Investigating Female Students Use of Discourse Markers in Writing: A Linguistic Study at an EFL Context

Abstract

Discourse markers (DMs), as a set of language elements, are essential for structuring written material, indicating connections between concepts and ideas, and improving coherence in written texts. Gaining an understanding of how EFL students use DMs help better understand students writing ability, language growth, and textual organizing techniques. This study aimed to investigate female students use of DMs in writing. This was achieved through discovering the patterns of markers usage, potential challenges faced by learners, and strategies for enhancing the effective use of DMs in written English. A comparative analysis of texts produced by 24 female students (EFL setting) at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia was applied to fulfill the aim of the study. The results of this study showed that Saudi female students employ a relatively small variety of DMs. The use of restricted variety of DMs is the main focus of their writing. The most frequently DMs used are "and," "or," "as," "so," and "if". Nevertheless, the accuracy of these DMs is low. However, the amount of other DMs used by them is very low. Finally, this study draws a significant contribution to the study of second languages as it focused on exploring the discourse markers frequently used that enable teachers to pay attention to and work forward to encourage students to vary their use of DMs in their writing.