ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will consider the use of discourse to draw learners’ attention to L2 target forms. A discourse-based pedagogy differs from other approaches to language teaching in that it not only focuses on grammar forms, but it also considers the meaning and use of those forms within the larger discourse context. As discussed in Chapter 1, centuries of structural/ grammar-translation approaches to language teaching treated grammar as a sentence-level phenomenon consisting of a determined order of forms, usually studied through parsing, which established the rules for sentence construction. Whereas structural approaches to L2 teaching have traditionally emphasized instruction on grammar alone, recent approaches to language teaching have become more context-based. Thus, approaches to teaching grammar that focus on the form-meaning relationships of language have become popular (R. Ellis, 2006). Although still considering the importance of attention to linguistic forms, a discourse-based approach to teaching grammar considers its function to convey meaning. Thus, it deals with:
not only the possible realizations in grammar of particular speech act functions such as requesting and suggesting (and their mitigation for reasons of politeness and tact), but the way in which grammatical categories such as tense, aspect and modality pattern across texts, the role of grammar in creating textual cohesion (reference, substitution, conjunction, etc.) and information structure (through devices of thematization such as adverbial placement, the use of the passive and clefting).
