Framing Discourse in the ELT Classroom: Why Discourse Analysis Matters

An ELT teacher working on his Frames-Based Teaching

AI-generated picture by Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano in August 2025

✍️ Introductory Note to the Reader As someone with a strong academic background in linguistics, I have always approached language teaching through a lens that extends far beyond vocabulary lists and grammatical rules. One of the central focuses of my linguistic studies was discourse analysis—a field that has equipped me to look closely at the subtle, often “dusty” corners of language use that many teachers, through no fault of their own, may overlook because such areas were not emphasized in their own training. This perspective allows me to perceive not only how language functions as a system, but also how it operates dynamically in real-life interaction. I have found that linguistic theories—while often developed to explain how language works—can be readily adapted into the realm of applied linguistics, providing powerful tools for English Language Teaching (ELT). By integrating these insights into lesson planning, I aim to craft learning experiences that are both academically grounded and pedagogically relevant, ensuring that students are prepared for the full complexity of communication beyond the classroom.

 

Framing Discourse in the ELT Classroom: Why Discourse Analysis Matters

	Abstract This paper explores the application of Deborah Tannen’s concept of framing within the context of English Language Teaching (ELT), emphasizing its value for designing lessons that simulate authentic speech events. Drawing on discourse analysis, the study argues that effective lesson planning must go beyond lexical and grammatical instruction to integrate pragmatic, cultural, and contextual dimensions of communication. By grounding classroom activities in clearly defined speech events—such as service encounters, negotiations, and social planning—teachers can foster communicative competence, intercultural awareness, and learner agency. The paper also examines how discourse-level features such as turn-taking, genre awareness, and speech act management contribute to more authentic and purposeful language use, preparing learners for the complexities of real-world communication.
	Resumen Este artículo analiza la aplicación del concepto de framing de Deborah Tannen en la enseñanza del inglés (ELT), destacando su valor para diseñar lecciones que simulen eventos comunicativos auténticos. A partir del análisis del discurso, se sostiene que una planificación eficaz debe ir más allá de la enseñanza léxica y gramatical, incorporando dimensiones pragmáticas, culturales y contextuales de la comunicación. Al fundamentar las actividades en eventos discursivos claramente definidos—como interacciones de servicio, negociaciones y planificación social—los docentes pueden promover la competencia comunicativa, la conciencia intercultural y la autonomía del estudiante. Asimismo, se examina cómo características discursivas como la gestión de turnos, el conocimiento de géneros y el uso de actos de habla contribuyen a un uso del lenguaje más auténtico y con propósito, preparando a los aprendientes para la complejidad de la comunicación real.
	Resumo Este artigo discute a aplicação do conceito de framing de Deborah Tannen no ensino de inglês (ELT), ressaltando seu valor para o planejamento de aulas que simulem eventos de fala autênticos. Com base na análise do discurso, argumenta-se que um planejamento eficaz deve ir além do ensino lexical e gramatical, integrando dimensões pragmáticas, culturais e contextuais da comunicação. Ao estruturar as atividades em eventos discursivos claramente definidos—como atendimentos ao cliente, negociações e planejamentos sociais—o professor pode desenvolver a competência comunicativa, a consciência intercultural e a autonomia do aprendiz. O estudo também examina como aspectos do nível discursivo, como a gestão de turnos, o domínio de gêneros e o uso de atos de fala, contribuem para um uso linguístico mais autêntico e intencional, preparando os alunos para as complexidades da comunicação no mundo real.

Language instruction today must do more than cover lexical units and grammatical structures; it must prepare learners to engage meaningfully in real-life communication. One of the most insightful contributions to this goal is Deborah Tannen’s concept of “framing”, where interlocutors rely on shared expectations to interpret what is happening in a given communicative event (Tannen, 1993). In the ELT classroom, this perspective becomes vital for planning activities that simulate realistic contexts. Discourse analysis enables educators to teach not just how language works structurally, but how it works socially and pragmatically since the concept of framing is especially relevant to ELT; it helps instructors design lessons that not only teach language but also mirror authentic communication events.

The Concept of Framing and Its Pedagogical Implications

Tannen defines framing as the cognitive structures that individuals bring to a communicative situation, structures shaped by culture, experience, and context. In her work, particularly in Framing in Discourse (1993), Tannen explains how speakers interpret and negotiate meaning based on shared or contrasting frames. When applied to the English classroom, this means that every speaking activity, be it a conversation, debate, or role-play, should always be grounded in recognizable speech events that learners might encounter in real life.

Understanding framing helps educators recognize that what may seem like a simple language exchange (e.g., ordering food or disagreeing politely over a meal at a restaurant) is embedded in complex socio-cultural expectations. Thus, effective lesson planning must go beyond vocabulary lists or grammar drills to include the pragmatic and contextual nuances that shape communication.

The Role of Framing in ELT

Framing must be seen as the interpretive lens through which speakers understand the nature and purpose of an interaction. When an ELT lesson incorporates framing, it moves beyond the “mastery of grammatical structures,” and it builds communicative competence (Canale & Swain, 1980). Tannen emphasizes that "every utterance is framed by assumptions about what is happening" (Tannen, 1993, p. 5), which makes it crucial to teach learners how to detect and respond to these frames as naturally as they do it in their first language.

Framing is helping learners do exactly what they can do in their mother tongue through communication activities where language students participate in simulated real-life dialogues and true social interactions. These activities are built around clearly defined speech events (Hymes, 1974), like phone inquiries or weekend planning, making the context and roles of participants explicit.

Discourse Analysis as a Tool for Authenticity

Discourse analysis enables teachers to move away from artificial or decontextualized language models. Instead, the use of framing encourages the integration of spoken and written genres that reflect how language is naturally used in real-life contexts. For instance, analyzing authentic service encounters, TED talks, or customer complaints allows learners to see how tone, turn-taking, hedging, and politeness strategies function in real-time interaction. Framing goes beyond the mere usage of lexical and grammatical units.

When teachers use discourse analysis to inform lesson planning and task design for their plans, they can create lessons that better align with real-world speech events such as interviews, meetings, academic discussions, or casual chats. These tasks help learners rehearse not just words, but also roles, intentions, and responses embedded in contextually rich communicative acts.

From Sentence to Speech Event

Delving deeper into speech events, where traditional ELT lessons focused on isolated sentences or vocabulary sets, discourse analysis shifts the spotlight to cohesive, contextual communication. According to Celce-Murcia and Olshtain (2000), lessons should incorporate “discourse-level organization, including coherence, sequencing, and role expectations,” which are like the true building blocks of communication in a first, second, or foreign language.

In one’s lesson, learners will move from guided questions (e.g., asking about a relative’s hobby), to semi-scripted calls to a hobby shop, and finally to collaborative planning dialogues. This sequence reflects framing development, gradually building toward autonomy in constructing meaningful discourse and true communication.

Designing Lessons with Speech Events in Mind

Incorporating speech events into lesson planning ensures learners are not just acquiring language but are developing communicative competence. A speech event, defined as a culturally recognized activity with a predictable sequence and purpose (e.g., giving a presentation or making a complaint), provides a clear framing for classroom interaction.

For example:

• A lesson framed around a doctor's visit teaches modal verbs ("You should take this pill") within the discourse frame of patient-doctor interaction, which includes turn-taking, topic control, and power dynamics.
• A negotiation activity mirrors the structure and politeness strategies of workplace interactions, preparing students for real business contexts.

Discourse analysis thus helps teachers script, structure, and scaffold these events meaningfully.

Discourse and Cultural Literacy

Discourse analysis also highlights pragmatic and intercultural competence. Learners must understand not just what is being said, but how and why, recognizing indirect refusals, hedging, or tone shifts. Tannen notes, “we tend to interpret others’ intentions through the frames we bring with us” (1993, p. 16), and this can lead to miscommunication if students are unaware of such cultural cues or differences when their culture is compared to the target culture.

Bachman (1990) reinforces this by identifying sociolinguistic competence, the ability to use language appropriately in context, as one of the core components of communicative ability. In one’s lesson plans, students must find themselves negotiating, e.g., preferences and politely reject suggestions, crucial skills for real-world fluency in communication.

Planning with Discourse in Mind

When ELT planning integrates discourse analysis, it encourages:

• Speech act awareness (e.g., suggesting, refusing, confirming)
• Genre and register control (formal inquiry vs. casual chat)
• Turn-taking and interaction norms (e.g., asking follow-up questions)
• Pragmatic fluency (e.g., softening disagreements)

When these elements are clear, students aren’t just practicing vocabulary; they’re rehearsing roles, building context-awareness, and co-constructing meaning within defined frames.

Benefits for Learner Agency and Cultural Awareness

By planning lessons that reflect discourse-level features, learners gain awareness of how meaning is constructed beyond grammar. They also become attuned to the cultural assumptions that underline certain interactions, such as indirectness in requests or the use of silence in conflict management. This kind of awareness enhances their intercultural competence and empowers them to adapt their communication strategies appropriately.

Furthermore, understanding framing encourages reflection: learners can analyze their own interactional styles and learn how these may align or clash with those in English-speaking contexts.

Conclusion

Discourse analysis, and particularly the notion of framing, offers ELT practitioners a rich framework for designing lessons that foster real communicative competence. By focusing on speech events and contextual meaning, teachers can create learning experiences that mirror the complexities of actual language use. As Deborah Tannen has shown, communication is not merely about words and sentences; it is about shared understandings, expectations, and frames. Integrating this insight into ELT planning elevates classroom instruction from linguistic accuracy to communicative authenticity.

Discourse analysis, particularly through Tannen’s lens of framing, equips ELT instructors to design lessons that simulate the complexity and nuance of authentic communication. Rather than treating language as a code, this approach sees it as action shaped by expectations, roles, and interactional purpose. By grounding instruction in realistic speech events and teaching learners to navigate frames, we teachers foster not only linguistic accuracy, but genuine communicative competence and cultural agility.

📚 References

• Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing. Oxford University Press.
• Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1–47.
• Celce-Murcia, M., & Olshtain, E. (2000). Discourse and Context in Language Teaching: A Guide for Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press.
• Hymes, D. (1974). Foundations in Sociolinguistics: An Ethnographic Approach. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Tannen, D. (1993). Framing in Discourse. Oxford University Press.

Sample Lesson using a Frames-Based Approach

Analysis of my lesson through the lens of 'Framing in Discourse'

Assessment of My Lesson Plan by Jonathan Acuña

Nine Reflective Questions for Teacher Trainers (for newbies)

1.    How would you explain Deborah Tannen’s concept of framing to a group of language learners in simple terms?

2.    What are the most common speech events your students might encounter outside the classroom? How can these be brought into lesson planning?

3.    In what ways can discourse analysis help avoid overly artificial or decontextualized language practice?

4.    How can framing be used to teach not only language accuracy but also intercultural communication skills?

5.    Think of a recent lesson you taught—what was the frame of that lesson, and was it clear to students?

6.    How would you adapt the same speech event (e.g., ordering food) for different proficiency levels while maintaining authenticity?

7.    What challenges might arise when teaching students to recognize indirectness or politeness strategies from another culture?

8.    How can framing and speech events be integrated into skills-focused lessons (reading, writing, listening, speaking)?

9.    After observing a peer’s lesson, how would you evaluate whether the framing was clear, authentic, and effective?

Framing Discourse in the ELT Classroom by Jonathan Acuña