Multifunctionality in English

Zihan Yin has lectured in Applied Linguistics, TESOL, Linguistics, Education, ESL/EAP and academic literacies at universities in Australia, New Zealand and China. Her publications appeared in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Discourse Studies and RELC Journal.Elaine Vine lectured in Applied Linguistics, TESOL and Linguistics in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, until her retirement in 2013. She is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow in that School.

"With this volume, Yin and Vine have produced an exciting collection of original corpus-based studies focusing on high-frequency language items (including verbs, personal pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions) that can serve multiple semantic and pragmatic functions depending on the context they are used in, which makes them notoriously difficult for language learners to fully master. The insights that these studies provide have direct pedagogical implications and practical applications in teaching contexts. I highly recommend the volume to applied linguistics and language educators who would like to better understand the complex nature of multifunctional forms or wish to help their students improve their communication and (academic) literacy skills. "---Dr. Ute Römer, Georgia State University

• 1. Multifunctionality, language and literacy Part I Multifunctionality - Utterances and language play 2. The multifunctionality of utterances in interactive discourse 3. The functions of linguistic creativity in two written academic genres in language studies Part 2 Multifunctionality - Metadiscourse in disciplines and professional discourse 4. Mutifunctionality of stance markers in soft sciences: A cross-disciplinary and cross-paradigmatic study 5. We in hard science articles: Co-selection patterns, semantic references and discourse functions 6. Student engagement through personal pronouns in secondary school and university Part 3 Multifunctionality - Verbs in disciplines and textbooks 7. A comparison of use of modal auxiliaries of obligation and necessity in science writing by ESL and L1 students 8. A corpus and coursebook analysis of the English quasi-modal be able to: What can instructors do? 9. Making tea and mistakes: The functions of make in conversational English and textbook dialogues Part 4 Multifunctionality - Discourse markers in registers 10. Multifunctional well: Findings and implications for EFL 11. A comparative corpus analysis of the frequencies and functions of so between native and non-native speakers of English in Hong Kong 12. "When I come here, I kinda blend in the language, so that's why I use like": Multifunctional word like as a challenge for English learner 13. And? A linking adverbial or a coordinator: Frequency, functions and sound patterns across registers 14. Multifunctionality and pedagogy