Presentation of the volume: Between the lines and through metaphors: Emerging voices in discourse analysis

Resumen

This volume of Jovénes en la Ciencia brings together five articles written by students of the 4th semester in the B.A. in TESOL at the University of Guanajuato. These papers present a collection of mini-scale studies were the students analyzed the metaphors found in texts such as songs, interviews and bible chapters. The papers demonstrate the competencies gained by students after taking the course on Discourse Analysis as part of their training as English teachers.

Through their analysis the authors exercise their critical thinking skills. During the course, the students worked systematically to understand concepts and to gain theoretical foundations to engage in a process of text analysis beyond language. This process led them to develop a methodology that would guide the analysis of the texts they chose to work with. The analytic work therefore focused on describing and guiding the readers to see how meaning is constructed through the use of discourse to unveil issues of ideology, power and hegemony, or in other cases, to explain how rhetoric devices such as metaphors allow to explain complex concepts with the purpose of creating meaningful messages for the audiences who consume these kinds of texts that are part of our everyday activities.

The student-authors of the papers in this volume come from different backgrounds and have rich linguistic repertoires that include at least two languages. Their work is presented in English as this the language used as a medium of instruction in the B.A. in TESOL. Writing in English in this case, adds a special value to the work of the authors as they are in the process of developing and improving their academic language skills. As future English teachers having had this experience of writing, looking up references, reading, negotiating the use of AI and editing for publication makes them aware of the challenges found in writing. As the lecturer in charge of this course, I hope that this process translates into a learning experience that will undoubtly strengthen their confidence both as students and in their future teaching practice.