Ways of improving comprehension through discourse processing for applied linguistics students

Abstract

The field of discourse processing offers some solutions to the challenge of promoting deep comprehension during learning. The present article sketches the basic components of discourse processing mechanisms, such as constructing explanations, asking deep-reasoning questions, tutoring, and subsequently points out how such mechanisms can be recruited to improve deep comprehension of the study material. The practical mission is viewed as designing of software (both the programming and the linguistic parts), modeling the pointed out mechanisms, which is suggested to become a part of the student-teacher research work carried out in the field of Applied Linguistics.