Interdiscursivity of incident reports in an oil and gas company and its implications for english for specific purposes

Abstract

Professional communication ensures efficiency in the professional world. In understanding the professional world, discursive realities such as the use of professional genres, professional cultures and professional practices need to be highlighted. This will help to prepare learners for the real world as calls have been made to bridge the gap between what the academic programmes offer and what the professional world requires. One approach that will be able to bridge the gap is Interdiscursivity approach which refers to the relationship that a discourse has with other discourses in realizing the meaning of professional genres. Apart from that, text-external boundaries which referred to professional genre, cultures and practices are also essential in discovering why professional genres are written in a particular manner. Data for the study were collected from three sources. Firstly, a survey was conducted among 100 oil and gas engineers to identify the communicative acts performed at work such as using email, faxes, writing letters and preparing reports. Secondly, an interview was conducted with seven engineers in order to obtain qualitative data on text-external boundaries that influence the writing of the incident reports. The final data were the analysis of 15 incident reports. Data from the survey was analyzed using SPSS, the reports were analyzed using Create A Research Space (CARS) Model and text-external boundaries were analyzed using a coding procedure. Findings from the survey suggested that respondents were involved in morning briefings, giving instructions and explanation, making work-related telephone calls, writing reports, sending and receiving emails and attending meetings. Analysis of incident reports indicated that they contained descriptive, informative and instructional functions. Findings from the interview showed that text-external boundaries found in the reports were related to the safety culture of the company. Overall, the study indicated the need for a critical study of the professional world by focusing on Interdiscursivity as an interaction between professional genre, professional cultures and professional practices.