Heterogloss in Chinese Undergraduates’ Oral Presentations in the EAP Pedagogical Setting

Appropriately incorporating other perspectives in an academic text is a challenge for second language learners and their incorporating practices in oral academic discourse are under-researched. Drawing on the account of heterogloss by Martin and his associates (e.g. Martin & Rose, 2007; Martin & White, 2005), this study investigated the heteroglossic practices in 81 oral presentations by the undergraduates enrolled in a 16-week course on English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in China. Textual analysis reveals the learners’ insufficient understanding of legitimate evidence and reporting verbs, overreliance on the high value modal verb (i.e. should) in presenting a proposal, and inappropriate sourcing for generating a concession in academic discourse. Based on the findings, a triadic model concerning heteroglossic practices in learners’ academic discourse is proposed, and pedagogical implications are discussed.