Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

So What Do We Have Here? An Engineering Lecturer’s Metadiscursive Use of Rhetorical Questions in L1 and English-Medium Instruction

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
New Trends on Metadiscourse

  • 49 Accesses

Abstract

Among research on teacher questions, the metadiscursive role of rhetorical questions (RhQs) is rarely examined in depth. This study attempts to redress this imbalance, exploring a lecturer’s use of RhQs in order to identify their metadiscursive functions and compare them in L1 (Catalan) and EMI lectures. RhQs were identified and coded from two 90-minute lectures in Catalan and English. Two overarching categories emerged: macro RhQs, marking a topic shift and micro RhQs, marking the lecturer’s navigation within a given topic. More RhQs and more audience-engaging forms were found in L1 (Catalan) and micro RhQs were of predominantly low cognitive complexity (providing facts and explanations, following Dalton-Puffer, 2007) in both languages. We argue that the lecturer uses RhQs to perform both textual and interactional metadiscursive functions, organizing his discourse, deconstructing complex knowledge while simultaneously engaging students and maintaining their attention.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ädel, A. (2010). Just to give you kind of a map of where we are going: A taxonomy of metadiscourse in spoken and written academic English. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(2), 69–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar, M. (2004). The peer seminar, a spoken research process genre. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 3, 55–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar, M. (2018). Integrating intercultural competence in ESP and EMI: From theory to practice. ESP Today, 6, 25–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar, M., & Arnó-Macià, E. (2002). Metadiscourse in lecture comprehension: Does it really help foreign language learners? Atlantis, 14, 7–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar, M., & Khan, S. (2022). Metadiscourse use when shifting from L1 to EMI lecturing: Implications for teacher training. Journal of Innovation in Teaching and Language Learning. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2022.2057503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar-Pérez, M. (2021). EMI lecturers’ and students’ perceptions: Can EMI contribute to enhancing intercultural competence? In M. L. Carrió-Pastor & B. Bellés-Fortuño (Eds.), Teaching language and content in multicultural and multilingual classrooms (pp. 65–96). Palgrave.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar-Pérez, M., & Arnó-Macià, E. (2020). ‘He’s a good lecturer in any language’: Shifting from L1 to English and implications for EMI training. In M. Mar Sánchez-Pérez (Ed.), Teacher Training for English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education (pp. 153–178). IGI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnó-Macià, E., & Aguilar-Pérez, M. (2019). Developing Language and Intercultural Skills through an IaH Programme at University. Studia UBB Philologia, LXIV, 17–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnó-Macià, E., Aguilar-Pérez, M., & Tatzl, D. (2020). Engineering students’ perceptions of ESP courses as a gateway to academic and professional communication. Journal of English for Specific Purposes, 58, 58–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arkın, E., & Osam, N. (2015). English-medium higher education: A case study in a Turkish university context. In S. Dimova, A. Hultgren, & C. Jensen (Eds.), English-Medium Instruction in European Higher Education. English in Europe (pp. 177–200). de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bamford, J. (2005). Interactivity in academic lectures: The role of questions and answers. In J. Bamford & M. Bondi (Eds.), Dialogue within Discourse Communities: Metadiscursive perspectives on academic genres (pp. 123–145). de Gruyter.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Biezma, M., & Rawlins, K. (2017). Rhetorical questions: Severing asking from questioning. In D. Burgdorf, J. Collard, S. Maspong, & B. Stefánsdóttir (Eds), Proceedings of SALT, 27, 302–322. https://doi.org/10.3765/salt.v27i0.4155

  • Chaudron, C., & Richards, J. C. (1986). The effect of discourse markers on the comprehension of lectures. Applied Linguistics, 7(2), 113–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, F., & Mariotti, C. (2017). Differences in content presentation and learning outcomes in English-medium instruction (EMI) vs. Italian-medium instruction (IMI) contexts. In J. Valkle & R. Wilkinson (Eds.), Integrating language and content in higher education (pp. 187–204). Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford-Camiciottoli, B. (2004). Interactive discourse structuring in L2 guest lectures: Some insights from a comparative corpus-based study. English for Specific Purposes, 3, 39–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dafouz, E., & Núñez, B. (2010). Metadiscursive devices in university lectures: A contrastive analysis of L1 and L2 teacher performance. In C. Dalton-Puffer, T. Nikula, & U. Smit (Eds.), Language use and language learning in CLIL classrooms (pp. 213–232). John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dafouz, E., & Sánchez-Garcia, D. (2013). ‘Does everybody understand?’ Teacher questions across disciplines in English-mediated university lectures: An exploratory study. Language Value, 5, 129–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton-Puffer, C. (2007). Discourse in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classrooms. John Benjamins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doiz, A., & Lasagabaster, D. (2022). Looking into English-medium instruction teachers’ metadiscourse: An ELF perspective. System, 105, 102730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flowerdew, J., & Miller, L. (1997). The teaching of academic listening comprehension and the question of authenticity. Journal of English for Specific Purposes, 16, 27–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(96)00030-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fortanet, I. (2004). The use of ‘we’ in university lectures. Reference and function. English for Specific Purposes, 23, 45–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, G., & Duan, Y. (2019). Questioning and responding in the classroom: A cross-disciplinary study of the effects of instructional mediums in academic subjects at a Chinese university. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22, 303–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1493084

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyland, K. (2005). Metadiscourse. Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, S. (2018). Lecturing strategies of non-native EMI lecturers on an International Business programme. Bulletin VALS-ASLA, 107, 65–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. J., & Subtirelu, N. C. (2015). Metadiscourse in the classroom: A comparative analysis of EAP lessons and university lectures. English for Specific Purposes, 37, 52–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnuczné-Godó, A. (2011). Are you with me? A metadiscursive analysis of interactive strategies in college students’ course presentations. International Journal of English Studies, 6, 55–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maíz-Arévalo, C. (2017). Questions in English as a medium of instruction versus non-English as a medium of instruction lectures. GiST-Education and Learning Research Journal, 14, 6–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Molino, A. (2018). What I’m Speaking is almost English...ʼ: A corpus-based study of metadiscourse in English-medium lectures at an Italian University. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 18, 935–956.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morell, T. (2004). Interactive lecture discourse for university EFL students. English for Specific Purposes, 23(3), 325–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nattinger, J. R., & DeCarrico, J. S. (1992). Lexical phrases and language teaching. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navaz, A. M. M. (2020). Questions in english medium Instruction undergraduate lectures in a Sri Lankan university: Why are they important? International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 19(12), 208–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Querol-Julian, M. (2008). The role of questions in English academic lectures. Working Papers in Linguistics, 14, 100–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rigol-Verdejo, R., & Sancho-Guinda, C. (2015). Questioning questions: Remodelling oral presentations in the ESP Classroom. Procedia, 173, 132–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-García, D. (2010). Classroom interaction in university questions: The case of questions in three disciplines [Master thesis]. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. http://portal.ucm.es/web/masteres-filologia/master-en-linguistica-inglesa

  • Sánchez-García, D. (2018). Teacher questioning: Exploring student interaction and cognitive engagement in Spanish and EMI university lectures. Monográfico, III, 103–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Garcia, D. (2020). Mapping lecturer questions and their pedagogical goals in Spanish- and English-medium instruction. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 8, 28–52. https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.18016.san

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sazdovska, J. (2009). The intentionality model of presentations [PhD dissertation]. ELTE-SEAS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suviniitty, J. (2012). Lectures in English as a lingua franca-interactional features [PhD dissertation]. University of Helsinki.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, S. (1998). Why ask questions in monologue? Language choice at work in scientific and linguistic talk. In S. Hunston (Ed.), Language at Work (pp. 137–150). Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thøgersen, J., & Airey, J. (2011). Lecturing undergraduate science in Danish and in English: A comparison of speaking rate and rhetorical style. English for Specific Purposes, 30, 209–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2011.01.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zare, J., & Tavakoli, M. (2016). The use of personal metadiscourse over the monologic and dialogic modes of academic speech. Discourse Processes, 54, 163–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, L., & Lo, Y. Y. (2021). EMI teachers’ use of interactive metadiscourse in lecture organization and knowledge construction. In D. Lasagabaster & A. Doiz (Eds.), Language use in English-medium instruction at university: International perspectives on teacher practice (pp. 56–79). Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universitat de Vic, Barcelona, Spain

    Sarah Khan

  2. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Aguilar-Pérez

Authors
  1. Sarah Khan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marta Aguilar-Pérez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Khan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. English Studies Department, Universitat Jaume I/IULMA, Castellón de la Plana, Spain

    Begoña Bellés-Fortuño

  2. English and German Philology Department, Universitat de València/IULMA, Valencia, Spain

    Lucía Bellés-Calvera

  3. Universitat Jaume I/IULMA, Castelló de la Plana, Spain

    Ana-Isabel Martínez-Hernández

Appendix 1: Transcription Conventions

Appendix 1: Transcription Conventions

The following conventions were included in transcriptions:

Code

Meaning

(.)

Natural pause between units of speech, (2.) - 2 second pause, (3.) – 3 second pause, etc.

:

Lengthening of word/syllable

WB

Lecturer writes on board

…

Interrupted utterance

?

Rising intonation, as in a question

(xx)

Indecipherable speech

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Khan, S., Aguilar-Pérez, M. (2023). So What Do We Have Here? An Engineering Lecturer’s Metadiscursive Use of Rhetorical Questions in L1 and English-Medium Instruction. In: Bellés-Fortuño, B., Bellés-Calvera, L., Martínez-Hernández, AI. (eds) New Trends on Metadiscourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36690-1_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36690-1_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36689-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-36690-1

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation