“新东方”话语的象征行为分析

VIP免费

3.0 侯斌 2024-11-19 4 4 776.22KB 76 页 15积分

侵权投诉

“新东方”话语的象征行为分析

摘要

近年来大学英语教育存在一些怪现象，比如上课时，学生们提不起兴趣，

反而热衷于课后去英语培训机构补习。笔者认为造成这种现象的其中一个比较重

要的原因是：教师语言不够生动。虽然近年来大学英语教学改革取得了一些成绩

但效果并不明显。新东方模式的成功应该引起高等教育的深刻反思。新东方作为

中国最出名的英语培训机构之一，成了当今热门话题。不同领域的学者从各种角

度围绕新东方的成功展开了讨论。而我们关注的焦点是促成学生家长们以及投资

者们相信并选择新东方的关键环节——新东方话语的修辞运作过程。本文深入探

讨了新东方教师语言成为一种独特语类的原因并把它分成三类进行研究，包括

新东方宣传用语，新东方教师的演讲以及新东方教师授课中使用的教师语言。我

们注意到国内外对新东方教师语言的象征行为分析几乎是一片空白。因此，我们

试图从修辞的角度对新东方话语进行分析。

本文汲取了古典修辞学和伯克新修辞学的研究成果、并以此作为新东方话语

的象征行为分析理论框架，试图从修辞学的全新视角分析新东方话语的劝说功

能。我们认为古典修辞学理论与现代修辞学理论在一定程度上并不冲突，反而很

相似，所以我们结合艺术劝说, 修辞三段论与象征行为理论建立他们之间的修

辞运作模式。然后我们重点分析了新东方话语的修辞运作过程，即修辞策略在新

东方话语中的应用，主要有：艺术劝说(Artistic Proofs)和同一(Identification)。我

们首先从宏观和微观上分析了新东方话语的修辞者和受众，之后以象征行为理

论为主，通过同一和艺术劝说等修辞策略，分别论述了“同情认同”、“对立认

同”、“误同”、 “非言语认同”和“形式认同”在新东方话语中的应用。

通过分析，我们发现新东方之所以成功，除了其他因素，其中的一个重要

原因就是新东方话语成功地实现了其劝说功能，而且新东方话语的成功对常规

英语教学有一定的启示作用。新东方教师语言不仅“动之以情”，而且“晓之以

理”，同时“感之以威”。其语言具有极强的劝说性，成功地实现了修辞者与受

众的认同。通过对新东方话语的象征行为分析，可以加深我们对修辞话语的理解

和认识，增强修辞意识，一定程度上为大学英语教学的发展起到了推动作用，

并为研究新东方的成功提供了一种崭新的视角。

关键词：象征行为修辞分析新东方话语

List of Figures

Fig.3.1The Dramatistic Pentad ……….………………….…………………………..11

Fig.3.2 Structure of Enthymeme ………………….…………….……………...……18

Fig.3.3 Premises of Enthymeme………………….…………….……………………18

Fig.3.4 The Relationship between Enthymeme and Artistic Proofs…………….……19

Fig.3.5 The Operating Device of Theories…………………..………………….……21

Fig.4.1 The Classification of the New Oriental’s Discourse…………….…….……..27

Fig.4.2 The Pentad of the New Oriental and Teachers……………………….............32

Fig.4.3 A Spoken Communication Structure………………………………................40

Fig.4.4 Two-level Communication Structure………………………………...............41

Fig.4.5 Rhetorical Triangle in Oratory……………………………………………….42

Fig.4.6 The Operating Device of Theories in Yu Minhong’s Speech……………..…48

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................i
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................ii
摘要...............................................................................................................................iv
List of Figures...............................................................................................................v
Chapter One Introduction...........................................................................................1
1 Research Background........................................................................................1
2 General Purpose of the Study............................................................................3
3 Methodology and Data Description..................................................................4
4 Structure of the Thesis.......................................................................................4
Chapter Two Literature Review.................................................................................6
1 Introduction of New Oriental Education & Technology Group.......................6
2 Studies on the New Oriental’s Discourse..........................................................7
2.1 Previous Studies on the New Oriental’s Discourse.................................7
2.2 The Present Research..............................................................................8
Chapter Three Theoretical Framework.....................................................................9
1 Theory of Symbolic Action...............................................................................9
1.1 Pentad....................................................................................................10
1.2 Identification.........................................................................................12
1.2.1 Defining Identification................................................................12
1.2.2 Types of Identification................................................................14
2 Artistic Proofs and Enthymeme.......................................................................16
3 The Relationship among Symbolic Action, Artistic Proofs and Enthymeme. 19
Chapter Four Critiquing the Symbolic Action in the New Oriental’s Discourse. 23
1 Defining the New Oriental’s Discourse..........................................................23
1.1 The Definition of the New Oriental’s Discourse...................................23
1.1.1 Defining Genre............................................................................23
1.1.2 Characteristics of Genre..............................................................24
1.1.3 The Construction of a Genre.......................................................25
1.1.4 The New Oriental’s Discourse as a Genre...................................25
1.1.5 The Classification of the New Oriental’s Discourse...................26
1.1.5.1 The New Oriental’s Publicity............................................27
1.1.5.2 The New Oriental’s Speeches...........................................28
1.1.5.3 The New Oriental’s Discourse in Classroom Teaching....29
2 Rhetor and Audience of the New Oriental’s Discourse...................................31
2.1 New Oriental Education & Technology Group and the New Oriental
Teachers as Rhetor..........................................................................................31
2.1.1 The Relationship between the New Oriental School and Teachers
.................................................................................................................31
2.1.2 New Oriental Education & Technology Group as Rhetor...........32
2.1.3 The New Oriental’s Teachers as Rhetor......................................33
2.2 Society and Students or Parents as Audience........................................35
2.2.1 Society as Audience....................................................................36

4.2.2.2 Students or Parents as Audience..................................................37
4.2.2.2.1 Students as Audience.........................................................37
4.2.2.2.2 Parents as Audience...........................................................39
4.2.3 The Interaction between the Rhetor and the Audience..........................40
4.3 Identification in the New Oriental’s Discourse...............................................46
4.3.1 Identification through sympathy in the New Oriental’s Discourse.......47
4.3.2 Identification through antithesis in the New Oriental’s Discourse.......51
4.3.3 Identification through transcendent “we” strategy in the New Oriental’s
Discourse........................................................................................................53
4.3.4 Identification through non-verbal symbolic action in the New Oriental’s
Discourse........................................................................................................55
4.3.5 Identification through forms in New Oriental’s Discourse...................57
Chapter Five Conclusion...........................................................................................60
5.1 Brief Summary of the Study............................................................................60
5.2 Enlightenment of the New Oriental’s Symbolic Action on the College English
Teaching................................................................................................................61
5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study................................................62
Appendices..................................................................................................................64
Bibliography...............................................................................................................78
在读期间公开发表的论文..........................................................................................81
 

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Research Background

Recent years, there are some strange phenomena in English education in

universities. For example, students lose interest in English class, but are keen to go to

English training institutions after class, such as New Oriental Education &

Technology Group (New Oriental). Some students complain about the useless and

boring content of college English and the poor teaching methods teachers used. They

do not listen attentively to the teacher in the class and show little respect to college

teachers, but they appreciate New Oriental’s teachers for their humorousness and

helpful teaching methods. They admire New Oriental’s teachers, learn English

actively and positively and greatly improve their English ability. The income of

China’s English teaching industry is nearly over 4,000 billion, while the New Oriental

occupies the leading position. Over 60% Chinese students in the United States are

trained in the New Oriental before they go abroad. As a leader in China’s educational

institutions, the New Oriental is successful. In this regard, the author attempts to

explore the reasons for these phenomena. According to Tian Huisheng (1996: 78),

factors affecting teaching include the physical environment and psychological

environment. Therefore, we compare those factors of universities and the New

Oriental School. The physical environment consists of spatial and temporal

environment, facility environment, and natural environment. As to spatial and

temporal environment, the class size of college English class is about forty to fifty

students in general, while the New Oriental’s class size is frequently over hundreds of

students. It is obviously that large class size is not suitable for study for a long time.

With respect to facility environment, colleges are typically equipped with better

teaching equipment, such as multi-media instruments, books and reference materials,

etc., and yet the New Oriental does not have all these facilities up to date. Concerning

natural environment, great attention have been paid to green area and afforestation at

colleges, and many natural landscapes at college construct a healthy study

environment for students, while the New Oriental has no condition to enhance such

construction. Consequently, a conclusion can be drawn that the reason why students

prefer the New Oriental is due mainly to the differences of cultural and psychological

environment between colleges and the New Oriental. One of the most common

differences of cultural and psychological environment between colleges and the New

Oriental is the teacher language and the teaching mode. Proficient teaching method is

necessary to teachers’ successful teaching. But it is deniable that teacher language has

an enormous influence on students. Teacher language is the professional language

engaged in teaching and learning activities. As the most important method and media

A Symbolic Action Critique of New Oriental Teacher Language

of, communicating and transmitting information and knowledge in the teaching

process, teacher language plays a vital role. In the daily communication with students,

teachers can use some rhetorical strategies to influence students and persuade them to

build good learning behaviors. With its success, the New Oriental has become a

popular subject in the academic community and has been approached from a wide

range of disciplines. Scholars in different fields study it from different perspectives.

However, the New Oriental, as one of the most popular language training

organizations, is paid less attention than it deserves at the discourse level. Almost no

one studies the New Oriental from the linguistic perspective, not to mention from the

rhetorical aspect. In this thesis, what we focus on is the rhetorical operation of the

New Oriental’s discourse, which is the crucial step for winning the trust of students,

parents, and investors. To the best of my knowledge, the symbolic action analysis of

the New Oriental’s discourse is almost a virgin land at home and abroad. Therefore,

we try to critique here the New Oriental’s discourse through a rhetorical lens. It is

worth mentioning that this analysis touches upon not only the New Oriental’s

discourse in the classroom teaching, but also the New Orientals’ speeches and the

New Oriental’s publicity, and thus intend to provide a brand-new perspective—a

rhetorical one —for analyzing the New Oriental’s discourse.

In consideration of theoretical framework, we find that even though the theories

of new rhetoric represented by Burke and Aristotle’s classical rhetoric have many

similarities, almost none combine them and explain their relationship. As the

representative of the classical rhetoric, Aristotle holds that rhetoric is “the faculty of

observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (1954: 24). For him,

the key point of classical rhetoric is persuasion. By emphasizing that “you persuade a

man only in so far as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order,

image, attitude, idea, identify your ways with his” (1969: 55), Burke expresses the

importance of identification, the key term of new rhetoric. It can be seen that

persuasion and identification are not two conflicted concepts. Besides, we deem that

“identification” and “enthymeme” may overlap in the operation of persuasion. The

process of enthymeme is the process of identifying, during which artistic proofs take

effect throughout. Therefore, in this thesis, we aim at combining theories between

Burke’s and Aristotle’s to establish a rhetorical operating device for a better analysis

of the New Oriental’s discourse. Additionally, by virtue of five types of identification

and pentadic analysis, rhetorical analysis is proved to be an effective tool for our

better understanding of natures of many different phenomena. Therefore, critiquing

the New Oriental’s discourse through a rhetorical lens is supposed to be useful for us

to get a better understanding of the success of the New Oriental and gain some

enlightenment from its success.

1.2 General Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of the study is to analyze how the New Oriental’s discourse

operates in persuasion from a rhetorical angle and by critiquing the New Oriental’s

Chapter One Introduction

discourse with the rhetorical operating device, we hope that the secret of the success

of the New Oriental can be revealed and some enlightenments can be got for better

improvement of the college English teaching. Through the combination of Kenneth

Burke’s theories of symbolic action and Aristotle’s artistic proofs, a rhetorical

operating device will be set up and applied in the analysis of the New Oriental’s

discourse, at the range from speeches, discourses in the classroom to the publicity and

promotional events.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that our analysis of the New Oriental’s

discourse touches upon not only written material but also non-verbal events.

Therefore, “ New Oriental’s discourse” in this thesis refers to both the verbal

language and the non-verbal rhetorical phenomena. Although we communicate with

each other mostly through language in written and spoken forms, social life is filled

with non-verbal rhetorical phenomena, which is still a vacant lot for Chinese scholars

to study. It is hoped, therefore, that our study will lead to more pioneering study in the

non-verbal symbolic action.

Moreover, towards rhetoric, Chinese people tend to have a narrow view or even a

bias which is always associated with figures, tropes and other means of polishing

language, while westerners regard rhetoric as an effective persuasive tool in their

daily life. In fact, we Chinese do employ rhetoric in every aspect of our life, like

advertising and teaching, but sometimes ignore it. No matter whether in theory or in

practice, studies on rhetoric in China are too limited compared with the western

profound study. Through rhetorical critique of the New Oriental’s discourse, we hope

that we can dispel some common misconceptions about rhetoric and prove that

rhetoric is not a sugar-tongued, sleek discourse and therefore help to get a better

understanding of rhetoric and promote the development of rhetoric in China.

1.3 Methodology and Data Description

Though the combination of theories of Burke, identification, with Aristotle’s

artistic proofs, the thesis mainly studies the symbolic action of the New Oriental’s

discourse, by rhetorically analyzing the New Oriental’s speeches, publicity and

promotional events, and discourse in the classroom. Theories will be applied in an

entire operating device summarized by the author. In order to gain a full-scale

understanding of the New Oriental’s discourse, not only verbal materials but also non-

verbal events will be analyzed. The verbal discourses are taken from four speeches,

which are made by Yu Minhong, and Wang Qiang, and a New Oriental’s teaching

pattern generalized by the author according to the observation on the New Oriental’s

CET-4 courses. There are mainly two types of teacher in the New Oriental, one

educated overseas, the other locally educated. Yu Minhong, the founder of the New

Oriental Education & Technology Group, represents the later type of the New

Oriental’s teacher, whose speeches are of the representative characteristic of the New

Oriental. While, as one of the most important partners of Yu Minhong, Wang Qiang,

represents the former type of the New Oriental’s outstanding teachers, whose

A Symbolic Action Critique of New Oriental Teacher Language

speeches are equally worthy of being analyzed. In this study, we analyze the non-

linguistic factors or those seen as symbols having the effect of the phenomenon of

persuasion in order to get an all-round understanding of the New Oriental’s discourse.

Except for verbal materials, non verbal events, which are chosen and summarized

from the official website of the New Oriental

(http://www.neworiental.org/publish/portal0/), will be discussed in the thesis as well.

1.4 Structure of the Thesis

The thesis mainly studies the symbolic action of the New Oriental’s discourse

via theories combined between Kenneth Burke’s symbolic action and Aristotle’s

artistic proofs.

The entire study is organized into the following five chapters:

Chapter one mainly introduces the background, general purpose, significance and

the framework of this research.

Chapter two provides literature review for the present study. This thesis mainly

refers to studies on the New Oriental’s discourse and New Oriental Education &

Technology Group.

Chapter three expounds the theoretical framework, including three main parts,

symbolic action, artistic proofs and enthymeme, and the relationship of them. Former

study achievements of these theories will be illustrated and integrated into a rhetorical

operating device in this chapter.

Chapter four explores in detail symbolic actions in the New Oriental’s discourse.

Four subchapters make up Chapter four. Firstly, the New Oriental’s discourse will be

defined under the framework of the definition of genre. With deep analysis, three

classifications of the New Oriental’s discourse will be delivered in this subchapter.

Then in the second subchapter, we make a thorough analysis of rhetor and audience of

the New Oriental’s discourse. The New Oriental itself and its teachers will be seen as

rhetor and analyzed from their background, characteristics, and requirements.

Meanwhile the society, students and their parents will be rendered as audience.

Following next is the analysis of identification in the New Oriental’s discourse. This

part will organize what have been mentioned in the former two parts and concentrate

on the analysis of symbolic action in the New Oriental’s discourse through the

combination of theories between Kenneth Burke and Aristotle.

Chapter 5 draws the conclusion of the present study and summarizes the main

points and brief practical implications in making presentations. Then, in order to put

forward suggestions to improve college English teaching to some extent, there is a

discussion of enlightenment gained from the symbolic action of the New Oriental’s

discourse. The limitations of the study and future efforts to be made are also pointed

out in this concluding chapter.

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

15 积分 4人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

“新东方”话语的象征行为分析摘要近年来大学英语教育存在一些怪现象，比如上课时，学生们提不起兴趣，反而热衷于课后去英语培训机构补习。笔者认为造成这种现象的其中一个比较重要的原因是：教师语言不够生动。虽然近年来大学英语教学改革取得了一些成绩但效果并不明显。新东方模式的成功应该引起高等教育的深刻反思。新东方作为中国最出名的英语培训机构之一，成了当今热门话题。不同领域的学者从各种角度围绕新东方的成功展开了讨论。而我们关注的焦点是促成学生家长们以及投资者们相信并选择新东方的关键环节——新东方话语的修辞运作过程。本文深入探讨了新东方教师语言成为一种独特语类的原因并把它分成三类进行研究，包括新东方宣传用语，...

展开>> 收起<<

“新东方”话语的象征行为分析.doc

共76页,预览8页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

“新东方”话语的象征行为分析

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

推荐作者

热门标签

举报选择: