4.1.1. Types of MD markers used in TESOL research articles
As seen in Table 2, the number of interactive MD markers is higher than that of interactional MD markers. The frequency of interactive MD discourse markers is 4429, which accounts for 67.06%, whereas the total number of interactional MD markers is 2176, which makes up 32.94%. It can be said that Vietnamese writers prefer interactive MD markers to interactional ones.
Table 2
MD markers | Frequency | Percentage |
Interactive | 4429 | 67.06 |
Interactional | 2176 | 32.94 |
Total | 6605 | 100% |
Additionally, Table 3 illustrates the frequencies of all subcategories of interactive and interactional MD markers. Regarding the interactive MD markers, transitions had the highest frequency of 2209 (49.88%), followed by endophoric markers with a frequency of 1309 times (29.56%) and frame markers with a frequency of 441 times (9.96%), respectively. The total number of code gloss is 351 times, which is ranked in the fourth place and makes up 7.93%. Evidentials are used the least with a frequency of 119 times (2.69%).
Table 3
Frequency of MD marker subcategory
Frequency of MD marker subcategory | Frequency | Percentage |
Interactive | Transitions | 2209 | 49.88% |
Frame markers | 441 | 9.96% |
Endophoric markers | 1309 | 29.56% |
Evidentials | 119 | 2.69% |
Code gloss | 351 | 7.93% |
Total | 4429 | 100% |
Interactional | Hedges | 711 | 32.67% |
Boosters | 258 | 11.86% |
Attitude markers | 91 | 4.18% |
Engagement markers | 159 | 7.31% |
Self-mentions | 957 | 44.98% |
Total | 2176 | 100% |
With respect to interactional MD markers, self-mentions have the highest frequency of 957 times (44.98%). The number of hedges is 711 times, which accounts for 32.67% and is ranked in the second place. Boosters are ranked the third with a frequency of 258 times (11.86%), whereas engagement markers are placed the fourth with a frequency of 159 times (7.31%). Attitude markers have the lowest frequency of 91 times (4.18%).
Particularly, Vietnamese writers have a tendency to use a great number of transition markers in their academic articles. These transition markers having the highest percentages are also (17.25%), so (10.23%), however (7.70%), but (6.56%), because (5.39%), while (5.21%), still (4.89%), and therefore (4.53%). In contrast, the transition markers least used in TESOL articles consist of thereby (0.59%), apart from (0.59%), accordingly (0.59%), likewise (0.54%), simultaneously (0.50%), consequently (0.41%), similar to (0.36%), first and foremost (0.18%), unlike (0.14%), what is more (0.14%), on the contrary (0.09%), what was more (0.09%), and as a consequence (0.05%). It can be explained that the Vietnamese researchers got familiar with some common transition markers so they frequently utilize them in their academic articles, and for some less common transition ones, they rarely use them in their papers due to their writing habits and lack of transition knowledge.
Table 4
No. | Transition markers | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | also | 381 | 17.25 |
2 | so | 226 | 10.23 |
3 | however | 170 | 7.70 |
4 | but | 145 | 6.56 |
5 | because | 119 | 5.39 |
6 | while | 115 | 5.21 |
7 | still | 108 | 4.89 |
8 | therefore | 100 | 4.53 |
9 | another | 94 | 4.26 |
10 | besides | 84 | 3.80 |
11 | due to | 66 | 2.99 |
12 | moreover | 65 | 2.94 |
13 | although | 52 | 2.35 |
14 | in addition | 51 | 2.31 |
15 | furthermore | 50 | 2.26 |
16 | thus | 48 | 2.17 |
17 | additionally | 41 | 1.86 |
18 | whereas | 38 | 1.72 |
19 | as a result | 26 | 1.18 |
20 | nevertheless | 22 | 0.50 |
21 | nonetheless | 21 | 0.95 |
22 | hence | 21 | 0.95 |
23 | meanwhile | 18 | 0.81 |
24 | similarly | 17 | 0.77 |
25 | on the other hand | 17 | 0.77 |
26 | even though | 16 | 0.72 |
27 | In contrast | 15 | 0.68 |
28 | thereby | 13 | 0.59 |
29 | apart from | 13 | 0.59 |
30 | accordingly | 13 | 0.59 |
31 | likewise | 12 | 0.54 |
32 | simultaneously | 11 | 0.50 |
33 | consequently | 9 | 0.41 |
34 | similar to | 8 | 0.36 |
35 | first and foremost | 4 | 0.18 |
36 | unlike | 3 | 0.14 |
37 | What is more | 3 | 0.14 |
38 | on the contrary | 2 | 0.09 |
39 | What was more | 2 | 0.09 |
40 | as a consequence | 1 | 0.05 |
Total | 2209 | 100% |
It can be seen from Table 5 that Vietnamese writers often employ some common frame markers such as first (34.01%) and second (31.29%). To list the last information, Vietnamese researchers prefer frame markers like third (7.94%) and finally (6.35%) to ones like thirdly (1.13%) and lastly (0.45%). To write the conclusion for the academic articles, they tend to prioritize frame markers from the highest to the lowest such as to sum up (1.81%), last but not least (1.36%), in conclusion (0.91%), in summary (0.91%), to conclude (0.91%), in short (0.68%), lastly (0.45%), all in all (0.45%), to summarize (0.45%), and in sum (0.23%). The use of frame markers helped the Vietnamese writers present a summary of what they read and investigate, or give their opinions on something.
Table 5
No. | Frame markers | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | first | 150 | 34.01 |
2 | second | 138 | 31.29 |
3 | third | 35 | 7.94 |
4 | finally | 28 | 6.35 |
5 | next | 19 | 4.32 |
6 | firstly | 13 | 2.95 |
7 | secondly | 10 | 2.27 |
8 | to sum up | 8 | 1.81 |
9 | with regard to | 7 | 1.59 |
10 | last but not least | 6 | 1.36 |
11 | thirdly | 5 | 1.13 |
12 | in conclusion | 4 | 0.91 |
13 | in summary | 4 | 0.91 |
14 | to conclude | 4 | 0.91 |
15 | in short | 3 | 0.68 |
16 | lastly | 2 | 0.45 |
17 | all in all | 2 | 0.45 |
18 | to summarize | 2 | 0.45 |
19 | in sum | 1 | 0.23 |
Total | 441 | 100% |
To make one’s academic articles cohesive and coherent, Vietnamese writers used endophoric markers in their articles. These markers help readers refer the information which is mentioned previously or later. It is clear from the table that the researchers used endophoric markers including this (59.77%) and these (16.87%) the most, whereas the least used endophoric markers are ‘all things considered’, ‘in section above’, ‘presented below’, ‘illustrations above’, ‘in most recent studies’, and ‘as is shown’ with the same percentage of 0.08%.
Table 6
No. | Endophoric markers | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | this | 783 | 59.77 |
2 | these | 221 | 16.87 |
3 | based on | 82 | 6.26 |
4 | in terms of | 72 | 5.50 |
5 | regarding | 44 | 3.36 |
6 | in this study | 25 | 1.91 |
7 | as follows | 19 | 1.45 |
8 | in this paper | 10 | 0.76 |
9 | as can be seen from | 8 | 0.61 |
10 | in relation to | 8 | 0.61 |
11 | mentioned above | 7 | 0.53 |
12 | with regard to | 7 | 0.53 |
13 | (in) (this) chapter | 5 | 0.38 |
14 | coming to | 4 | 0.31 |
15 | see figure | 3 | 0.23 |
16 | with respect to | 2 | 0.15 |
17 | in respect of | 2 | 0.15 |
18 | in this situation | 2 | 0.15 |
19 | all things considered | 1 | 0.08 |
20 | in section above | 1 | 0.08 |
21 | presented below | 1 | 0.08 |
22 | illustrations above | 1 | 0.08 |
23 | in most recent studies | 1 | 0.08 |
24 | as is shown | 1 | 0.08 |
25 | as noted earlier | 0 | 0 |
26 | page x | 0 | 0 |
27 | figure X | 0 | 0 |
28 | in section 2 | 0 | 0 |
29 | noted above | 0 | 0 |
Total | 1310 | 100% |
In academic articles, Vietnamese writers sometimes cited other researchers’ studies to avoid plagiarism. They most used the evidential markers like ‘according to’ with 68.07%, which is followed by ‘X state(s)/stated that’ with 31.09%. Other least used evidential markers are ‘as defined by’ and ‘to quote X’ with 0.84% and 0%, respectively.
Table 7
No. | Evidentials | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | according to X | 81 | 68.07 |
2 | X state(s)/stated that | 37 | 31.09 |
3 | as defined by | 1 | 0.84 |
4 | to quote X | 0 | 0 |
Total | 119 | 100% |
Vietnamese researchers tended to use some common code glosses including such as (42.17%) and especially (19.94%). Others such as namely, particularly, and in particular have the nearly same proportion of 7.41 and 7.12, respectively, whereas some code glosses consisting of e.g., to name a few, and it means that were used the least.
Table 8
No. | Code glosses | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | such as | 148 | 42.17 |
2 | especially | 70 | 19.94 |
3 | namely | 26 | 7.41 |
4 | particularly | 25 | 7.12 |
5 | in particular | 21 | 5.98 |
6 | in other words | 15 | 4.27 |
7 | for instance | 15 | 4.27 |
8 | called | 12 | 3.42 |
9 | defined as | 5 | 1.42 |
10 | specially | 4 | 1.14 |
11 | to be specific | 4 | 1.14 |
12 | e.g. | 2 | 0.57 |
13 | to name a few | 2 | 0.57 |
14 | it means that | 2 | 0.57 |
Total | 351 | 100% |
It is clear from the Table 9 that the most common hedges used by Vietnamese researchers are could (36.15%), should (21.24%), and would (15.47%). Other hedges such as perhaps (0.42%), apparently (0.42%), by and large (0.28%), and maybe (0.14%) were utilized least. There were no findings for some hedges such as ‘probable, unlikely, in my opinion, from my point of view, and about’ in the analyzed data
Table 9
No. | Hedges | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | could | 257 | 36.15 |
2 | should | 151 | 21.24 |
3 | would | 110 | 15.47 |
4 | possible | 38 | 5.34 |
5 | I think | 31 | 4.36 |
6 | in general | 26 | 3.66 |
7 | likely | 22 | 3.09 |
8 | might | 17 | 2.39 |
9 | It seems | 4 | 0.56 |
10 | probably | 4 | 0.56 |
11 | as a whole | 4 | 0.56 |
12 | perhaps | 3 | 0.42 |
13 | apparently | 3 | 0.42 |
14 | by and large | 2 | 0.28 |
15 | maybe | 1 | 0.14 |
16 | probable | 0 | 0 |
17 | unlikely | 0 | 0 |
18 | in my opinion | 0 | 0 |
19 | from my point of view | 0 | 0 |
20 | about | 0 | 0 |
Total | 711 | 100% |
To emphasize some important information, Vietnamese researchers had a tendency to use boosters. The findings indicated that they use the booster named ‘will’ the most, while other boosters such as ‘It is clear that’ (2%), ‘It is no doubt that’ (1%), ‘certainly’ (1%), and ‘undeniably’ (0%). Some hedges including clearly, actually, in fact, and obviously had the nearly same proportion of 18, 17, 15 and 11, one by one.
Table 10
No. | Boosters | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | will | 121 | 46.90 |
2 | clear | 29 | 11.24 |
3 | must | 25 | 9.69 |
4 | clearly | 18 | 6.98 |
5 | actually | 17 | 6.59 |
6 | In fact | 15 | 5.81 |
7 | obviously | 11 | 4.26 |
8 | obvious | 8 | 3.10 |
9 | indeed | 6 | 2.33 |
10 | definitely | 4 | 1.55 |
11 | It is clear that | 2 | 0.78 |
12 | It is no doubt that | 1 | 0.39 |
13 | certainly | 1 | 0.39 |
14 | undeniably | 0 | 0 |
Total | 258 | 100% |
To evaluate some information in TESOL articles, Vietnamese researchers used attitude markers to express their attitudes towards some key ideas and findings. They tended to use highly (26.23%) and successfully (18.03%). Other attitude markers interestingly, more importantly were used with nearly equal proportion of 6.56, whereas others such as ‘hopefully, remarkably, and frankly’ had the same proportion of 4.92%. These attitude markers including ‘remarkable (3.28%), fortunately (3.28%), more seriously, typically, surprising, unfortunately, more interestingly, and I agree’ were least employed.
Table 11
No. | Attitude markers | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | highly | 16 | 26.23 |
2 | successfully | 11 | 18.03 |
3 | surprisingly | 6 | 9.84 |
4 | interestingly | 4 | 6.56 |
5 | more importantly | 4 | 6.56 |
6 | hopefully | 3 | 4.92 |
7 | remarkably | 3 | 4.92 |
8 | frankly | 3 | 4.92 |
9 | remarkable | 2 | 3.28 |
10 | fortunately | 2 | 3.28 |
11 | more seriously | 2 | 3.28 |
12 | typically | 2 | 3.28 |
13 | surprising | 1 | 1.64 |
14 | unfortunately | 1 | 1.64 |
15 | more interestingly | 1 | 1.64 |
16 | I agree | 0 | 0 |
Total | 61 | 100% |
To engage readers into TESOL articles, Vietnamese researchers used engagement markers. ‘you’ is the most used engagement marker with 80.50%, followed by ‘consider’ with 9.43%. other engagement markers such as ‘it can be said that’, ‘noted that’, and ‘noticeably’ had the nearly equal proportion of 3.14% and 2.52%. The engagement markers including ‘it can be seen that’, ‘it was noted that’, and ‘It was noticeable that’ had the same percentage of 0.63%.
Table 12
No. | Engagement markers | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | you | 128 | 80.50 |
2 | consider | 15 | 9.43 |
3 | it can be said that | 5 | 3.14 |
4 | noted that | 4 | 2.52 |
5 | noticeably | 4 | 2.52 |
6 | it can be seen that | 1 | 0.63 |
7 | it was noted that | 1 | 0.63 |
8 | It was noticeable that | 1 | 0.63 |
9 | You can see that | 0 | 0 |
Total | 159 | 100% |
Vietnamese researchers also utilized self-mention markers in their TESOL markers. They used some self-mention markers such as I (49.63%), our (20.59%), my (20.59%), and we (9.20%). The findings also demonstrated that Vietnamese researchers used the phrases like ‘the author’ (20 times) and ‘the researcher’ (65 times) to self-mention in their articles.
Table 13
No. | Self-mentions | Frequency | Percentage |
1 | I | 475 | 49.63 |
2 | Our | 197 | 20.59 |
3 | My | 197 | 20.59 |
4 | We | 88 | 9.20 |
Total | 957 | 100% |
4.1.2. Functions of MD markers used in TESOL research articles
Transition markers
Transition markers are in the form of adverbs and prepositional phrases are utilized to connect ideas between main clauses, sentences, and paragraphs. Transition markers often convey information cognitively, so readers need to search information preceded or followed to interpret the flow of information.
“In addition, the question of how the teachers manage their online classroom has received considerable critical attention. However, a search of the literature revealed few studies which investigated the online classroom management of the teachers.” (A5)
Frame markers
Frame markers were used to link information in the same paragraph or between paragraphs. This helps reader follow the information flow more easily. Frame markers such as ‘first’ or ‘second’ also bring cohesion and coherence for the articles.
“First, online learning allowed the students to save time and expenditure to commute from their house to university (49.3% of interviewed students). Second, 30% of the students reported that learning via online platforms can take place ubiquitously, thereby overcoming barriers to learning.” (A1)
Endophoric markers
Endophoric markers were used to link the information in the articles, which also makes the articles coherent and helped the readers comprehend the articles more easily. The readers could refer back or later to keep track of the information progression of the TESOL articles by looking at some endophoric markers such as ‘as mentioned above’, ‘as can be seen from’, and ‘this’ in the following extracts.
“As mentioned above, ten first-year English majors served as the participants in the study.” (A2)
“As can be seen from Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the number of teachers with more than 5-year experience counts for 85.19% (N = 23) while there are 11.11% of the participants obtain 3 to 5 years of experience (N = 3).” (A3)
“It is the use of diverse applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or some available Google-related apps that allow teachers to mix their teaching delivery modes. This can be a good way to motivate learners to take part in the online learning process.” (A4)
Evidentials
To quote or cite other researchers’ studies, Vietnamese researchers used evidential markers including ‘according to X’, ‘as defined in’, and ‘X states/stated that…’ in their TESOL articles to avoid plagiarism and help readers know the source of cited information.
“ According to the researchers, EFL teachers in Indonesia have carried out both synchronous and asynchronous classes using different applications and platforms. (A5)
“ As defined in Businessballs (2010), the temptation could be understood as the “inability to gratification” or the “urge to satisfy aspiration, ego, etc.…”. (A6)
“Partnership for 21st Century Learning (2015) states that learners of the digital age should use technology to learn content and skills so that they will know how to learn, think critically, resolve issues, use data, communicate, disrupt and collaborate.” (A7)
Code gloss
To list or put an emphasis on some significant information of the TESOL articles, Vietnamese researchers employed some code gloss markers including ‘to be specific’ and ‘to name a few’. It is noticeable that the positions of these markers were various, namely at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the sentence, which was challenging for novice writers.
“ To be specific, the students opined that the process of searching for information from various sources and gathering and analyzing the data for the survey helped them to better their critical thinking.” (A8)
“The major subjects listed to be effective with Moodle were Phonetics, Listening Comprehension, Writing, American studies, Reading Comprehension, Teaching Pedagogy, Research Methodology, Syntax, Semantics, French, Chinese to name a few.” (A10)
Hedges
To avoid subjectivity in giving opinions, Vietnamese researchers tended to use hedges such as ‘it seems that’ and ‘could’ in their articles. Hedges helped writers give information objectively in order that readers could be persuaded.
“Despite its importance, it seems that the area of teacher’s beliefs has not been researched a lot a year into the pandemic.” (A12)
“The combination of data using mixed methods could help the researchers have objective insights into the current research issue.” (A13)
Boosters
Vietnamese researchers used boosters to emphasize information given. They used some booster markers such as ‘it is no doubt that’ and ‘in fact’.
“ It is no doubt that before the Covid19 outbreak, there have been several studies addressing the challenges on classroom management that teachers were facing during their teaching online.” (A15)
“ In fact, a variety of studies have discovered positive effects of learner autonomy on learners’ outcomes as well as learning attitudes.” (A16)
Attitude markers
Several attitude markers were used in TESOL research articles written by Vietnamese researchers. They can help the researchers express their evaluations or remarks for some important information in their articles. Some attitude markers were found in the articles such as ‘more interestingly, unfortunately, or it can be said that’.
“ More interestingly, they confessed that they were no longer afraid of English and now found it very interesting.” (A17)
“ Unfortunatel y, this research does not state the specific role of language teaching or motivation from the perspective of learners.” (A18)
“So, it can be said that teacher’s feedback is only partially useful to improve students’ awareness of some simple grammar features but not complex grammar structures.” (A20)
Self-mentions
Vietnamese writers also use the author and the researchers instead of ‘I’ to mention themselves in their TESOL articles. Using these self-mentions could help them express their ideas objectively.
“After the research, the author found that TikTok had some positive influence on students at AJC in changing their view on the learning materials and encouraging them to practice speaking more.” (A21)
“With the purpose of gaining detailed information to answer the research questions, the researcher decided to apply qualitative method by using interviews.” (A22)