Discourse Analysis: A Methodological Tool for an EFL Course: The Case of IELTS Test Preparation

Abstract

This paper aims to illustrate what discourse analysis is and how it can contribute to our learning and teaching practical English usage. Firstly, we provide an overview of discourse, discourse analysis, and discourse structure. Secondly, we address the practicalities of how to apply discourse analysis to English language teaching, providing readers with a workable example using one particular approach to teaching a practical English course, say, an IELTS preparation class. In this case, discourse analysis is actually a methodological tool, which easily lends itself to the investigations of textual and linguistic properties and language skills development in an IELTS preparation course.