INTRODUCING THE AILA SCIENTIFIC COMMISSION ON DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
The central aim of the AILA Scientific Commission on Discourse Analysis is to integrate the various strands of applied discourse, to facilitate future developments and interactions and to disseminate current research work. Other aims of the commission are to open up the exchange between theoretical and applied concerns &emdash tracking theoretical developments in discourse analysis particularly in relation to current and emerging needs in applied contexts and to identify computational tools and other kinds of resources supporting applications in discourse analysis.The AILA Scientific Commission on Discourse Analysis aims are therefore:
to facilitate face to face and computer mediated scholarly interaction
to produce working papers on key theoretical issues
to organize seminars and colloquia to bring together international scholars with research interests in literacy
Discourse is the most fundamental unit of language: it is language (spoken, written or signed) functioning in context; it can be viewed either as an ongoing process or as the product of that process. Discourse analysis is concerned with the theoretical interpretation of the role and organisation of discourse across the full spectrum of contexts and at different levels of abstraction &emdash including the relationship between grammar and discourse. Based on a rich range of theoretical approaches, discourse analysis is also concerned with applications in language teaching and learning and in other educational contexts, such as the role of scientific discourse in the construction of educational and scientific knowledge. Discourse Analysis has also been applied to other contexts such as studies of workplaces and other institutions.
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