196 Advances in spoken discourse analysis
T: //o SHE // (e)
S2: //p SAID // (f)
T: //p said a DUCK //p SORry //p i MISsed that // (g)
//p oKAY //p FINE // (h)
//o THIS one HERE then // (i)
After initiations (d) and (e) which finally elicit the correct verb form (f), the
teacher acknowledges his own error (g) and then closes this ‘deviant’ section
of the discourse by intonationally marking it as separate from the rest (h),
going on to initiate the next exchange in the drill (i). In this way the teacher
indicates to the students the boundary between what he sees as separate
stages of the lesson—the drill proper, and digressions from it.
CONCLUSION
The above presents some of the main observations made in an exploratory
descriptive study of the role of intonation in the organization of classroom
interaction. I have tried to show that by drawing upon selections from the
intonation systems of prominence, tone, key and termination, the teacher is
able in feedback to show his/her approval or disapproval of a particular
response, withhold an assessment of it, draw the student’s attention to particular
aspects of the response and mark the termination of units of discourse.
More generally, it can be argued that without analysis of the intonational
characteristics of any utterance in discourse, the ability accurately to interpret
its pragmatic function is much reduced.
‘Intonation and feedback in the EFL classroom’ was first published in Coulthard
(1987a) Discussing Discourse, 221–35.