Pedagogical Stylistics in Language Learning and Teaching Contexts: A Research Review

Abstract

Despite the fact that there exists a considerable amount of literature on pedagogically-oriented stylistics, a significant number of the often-cited articles turns out to be based on trust and intuition. This is what has been accentuated by prominent figures as Hall (2007), Carter (2007, 2010), Zyngier and Fialho (2010), among others, while calling for more robust empirically-based studies. The present study is undertaken to review 13 studies published from 2015 to 2022. In doing so, an adaptation of a coding framework was employed to serve as guideline for this review study. In this vein, three overarching themes were detected: 1) stylistics as accessible toolkit for teacher training, 2) stylistics' significance in curriculum and syllabus development and 3) stylistics as an opportunity for cooperation between higher education and language teachers. By detecting these emergent themes some uncharted areas of stylistics-inspired pedagogies as well as some rectified issues were revealed. Despite this, there still remains the issue of underreporting which is indeed undermining to the credibility of pedagogical stylistics. Thus, a set of recommendations were accordingly provided for further advancement in studies concerning pedagogical stylistics.