 05/21/2023
Published: 06/24/2023
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3833-6113
https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no2.19  

Wichanon Phongjit is an English lecturer in the Department of General Education at Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University Maesot. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Language Institute of Thammasat University (Ph.D.) in English Language Teaching at the Language Institute of Thammasat University (LITU). His main interests include discourse analysis and reading pedagogy. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3833-6113

 Chanika Gampper is a senior lecturer at the Language Institute of Thammasat University (LITU). She received her Ph.D. in second language acquisition and teaching from the University of Arizona. Her interests lie in the area of contrastive rhetoric, discourse analysis, and testing and evaluation.ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1435-5331