English Language Teaching in Its Social Context - Research Proposal Example

359143 - EXAMINING SMALL GROUP TALK Aims: When they first start school, children are faced with a whole series of demands and expectations in a social order that is completely new to them and challenges them and their security in the most fundamental manner. Feagans (1996) believes that this happens given the fact that they are away from their parents and their homes in an alien environment. This therefore is a potentially important transition in any given child’s life. The category of school talk and conversations that children have in school are probably ones that would shape their conversational and personality abilities in the longer run. One can also understand the nature of the child’s mind through an examination of the conversation that the kids have in the peer group setting. The following is an analysis wherein we study the suggested categorizations of utterances in group talk as a framework to analyze the features of discussion in a small group discussions. Participants: For this purpose the analysis will consist first and foremost a transcribed conversation approximately 10 minutes in length that took place between three girls aged 7-8 about school and the problems that they face. S1 and S3 are eight years old while S2 is a seven year old girl. The quality of discussion will come into focus and the one will also discuss the extent to which the instructions and the nature of the group task given might have influenced the quality of the discussion and language use. The discussion will end with n outline of the discussion on teaching implications. The class was divided in six groups of three each. The target groups selected was that of three girls, aged 7 and 8. Video conferencing was used with a camera and each of the children were required to wear a vest containing a wireless devices. The children wore these vests heightening the sense of something special. The language of the children was recorded by the teacher sitting near the tape and the recorder. Cameron (2003) believes that the equipment was set so that the researcher/observer was in view of the group and could observe body language, facial expressions and other related contexts. Methodology and ethical considerations: The observations would at best provide insights into conversational strategies, and the way in which they are to manage certain activities or their understanding of certain concepts. Candlin and Mercer (2003) states that the research will be ethical given the fact that it would take into consideration in the interests of the research participants- the methods used therefore will aim at the minimization of inconvenience caused, it will seek the protection of privacy and yet seek to carry research out on participants. There would have to be adequate time given to the research, given the fact that considerations for audio recordings would have to be kept in mind. There is the point that research equipment to be used are not routinely used, there would time be needed for collection of equipment, setting it up and getting it checked. The students were told that they would have to talk about whether or not they like school and if they do the things they do like and if they don’t, they were asked to express their dislikes in terms of reasons and issues. They were not given strict boundaries or subjects that they could discuss, the idea was to get the children to talk, and communicate, form friendships based on this communication. Discussion Candling and Mercer (2003) accepts that Transcript is an interpretation of the event that is about to occur or has already occurred. Given, this fact therefore there would automatically be an element of subjectivity in any given transcript. The following transcript is a portion of the conversation fifteen minute conversation that happened between the three girls, for privacy’s sake, we shall name the three participants as S1, S2 and S3. In the following transcript, we have used a simple technique where in the conversation have been kept simple. The layout is standard and a brief extract of the talk. It has also been transcribed keeping in mind a technique where in one person talks at a time. The transcript also highlights, verbal and non verbal implications of the conversation. The classroom is a setting wherein English is the used medium instruction and communication. This particular aspect of the discussion was selected given the fact that it was in this section of the discussion that the reasoning aspects of the students were most evident and the fact that the discussion of the three girls achieves some levels of significance. Results The idea in the experiment was to test the power of communication and language through the offices of a small talk discussion experiment and to figure out whether or not this would have an implication in the longer group dynamics of the class. When paired with two of the more talkative kids, S2 usually a sulky child and a loner more often than not, turned out to be a lot more outspoken when placed in the small talk group setting where it was made mandatory for her to interact with her peers. There was also an exchange where in the teacher was able to get cues into the minds of the learners with respect to their subject preferences and the reasons that they had for preferring one subject over the other. The research has therefore demonstrated the advantages of raising the learner’s awareness both, of how they talk together how language could be used as a tool for reasoning and problem solving. This, scholars like Cameron (2002) argue, relates to the presence of exploratory talk, the constructively challenging kind of talk in which reasoning is made visible, alternatives are offered and agreement is sought. The development of such talk, depends in essence on the introduction of ground rules for exploratory talk, the effectiveness of teacher talk and the creation of communities of enquiry in the classroom. Conclusion and teaching implication: Spoken language is an integral dimension of literacy, since all societies are fundamentally oral (Meek, 1991). Our understanding of literacy must encompass and recognize such orality. Learners would therefore need to have opportunities for the usage of language as a tool of communication, enquiry, reflection and knowledge creation. Pressures of target setting and curriculum therefore must not cloud the importance of communication skill development in children and learners. Practices which ignore this rule would automatically lead to a widening gap between the rhetoric and the reality of classroom practice. Hinkel (2005) states that the profile of oracy therefore can be raise through the development knowledge about the importance of talk and enabling oneself to understand more fully how grown children learn the usage of language for collective and individual thinking. Finally, one could state that a group talk is often interesting- the most interesting part is the most defining notions of the roles of the students as participants of the study. What one understands from this experiment is that talk allows pupils from different cultural backgrounds greater freedom to express themselves and bring their knowledge into the classroom. It can create space and recognizes the validity of different view points and forms of knowledge. The best teaching implication that one could find was that students encounter new information or engage in an experience that provides the basis for their learning. Transcript S1 Where do you guys live? Cumulative S2 I stay about 10 minutes from school Cumulative S3 S2 I love school but I like the playground time most. Hypothetical/exploratory S1 Yes yes yes…last week I fell down and Andrew came and helped me up. My brother also goes to our school…S2, do you like school? Reasoned S2 I guess Desultory S2 Why do you like the playground Cumulative S3 I like it because it is bigger than the one at home and the slide is my most favorite thing in the playground. Also I like the sand box and playing with my friend Reasoned/ Evaluative S1 But I miss home at times. When I first started coming to school, I was very scared and cried at home. I used to miss mommy and my pet dog. Hypothetical/exploratory/ reasoned S2 I still miss my fish. He died last year Hypothetical/exploratory S1 How did he die? Cumulative S3 You like fishes? I can make a fish face. I saw it on TV Cumulative S2: Yes Evaluative S3: I like the science class where we get to play with all the fishes and animals and stuff. Evaluative/Reasoned S1: I don’t like studying. My most favorite thing to do is run on the grounds. I think Ms. Graham is so pretty and smart. Cumulative/ Reasoned to an extent S3: I feel tired when I play in the ground for long time. Because I start sneezing and stuff… it makes my chest hurt Desultory/ Evaluative The conversation at the beginning had many pauses, As if none of the three were sure about what to say. Each one is looking at the other two. S2, fidgety starts looking about the room in the obvious hope of a distraction. The conversation then slowly veered away from the instructions and yet this observer felt at loath to interrupt given the fact that the three kids were talking to each other and seemed to have established a rapport and reached a level of relative comfort with each other’s presence. Reference: Grainger T, The Routledge Falmer reader in language and literacy, pub, Routledge, pp7-11 Feagans L V, Children's talk in communities and classrooms, pub, Wiley books, pp115-120 Riley N R, Investigating the impact of ICT- based multimodal mapping in developing effective learning dialogues, pub, Project Report, Institute of Education , accessed November 6, 2009, < http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:Idu8TWPj-5cJ:www.mirandanet.ac.uk/ejournal/uploads/463/IOE_mirandanetpres_02.07.07N.Riley.ppt+Transcribed+data,+small+group+talk&cd=20&hl=en&ct=clnk> Hinkel I, 2005, Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning, pub, Routledge, pp369-370 Candlin C and Mercer N, English language teaching in its social context: a reader, pub, Routledge, pp323-330 Carter, R. (2003). The grammar of talk: spoken English, grammar and the classroom. In New Perspectives on Spoken English in the Classroom, London: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. pp. 5-14 Goh, C. (2003). Speech as a Psycholinguistic Process: the Missing Link in Oral Lessons. Review of Research and Advances for Classroom Teachers, 22, pp. 31-41. Cameron, D. (2003). Schooling spoken language: beyond ‘communication’ In New Perspectives on Spoken English in the Classroom. (pp. 64-72.) London: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority Read More