Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on CALL No.2 July, 2015 Pp. 207-225
The Analysis of Cohesive links and Content, Interactional Quality and Objective Measures Based on the Conceptual Framework of Nandi
Aysha Mohd Sharif
International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of cohesion in producing an interactive and meaningful discourse in harmony with the content, interactional quality and objective measure of the discussion forums in online discussion forums which contribute to knowledge in the course content which includes ideas and experiences. Discussion transcripts of five weeks of an online threaded discussion forum from a course entitled “Shaping the Way We Teach English, the Landscape of English Language Teaching” were taken and analyzed. The analysis of cohesive links was done based on the discourse analysis technique and the discussions are analyzed based on the content, interactional quality based on the framework of Nandi (2009). The results of the analysis revealed that the discussions which are long and deep have more usage of the cohesive links than surface discussions or replies. The analysis also highlights that the discussions are likely to fulfill the criteria proposed by Nandi and sharing experiences and ideas & the current practices that are practiced by different people in different places are mainly the content. The posts promote a deeper and more meaningful angle to the course content.
Keywords: Cohesion, content, discourse, Nandi Framework, online discussion