The Discourse Analysis of Conversations in Free Discussion Classes of Iranian Students

Abstract

Discourse analysis considers both language forms and language functions in social interactions. This field of study provides meaningful insights into how breakdowns in communication are overcome in language acquisition by comparing and analyzing how native speakers and foreign speakers use language socially. The purpose of this paper is to study the discourse analysis in free discussion classes in Iranian students and the methods for improving their conversation skills. This is a quantitative study that 50 teachers were selected randomly. The questionnaire was the instrument to collect the data, so the questionnaires were distributed among the teachers. In discourse analysis of conversations in free discussion classes, we have found three strategies that affect the students' conversation skills. Results suggest that the teachers believe that choosing topics by students, pair work tasks, and finding new methods for expanding the students' vocabulary knowledge by teachers affect the students' fluency and accuracy.