Analysing Stance in a CLIL University Context: Non-native Speaker Use of Personal Pronouns and Modal Verbs

Abstract

In recent years, many European countries have witnessed a rapid implementation of the CLIL approach at tertiary level. In Spain, although English has been introduced as the language of instruction in some master and doctoral courses, the application of the CLIL approach is still isolated. Similarly, little research has been done into CLIL discursive features and teacher–student positioning in the Spanish university context. Focusing on university lectures by non-native speakers, the present paper explores the use of two relevant areas of stance: (i) pronominal forms, and their discursive functions; and (ii) modal verbs occurring within verbal clusters that accompany pronouns. The study is based on a quantitative analysis of these two linguistic devices in terms of number of occurrences and frequency. The results show that inclusive we is by far the most frequent pronominal form, functioning as a solidarity mechanism and helping to establish common ground. Furthermore, the functions assigned to the two most recurrent modal verbs, can and have to, are found to minimise also the speaker's authority while inserted within a problem-solving framework and guiding the steps of scientific reasoning.

Keywords:

• lecture
• modal verbs
• pronouns
• stance
• tertiary education