Leitura e

Redação em
Língua Inglesa

Aula 7

Sarah Barbieri Vieira

In this class...

3. Reading Comprehension Levels:

Coherence and Cohesion

•Discourse Markers

•Functional Coherence

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 Discourse Markers
There are many discourse markers, also known as
signal words or connectors, in English that signal

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relationships among ideas as expressed through
phrases, clauses, and sentences. Important types
of discourse connector are: coordinating
conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet);
subordinating conjunctions (because, although,
if, unless, now that, etc) and transitions (however,
therefore, in addition, in fact, first, finally, etc).

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 Discourse Connectors:
Cause and Effect
• It was hot, so we went to the beach.

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• Because it was hot, we went to the beach.
• We went to the beach because it was hot.
• It was hot. Therefore, we went to the beach.
• It was hot. We, therefore, went to the beach.
• It was hot. We went to the beach, therefore.

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 TIME CONTRAST ADDITION CAUSE
when (quando) but (mas) and (e) because
while (enquanto) although/though  furthermore (porque / por causa
 first/second/third (embora) in addition de)
(primeiro/segundo/  however/yet/ moreover/besides therefore/thus/
terceiro) nevertheless (além disso) because of this/
finally (finalmente) (entretanto)  in addition to (portanto)
formerly  despite/in spite of as well as so (assim)
(anteriormente) (apesar de) (além de) so that (a fim de
que)
nowadays/ on the other hand  also/too/as well
consequently/
currently (por outro lado) (também)
as a result
(atualmente) while/whereas both… and…
(consequentemente)
 afterwards (enquanto que) (tanto…quanto…)
since (visto que)
(posteriormente)  
 
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 Contrast
• Football is popular in England, while in Australia
they prefer cricket.
• We've been steadily improving our customer
service center. On the other hand our shipping
department needs to be redesigned.
• Jack thinks we're ready to begin whereas Tom
things we still need to wait.
• Smoking is proved to be dangerous to the health.
Nonetheless, 40% of the population smokes.
• Our teacher promised to take us on a field trip.
However, he changed his mind last week.
• Peter was warned not to invest all of his savings in
the stock market. Nevertheless, he invested and
lost everything.
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Vídeo

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 Functional Coherence
Our ability to function properly in reading or writing
depends not only on reacting to the context in which
we are using the language but also on the
relationship between words and ideas in longer

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texts.
A: We can leave the ice here till we need it.
B: It’s warm in here.
A: Is it? Ok, then, let’s find somewhere else.

(suggestion – rejection – agreement with rejection)

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 Functional Coherence
“It’s warm in here.” – a comment on the
temperature in some place.
The meaning depends on two things:
the context
what the speaker wants to convey by it.

spoken by someone who is ill – request to open the

window
spoken by someone’s boss – order to turn on the air
spoken by someone who come in out of the cold –
expression of satisfaction or pleasure

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A: Where is Jennifer?
B: Her recital is next Saturday
A: That’s right! I had forgotten about it!

It makes sense because it is possible to create a

context at a functional level:
request explanation acceptance
Information requested: Could you tell me where
Jennifer is right now?
Explanation given: She is going to play the violin
with the orchestra next Saturday, so she is
rehearsing right now.
Explanation accepted: That’s right! I had
completely forgotten about it!

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 Functional Coherence

However, if interlocutors fail to identify the functions

involved in the conversation, miscommunication
occurs at the level of the discourse, even though the
sentences are well built. Consider the following
conversation.

Functions refer to what items of language actually

do in a real context, as opposed to what they might
mean literally. These include suggesting, criticizing,
refusing, agreeing and disagreeing, enquiring,
apologizing, inviting, etc.
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 Functional Coherence
A is addressing her husband who is cleaning out the
garden shed.

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A: Are you wearing gloves?
B: No.
A: What about the spiders?
B: They’re not wearing gloves either.

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 Bibliography
• BROWN, H. D. Teaching by Principles: an interactive
approach to language learning. New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Regents, 1994.

• NUNAN, D. Second Language Teaching and Learning.

Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1998.

• UR, P. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and

Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
 
•  HARMER, J. The Practice of English Language Teaching.
Pearson- Longman, 4th ed., 2007.

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 Leitura e
Redação em
Língua Inglesa

Atividade 7

Sarah Barbieri Vieira

 Discourse Markers

For each of the following sentences, write two

other sentences that express a similar
meaning using the connector given.

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 Discourse Markers

I tried to board the train and find a seat;

however, there wasn’t one available.
1.(but)
2.(although)

I was sleepy, so I went to bed.

1.(because)
2.(therefore)

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 Discourse Markers
I tried to board the train and find a seat; however,
there wasn’t one available.
1.I tried to board the train and find a seat, but there
wasn’t one available.
2.Although I tried to board the train and find a seat,
there wasn’t one available.

I was sleepy, so I went to bed.

•I went to bed because I was sleepy.
•I was sleepy. Therefore, I went to bed.
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