L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature
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An empirically grounded theory of literary development: Teachers\u27 pedagogical content knowledge on literary development in upper secondary education
Get PDFTeachers encounter immense variety in literary competence among students in their secondary school classrooms. Yet, little is known about how they perceive and deal with this variety. Moreover, little is known about the literary development that students undergo during their school career and the different levels of development that can be identified. The aim of the present study is to design an instrument that can help to describe relevant differences in literary competence between students and to specify the individual literary development process of students in upper secondary education (aged 15-18). To tie in with teaching practice, we designed a research method by which we could explore the shared pedagogical content knowledge of a diverse group of six expert teachers. With the aid of questionnaires and panel discussions, data was collected on the following question: what does a student with a particular level of literary competence demonstrate with a particular literary text? The data analysis resulted in 14 indicators of literary competence which we then used to describe six successive competence levels. These levels are validated by both developmental theory and the practice of literature teaching
Minding metaphors: Rethinking the ecology of written language
Get PDFThe field of reading and literacy studies has undergone large changes in the past three decades. A branch referred to as New Literacy Studies has established itself alongside the traditional school of psychological reading research, and in general there has been a continuous effort to bring together individual and social aspects of literacy. The approach of the present article is rooted in the rhetoric of science and explores metaphorical barriers to cross-disciplinary understanding. More specifically, it revisits David Barton\u27s metaphorical understanding of literacy as an ecology of written language, originally intended to draw the social and the psychological together. The article discusses the marginalisation of the individual in Social Turn theories in general and in the ecology framework in particular. An understanding of involvement and eventness is suggested that makes room for the individual and thus also improves the precision of the framework. Rethinking ecology along this line of thought might enrich the ecology metaphor in the study of reading and literacy in a way that makes it meaningful from a psychological perspective
Understanding metaphors in poetic texts: Towards a determination of interpretative operations in secondary school students\u27 engagement with imagery
Get PDFMetaphorical language plays an important role in literature education. Though it is not exclusive to poetic language it seems to have more prominence in literature than in other texts and an awareness of imagery can often be observed with experienced readers. However, so far little is known about how competences in the field of metaphor and figurative language develop. This article presents a think-aloud-study with students of different years in secondary education who all read the same poem. On the basis of this study and previous research we can distinguish criteria which allow for the determination of difficulty in poetic metaphor. We also develop a coding system and characterise interpretative operations. Results show that development of competences is certainly linked to cognitive development but probably also much influenced by other factors including classroom practices. The article also discusses methodological issues and draws conclusions for future research
Applied stylistic approaches to the teaching of literary texts
Get PDFAdvocates of applied stylistics consider that vocabulary in literary texts is not always predictable from form alone (sometimes deliberately) and that reader interpretation can be assisted through recognition of how specific literary devices function. This might include an examination of how various writers exploit certain registers and unique lexical choices to convey meaning in their work. For instance, some writers mix styles that occasionally combine casual, conversational tones with elevated Classical, Biblical, or Romantic themes in a way that undercuts their subject matter. Such techniques can serve to defamiliarize a reader and thereby heighten their intuitive response to the text. Stylistic interpretive procedures become, therefore, a necessity for literature classrooms in both first and second language settings. Close examination of the lexical and structural elements embedded in literary texts is an effective way of illustrating for learners (particularly at the intermediate and advanced levels) how certain referential and representational aspects of language may be utilized. A teacher\u27s role can be to assist with the decoding of such texts by guiding students through a close examination of the function of these features. Analysis of this kind is valuable because it can inform the teaching of grammar and lexis as well as discourse and serve as a basis for literary text curricula and course design
Instructional theory of language lessons
Get PDFSince the Lisbon Summit in 2000, reducing school dropout rates has a high priority in Europe, especially in pre-vocational tracks in secondary education. One policy issue is improving the match between pre-vocational secondary and senior secondary vocational education and allows a stronger focus on practical work in vocational education. Therefore, more and more schools for secondary pre-vocational education in the Netherlands set out a specific language education policy relating the language arts curriculum to the vocational curriculum. One assumes that students will be more motivated for language lessons when they are engaged in rich contexts, in meaningful language activities which they experience as relevant, since it serves a clear communicative purpose. To guide this process of curriculum integration we set out an instructional theory for language education in the setting of pre-vocational education. In this paper we present four course design parameters that constitute our interpretation of a community of learners for secondary pre- vocational L1-learning: 1) language learning as a meaningful activity; 2) language learning as a reflective activity; 3) language learning as a shared activity and 4) language learning as a focus on transferable learning outcomes. To check explore the practicality and theoretical value, we set up a design experiment as a collaborative enterprise of teachers and researchers, in which these parameters guided the joint enterprise. We confronted the theoretical framework with the analysis of a single case study, the design experiment, to elaborate and validate this set of four design parameters. Therefore, we operated at three curriculum representations: the (1) intended; (2) implemented; and (3) perceived curriculum. Discriminating these three representations served as data to review and revise the designed lessons as we ran them in two classes, as well as to adjust and refine the conceptual framework. The results show that the designers incorporated all four parameters and that all four contributed to the design somehow. Furthermore, we are better informed what kind of learning activities the four parameters can and can not generate, and how the four parameters interact in means-end relations
Using trend line data to plan and evaluate literacy instruction
Get PDFThe use of the split-middle line of progress, trend line, to measure teacher effectiveness in the literacy field is discussed. Three case studies are presented to illustrate the use of trend lines in evaluating best practices in providing effective literacy instruction for students in elementary classrooms. Initiating interactive dialogue and shared reading responses are the two strategies used to represent the probability of performance change in planning literacy lesson instruction. This discussion is an innovative use in the literacy field of observational data recording that graphically demonstrates inclining and declining confirmed effect and interpretive probability. The authors\u27 intentions are to challenge educators to more closely examine graphic representation or reflect upon the frequency of use and effectiveness of reading strategies that may improve reading performance in literacy settings
Family resources and students\u27 reading attainment: Capitalising on home factors
Get PDFAn examination is reported of data from \u27The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study\u27 (PIRLS) 2001, with samples of 5,050 Hong Kong Grade 4 students, 5,050 parents, 147 teachers and 147 school principals. The analyses examine the relationship between family capital (financial, human and social) variables and students’ reading comprehension of informational and literary texts. Positive correlations were found between reading attainment and most family variables, with parents who read regularly to their children helping to promote reading competence in their offspring. These parents are well placed to provide a stimulating learning home environment for their children and serve as positive role models. Regression analyses of the data support the expectation that children accustomed to books and exposed to reading at home are not overwhelmed by the reading assignments they encounter in school. Negative correlations were found that reflect cultural idiosyncrasies. For example, the traditional unwillingness of Chinese parents to be seen going to the school to talk about their children’s scholastic progress. It is suggested that many parents in Hong Kong possess the wherewithal to assist their children to learn to read with understanding but that some need guidance from schools about using their influence to ensure the best effect
Deaf adults and comprehension of expository texts
Get PDFThe study presents a comparison between deaf participants´ (14-65 years of age) comprehension of expository texts. Each participant was exposed to 12 texts with regard to the following four differ-ent conditions: 1. Silent reading of an authentic text. 2. Viewing of a videotaped signed authentic text 3. Silent reading of an easy-to-read text 4. Viewing of a videotaped signed easy-to-read- text. The conditions were counterbalanced in order to control order and passage effects. The good deaf readers had a higher mean score than the poor deaf readers on all text versions. There was a significant difference in mean scores between good deaf and poor deaf readers on the easy-to-read text version. How then can the results be explained? All of the easy-to-read texts were much shorter than the authentic texts. However, since there has to be the identical content as in the authentic texts, there was much implicit information in the easy-to-read texts. Consequently, the reader needs prior knowledge and reading experience to fill in the missing information in the text. A conclusion is that the easy-to-read texts did not serve their purpose then since the process of simplification itself has given rise to the removal of structures that are relevant to facilitate understanding
Coming closer to literature: Learning and instruction in a constructivist spirit
Get PDFThe Israeli educational system is a centralist one—the Ministry of Education sets goals and objectives, establishes detailed curricula, and maintains a supervisory mechanism. One of the objectives set for teachers, beginning in 2007, was a transition to meaningful learning and teaching, using "thinking development teaching". To attain this objective, the supervisory body for the teaching of literature runs in-service programs for teachers, aimed at introducing the teachers to approaches to thinking development in the teaching of literature. Teaching that emphasizes the fostering of cognitive skills requires a change in the perception of the roles of teacher and student as well as a change in teaching and learning strate-gies, in learning environments and in methods of evaluation. The process of teaching and learning that fosters cognitive skills is based on constructivist principles of education This article presents a study conducted among 79 teachers of literature in junior high schools and high schools in Israel, who participated in in-service programs for teachers, in 2007-2008. The study was carried out using a mixed method, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings present a picture of teachers’ attitudes toward the goals of teaching literature and of the school teaching environment in general and of that of teaching/learning in literature classes. It also demonstrates that teachers hold constructivist attitudes toward teaching while exercising conservative teaching behavior
Rhetorical modes at play: An exercise in literary and creative writing research practice explored
Get PDFThis paper examines the complexity of fictocritical writing as a form which draws together creative writing, literary and cultural theory, and self-reflexive writing to create a hybrid text as a scholarly genre in research. Encouraging students to combine creative and critical work in literary studies or in writing courses, allows them to build a bridge between ways of responding to texts which are traditionally taught and assessed as two distinct forms. The paper uses the example of an undergraduate student’s Honours thesis as a catalyst for discussing the nature of fictocritical writing. Fictocritical work as a scholarly genre offers different possibilities for combining theoretical and creative approaches to responding to and pro-ducing texts; it offers a bridge between the creative and theoretical in research, either in the discipline of creative writing or in literary studies