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Open research questions in Discourse Analysis in Language Studies

474 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 5,060 Discourse Analysis in Language Studies papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The study identifies a gap in understanding the influence of early academic experiences on EAP teachers' perceptions and practices of teaching writing. The research highlights the need to consider teachers' prior experiences in teacher education. The study aims to address the lack of research on the impact of academic literacies theory on teachers' approaches to teaching writing.

    The Impact of Early Academic Experiences on EAP Teachers’ Perceptions and Practice of Teaching Writing in Higher Education · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies the challenge of analyzing the linguistic aspects of Saudization. It mentions the need to understand the evaluative prosodies associated with the term 'Saudization'. The study highlights the importance of considering the ideological representations of Saudization in MSA discourse.

    Collocational Patterns and Semantic Prosodies of “Saudization” in Modern Standard Arabic Discourse: A Corpus-Based Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a scarcity of research that uses corpus tools for the investigation of Arabic discourse, particularly concerning Saudi labor market policy. The linguistic aspects of Saudization remain underexplored.

    Collocational Patterns and Semantic Prosodies of “Saudization” in Modern Standard Arabic Discourse: A Corpus-Based Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • small sample size, - limited by practical considerations, - identities are protected by pseudonyms

    The Impact of Early Academic Experiences on EAP Teachers’ Perceptions and Practice of Teaching Writing in Higher Education · 2026 · DOI

  • Academic discourse is evolving rapidly under the dual pressures of global scientization and local academic capitalism, yet how these systemic forces reshape the stylistic norms of non-Anglophone communities remains underexplored.

    Stylistic Changes of Academic Discourse in Chinese Foreign Linguistics: A Diachronic Analysis of Thematic Evolution, Syntactic Complexification, and Evaluative Positivization in CSSCI-Listed Journal Abstracts (2004–2023) · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite the existing scholarship on the contrastive genre-based studies of research abstracts across contexts and cultures, this strand of research is underexplored in Vietnam.

    Rhetorical Moves and Linguistic Realisations of Economics Research Article Abstracts in International and Vietnam-Based Journals · 2025 · DOI

  • Diachronic research on discourse markers (DMs) has gained momentum in recent years, but the international community has only seen a few studies on the evolution of Chinese discourse markers (CDMs).

    Diachronic Research on Chinese Discourse Markers in China: Looking Back and Moving Forward · 2025 · DOI

  • Regarding metadiscourse of 3MT genre, much attention has been paid to the interactional features, while its interactive features have been underexplored.

    Metadiscourse in Three Minute Thesis Presentations: An Interdisciplinary Perspective · 2025 · DOI

  • Discursive practice in political discourse translation is an underexplored research area from the perspective of critical discourse analysis.

    Discursive practices in translating political discourse: insights from white papers on China-US economic and trade frictions · 2025 · DOI

  • However, little is known about whether L2 writers adopt different combinations of approaches in academic writing contexts and what factors predict such combinations.

    Profiles of Approaches to Writing and Their Links to Self-Efficacy and LLM Acceptance in L2 Academic Writing · 2025 · DOI

  • The paper concludes by calling for further research on the impact of formulaic expressions on attainment scores in L2 writing.

    Unlocking the Mysteries of Academic Writing: A Corpus-based Analysis of Lexical Bundles in L2 English for Engineering Students · 2024 · DOI

  • However, the important research topics, methods, and divergent viewpoints within ADS remain unclear.

    Visualizing the Knowledge Domain of Academic Discourse Studies at the Beginning of 21st Century: A Bibliometric Analysis · 2024 · DOI

  • Abstract A few studies have explored the use of interactional metadiscourse markers in argumentative writing by male and female college students.

    The use of interactional metadiscourse markers by Saudi EFL male and female college students: the case of a gender-sensitive topic · 2024 · DOI

  • toute une aerie de problemes B des le (8) d'emploi, resoudre. and 9 : (9) Un l'o n veut remp1acer les et rangers. effort doit etre fait dans l'enseignement superieur si o f the enunc iator in the text. tw o more occurren c e of "doit", wh ich show two structures of g iv e a

    On the Metho Dology of Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis · 1987 · DOI

  • Students lack genre awareness. Students rely on previously acquired essay-writing conventions. Students struggle with using language as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

    CHALLENGES IN TEACHING BUSINESS REPORT WRITING TO MULTILINGUAL STUDENTS · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the educational approach to teaching business report writing. The paper argues that the previous educational approach is the main reason students struggle to adapt to a new genre.

    CHALLENGES IN TEACHING BUSINESS REPORT WRITING TO MULTILINGUAL STUDENTS · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to critically examine how language mediates ideological positioning in coverage of social justice movements. Prior work has not fully addressed the role of media discourse in shaping public opinion on racial justice issues.

    From Protest to Propaganda: A Raciolinguistic-CDA Analysis of Media's Role in Shaping Racial Justice · 2026 · DOI

  • While the findings of this study offer valuable insights, several limitations should be acknowledged. First, the study was initially based on a preliminary corpus of six articles drawn from three media categories (i.e., liberal, neutral, and conservative). Although the dataset was subsequently expanded to fifteen articles, the corpus remains relatively limited in scale, which constrains the extent to which the findings can be generalized across the broader media landscape. Larger datasets may reveal more extensive and consistent discursive patterns. Second, the scope of the study is geographically and linguistically bounded. The analysis focuses exclusively on English-language media sources, which may exclude alternative perspectives, particularly those emerging from international or multilingual contexts that could frame the BLM protests differently. Third, the analysis is restricted to a specific temporal window, namely, from May 26 to June 7, 2020, capturing discourse within the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s death. As such, the study does not account for how media representations may evolve over longer periods or in response to subsequent developments. Fourth, while the corpus-assisted CDA approach enables systematic analysis of linguistic patterns, it is limited in its ability to incorporate broader contextual dimensions beyond the textual data. Complementary methods, such 62 Language, Discourse & Society, vol. 14, no. 1(27), 2026DOI: as ethnographic interviews with journalists or audience reception studies, could provide additional layers of insight and should be considered in future research. Lastly, as with all critical discourse analysis, the interpretive nature of the methodology introduces the possibility of researcher subjectivity. Although the study employs a triangulated theoretical framework to enhance analytical rigor, alternative interpretations may still emerge. Future studies could benefit from collaborative analyses involving multiple researchers, as well as from incorporating extended timeframes and intersectional perspectives. Accordingly, the findings should be interpreted as exploratory in nature and illustrative of discursive tendencies within the selected corpus rather than as definitive generalizations about the entire media landscape.

    From Protest to Propaganda: A Raciolinguistic-CDA Analysis of Media's Role in Shaping Racial Justice · 2026 · DOI

  • The complexity of designing EFL teaching materials that account for multiple semiotic resources. The need to move beyond approaches that focus solely on verbal language. The challenge of creating materials that support learners' interpretation, engagement, and communicative competence in multimodal environments.

    Multimodal Discourse Analysis with English Teaching Materials Design · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of consideration of multiple semiotic resources in EFL teaching materials design. The need for a more comprehensive approach to materials design that accounts for how different semiotic resources interact to shape meaning.

    Multimodal Discourse Analysis with English Teaching Materials Design · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of the usage patterns of epistemic lexical verbs. The gap is related to the lack of systematic analysis of the differences between 'argue', 'claim', and 'note' in terms of frequency, register, collocation, and colligation.

    Epistemic Lexical Verbs Based on the COCA Corpus: A Study of “Argue”, “Note” and “Claim” · 2026 · DOI

  • EFL students often face challenges with academic writing conventions. The lack of emphasis on rhetorical and interpersonal aspects of writing.

    METADISCOURSE AS A LINGUISTIC PHENOMENON IN EFL ACADEMIC WRITING · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should prioritize longitudinal designs. The study suggests that geographical diversification and culturally responsive assessment frameworks are needed. The review highlights the importance of further research on the development of rhetorical competence in EFL academic writing.

    From Genre Awareness to Argumentative Sophistication: A Systematic Review of Rhetorical Competence Development in EFL Academic Writing · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of comparative studies on hedges in English and Chinese academic writing. The need to investigate the use of hedges in different languages and academic contexts.

    A Corpus-Based Comparative Study of Hedges in English and Chinese Research Articles · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies can examine the effectiveness of multimodal persuasion strategies in different contexts. Research can investigate the impact of English learning advertisements on consumer behavior.

    Multimodal Persuasion Strategies in English Learning Advertisements · 2026 · DOI

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474 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 5,060 Discourse Analysis in Language Studies papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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