The use of the language made by students taking English language as a subject at the UOC

Abstract

This study analyses the use of English in the e-mail messages of students taking English language as a subject at the UOC. The study is based mainly on the hedges (a strategy by which the learners mitigate and tone down their discourse) appearing in their texts. The article begins by describing the general theoretical framework of the study and the objective of the research carried out. A description is then given of the taxonomy used in the research, along with a description of the subjects studied. The results obtained from the study of the messages are shown, and the conclusions drawn from all the research data are then explained in detail. Essentially, after evaluating all the data obtained from this research, it can be said that the UOC fosters and boosts the process of English language learning, due to the nature of the messages in the subject, as these promote the autonomy and critical awareness of the students.

Keywords

• ús de la llengua
• missatges electrònics
• procés d'aprenentatge de la llengua anglesa