Session 4 - Discourse, vocab and

background knowledge
Cohesion & lexical cohesion
Cohesion: semantic relation between one element and another in a text.
Happens when one depends on the other.

What is a text
A coherent message that is coherent and meaningful.
Multimodal - combination of different modes of representation
Signs, images, sounds can be text as well!

Presupposition
Is part of the text, and all texts have a presupposition underlying them.
Example: How old is your child?
>> Presupposition: The person being addressed is married.

Referencing
Exophoric reference - refers to something outside of the text.
Textual reference - refers to something inside the text.
● Anaphoric - mention something that has been mentioned in the sentence before
● Cataphoric - mention something that is mentioned later in the text.

Personals - using pronouns such as they, them,...

Demonstratives -
Comparatives -
Coherence

Definition
Refers to how clear and logical ideas are organized.
Means semantic structures that help to unit several elements in a holistic text.
Without coherence, a text is not properly a text.
Is a product of many factors, which combine to make every element form a coherent whole.

How to create coherence in a paragraph

Use repetition
Use parallel structure
Use transitional expressions
Use pronouns
Use synonyms to link ideas and create variety

Coherence vs Cohesion
Background information

Definition
Comprising assumptions necessary for the interpretation of a text but unstated by it
Background knowledge is information that is not in a text, but is used from memory by a reader to
understand the text

Applying background knowledge

Review lesson plan

Identify students’ background knowledge in order to plan lessons effectively

Build students’ background knowledge

Target background knowledge needed to understand texts

Avoid assumptions

Schema

Define
A group of related information, knowledge or memory that are stored in the mind.
This is a cognitive framework, as they are a system for categorizing and organizing information and
memory.

Types of schemas
Person schema
● Appearance;
● Personality;
● Preferences
Social schema
Self-schema
Event schema

Script
A dynamic sequence of events that take place.