ELT365 · Day 203 — Linking devices and discourse markers
Idea — Linkers (however, therefore, for example) and discourse markers signal how ideas relate — contrast, result, addition. Used well they guide the reader; overused they clog the text.
Example — "It was cheap. However, it broke." — "however" flags the contrast in one word.
Try — Give learners three sentence pairs and a choice of linkers. Ask them to pick the one that fits the logical relationship.
From my training materials
A page in my CELTA training file covers connected speech, a pronunciation handout that explores how sounds change across word boundaries. While this topic focuses on spoken fluidity rather than written discourse markers, it connects to our current lesson on linking ideas through the shared skill of recognizing relationships between words. The document explains “Assimilation,” defined as when “the final consonant of one word and the initial consonant of the succeeding word change to be like the other.” It also describes “Elision,” where sounds disappear or have “zero realisation.”
Understanding these phonological processes highlights why we need clear lexical and grammatical linkers in writing and structured speech. If sounds elide in fast speech, the logical connections between ideas can become obscure to the listener. Therefore, explicit discourse markers like “however” or “therefore” serve as vital signposts. They compensate for the natural reduction of spoken language by explicitly flagging the logical relationship, ensuring that the intended meaning remains clear despite the physical blending of sounds.
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