L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature
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The beliefs of primary education teachers regarding writing and grammar instruction
Get PDFThis paper presents the results of a study on the beliefs of eight primary-education teachers in Catalonia (Spain) regarding writing instruction and its relationship with grammar instruction. The declared practices of four second-grade primary teachers and four fourth-grade primary teachers from six different educational centers of the Barcelona metropolitan area were analyzed through a semi-structured interview, which was analyzed following a mixed-method approach. The results of the analysis show that teachers\u27 beliefs about teaching writing revolve around how to manage the writing tasks in the classroom and that their beliefs about the relationship between teaching writing and grammar are based on sentence grammar (as opposed to textual grammar). These beliefs are considered evidence of epistemological and methodological obstacles to teaching writing and grammar in an integrated way
Do effective practices for teaching writing change students\u27 relationship to writing? Exploratory study with students aged 10-12 years
Get PDFThe present research aims to highlight the impact of effective writing instruction on 1) the progress that students can make in their written products and 2) the relationship that students have with writing. It is not yet known what influence such instruction can have on primary school students\u27 relationship with writing, particularly the emotional, conceptual and axiological dimensions of this relationship. Writing instruction that includes known effective practices was contrasted with a teacher\u27s usual practices. Two classes of 10- to 12-year-old students (a total of 40 students) were given instruction aimed at supporting their production of the same kind of text, but based on either usual practices or known effective practic-es. The results show that writing instruction that implements effective practices leads to greater progress by students than a teacher\u27s usual practices. In addition, students who experienced the system combining effective principles for teaching writing reported an improvement in their relationship with writing
Emotions while reading literature in multicultural groups
Get PDFThe article presents a qualitative hermeneutic study on literary interpretive interaction in multicultural teachers\u27 groups. Participants were Jewish and Arab teachers in Israel who read a story by Kafka. The objectives of the study were to learn in what ways readers express emotions towards the Other in the text as well as the Others in their learning groups. The activity aimed at generating a literary interpretive discourse and promoting interactive learning involving willingness to face the Other with keen attention and dignity. Learners\u27 oral and written interactions with the Other—in the text and with peers—were examined. The findings indicate a variety of ways of relating to the textual Other by filling textual gaps, interpreting symbols and explicitly expressing emotions. The interaction among the learners was characterized by (1) acquaintance and seating arrangements; (2) cooperation; (3) sharing; (4) facing the Other. However, not all participants expressed receptive emotions, especially towards their groupmates. The study has implications for the teaching of literature in multicultural classrooms
Reflections on teaching devices articulating grammar and text
Get PDFOver and above the theoretical questions it raises, the interaction between grammar and text is a particularly open problem, constituting a real challenge for language teaching and teacher training. In this article, we will first examine the origins and characteristics of this problem, as it emerged several decades ago and as it appears today in the cantons of French-speaking Switzerland. We will then examine theoretical and pedagogical conceptions of the status of grammars and texts, and present the goals of grammar teaching so as to understand how the teaching problem that articulates grammar and texts is anchored in it. Then we will describe elements of a research program on this type of articulation which we are conducting in French-speaking Switzerland with the GRAFE\u27MAIRE group. This program, called \u27Principles of a fundamental didactics of grammar\u27, is particularly focused on the function of noun phrase complements and the values of past tenses. The experimental part of our research is ongoing, but as we will indicate in the conclusion, preparatory analyses of these experiments have revealed the need for a serious re-examination of the very status of these grammatical objects, and the efficient pedagogical approaches they require
Communicating metaknowledge to L2 learners: A fragile scaffold for participation in subject-related discourse?
Get PDFIn this article, I highlight how two teachers seek to scaffold second language learners\u27 use of language and engagement with texts in Grade 1 and 6. The aim is to explore the communication of metaknowledge in classroom discourse, more specifically, the communication of knowledge about language and metacognitive reading strategies. Two teachers participated in the study, and data were gathered through observa-tions, voice recordings, and the collection of teaching materials. Bernstein\u27s sociology of education is operationalized to reveal different aspects of framing during teaching activities in second language teaching and geography. Drawing upon systemic-functional linguistics, I show how metaknowledge was fore-grounded by the teacher in ways that sometimes de-emphasized the subject-related texts and concepts expected to be at the center of the teaching. An important empirical finding is that the foregrounding of metaknowledge such as features of the language and cognitive reading strategies in teaching can result in a pseudo-visible modality of pedagogy that provides insufficient scaffolding for dealing with subject-related texts and participating substantially in classroom discourse. Implications for teaching are discussed
Teachers\u27 reading promotion activities: Variation, structure and correlates
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to determine which different forms of reading promotion activities teachers perform in fifth and sixth grade in The Netherlands and whether different forms of reading promotion activities are acted out independently or cluster into meaningful categories of reading promotion behavior. A survey was administered to 194 teachers and data was analyzed using Principal Component Analyses (PCA). Based on the results of the PCA thirteen different types of reading promotion behavior can be distinguished. Specific teacher and class characteristics are connected with the different types of reading promotion activities teachers perform. Teachers seem to be mainly focusing on promoting the reading of fictional texts. Free reading happens most often, and teachers frequently use comics and short stories in class. Most daily activities take little or no preparation. Correlations are small but do suggest that teachers act out more different forms of reading promotion activities when there are more girls are in class than boys. Also, classes with more girls act out more activities concerning new media and nonfiction
Research on L1 grammar in schooling: Mediation at the heart of learning grammar
Get PDFEducational linguistics lays at the interface of contributions from linguistics (in our case focused on L1) and education. It aims at teaching students in compulsory schooling how to engage in fruitful reflection when facing both language in use (especially in the written mode) and language as a system, approaching language as something worthwhile exploring and targeting the development of students\u27 encyclopaedic knowledge about it. In this context, the educational game can be seen as a process in which specific contents are made accessible to specific learners through mediation, which comprises well-articulated conceptual systems, as well as methodological procedures, directly provided by teachers in the classroom. Nonetheless, such mediation can indirectly be provided by other agents (curriculum theorists, linguists, material designers, etc.), and this is the focus of the papers in this special issue: the role of linguistics, teachers\u27 beliefs and preparedness, the role of grammar in the curriculum, the concepts of sentence, and the difficulties in linking grammar knowledge and knowledge on language use. The ultimate goal of this special issue is to contribute a common ground for a debate
Identifying student- and class-level correlates of sixth-grade students\u27 listening comprehension
Get PDFDespite the importance of listening, little investigation of potential correlates of listening comprehension in the language of schooling is done. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate which stu-dent- and class-level characteristics are related to sixth-grade students\u27 listening skills in Flanders. A sample of 974 students in 70 classes completed a listening test in order to gather information on their ability to understand and interpret oral information. Further, different questionnaires were administered to the students, their parents and teachers. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis with multi-level design showed that the differences in listening comprehension skills could be primarily attributed to differences in student-level characteristics. The results indicated that students with higher working memory ability, more vocabulary knowledge and lower extrinsic listening motivation performed signifi-cantly better on the listening test. In addition, the educational level of the parents and the language diversity in the class was significantly related to students\u27 listening skills in the language of schooling. This study is an important starting point in unraveling the black box of listening skills in the elementary school context. Suggestions for further research and practice were made
Comparative analysis of the approach to L1 oracy in Polish and Portuguese early education curricula
Get PDFThe aim of our paper is to describe and examine the approach to oracy in core curricula in two European countries: Poland and Portugal. In the paper, we examine kindergarten and early education L1 curricula, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, similarities and differences, and discuss theoretical positions that support the guiding documents of the educational activities in the two countries.
Though Polish and Portuguese early education recommendations and obligations include teaching oracy, the importance they put on its development is quite dissimilar. Polish legislation focuses on teaching literacy. The term “oracy” is not used, and oracy itself is treated as a sub-category with specific require-ments concerning most elementary forms of expression, e. g. naming or answering questions. Portuguese legislation lists orality among four main educational components, together with reading and writing, liter-ary education, and grammar. The term “orality” corresponds to oracy, and is treated as a tool for both expression and comprehension, and a prerequisite for advanced cognitive skills.
We think that the development of oracy in early education should be considered a priority, together with the development of literacy, taking into account its importance for the children\u27s future academic achievement and active citizenship
The effects of teaching strategies on primary school students\u27 reading outcomes and interest in reading
Get PDFTeaching text comprehension in primary school aims to develop long-lasting skills. This study assessed the direct and indirect effects of teaching strategies on students\u27 reading and interest in reading in primary school. Two hundred and twenty Estonian primary school students and their 18 native language teachers participated in the study. Correlation analysis indicated that students who achieved better results in reading and who were interested in reading in grade 1 had better results in vocabulary, text comprehen-sion and reading interest in grade 3. Moreover, students\u27 vocabulary acquisition and text comprehension in grades 1 and 3 were associated with the promotion of students\u27 reading interest by teachers in grade 3. A structural equation model revealed that the frequent use of teaching strategies by teachers in grade 1 had a small positive longitudinal effect on students\u27 reading outcomes and interest in reading in grade 3. Knowledge of the different effects of teaching strategies on students\u27 reading outcomes and interest in reading would optimally promote students\u27 text comprehension