Workplace Discourse

by Almut Koester, Ken Hyland (Editor)

Overview

Workplace Discourse provides an overview of the rapidly developing field of spoken and written workplace interaction, taking a fresh perspective on research methods and key issues in the field.. It examines discourse in a wide variety of workplace contexts using both genre analysis and a corpus-driven approach.

The book draws on Koester's previous research, but examines the current state of workplace discourse more widely. It provides a descriptive account of the linguistic characteristics of workplace discourse within their social and organizational contexts, with illustrative extracts from real texts and naturally occurring spoken interactions.

It showcases specific issues at the forefront of current research and practice in this area: the use of English as a lingua franca, the importance of relationship building and the teaching applications of research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441164827
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/16/2012
Series:	Continuum Discourse , #5
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Almut Koester is Senior Lecturer in English Language at the University of Birmingham, UK

She is author of Investigating Workplace Discourse (London, Routledge, 2006) and The Language of Work (London: Routledge, 2004)

Table of Contents

Part I: Describing workplace discourse
1. What is workplace discourse?
2. Workplace Genres: Activities and Texts in Workplace Discourse
3. What can a corpus tell us about workplace discourse?
4. Working together and getting people to do things: directives, procedural discourse and training
Part II: Issues and applications in Workplace Discourse
5. Relationship-building at work
6. Communicating across cultures: English as a lingua franca and communication in the multi-ethnic workplace
7. Teaching English for professional, occupational and business purposes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Workplace Discourse doesn't disappoint... This is a book about research that's relevant in business English classrooms... you'll discover hidden gems that you didn't know about too. It would also be great a great read for new teachers who want to find out about communities of practice, discourse communities, genre, etc." -- Business Issues

"Workplace Discourse is a rich addition to the existing body of work on workplace talk. It provides a comprehensive overview of the field to date and brings together a wide range of methods and analytical approaches. With its well selected examples and practical advice on applications of research for teaching and training purposes it will prove a valuable resource for both students and experienced researchers but also everyone interested on the distinctive characteristics of workplace discourse."--Jo Angouri, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

"Workplace Discourse provides an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to spoken and written workplace language. Koester draws upon a wide-range of diverse data sources and highlights the value of an approach that combines genre analysis and corpus linguistics. This publication will be a valuable resource for students, teachers and researchers working in the areas of discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, English language teaching and intercultural communication."--Louise Mullany, Associate Professor of Sociolinguistics, University of Nottingham, UK

From the Publisher