L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature
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Writing in school contexts: Introduction to a special theme issue of L1-Educational Studies of Language and Literature
No full textResearch in writing, preschool through elementary, 1983-2003
Get PDFThe focus of this article is the research literature in written composition from early childhood through the elementary years, typically the end of sixth grade. Some research prior to 1984 is discussed, particularly in topics that were not included in Hillocks (1986), such as emergent writing. The definition of “composition” has expanded over the last decade; thus, while focusing primarily on writing, this article pays attention to other modalities (e.g., relations between drawing and writing) and includes not only writing but also other mediating tools (e.g., drawing, talking, computers) that are used in or for composition
Read-alouds in kindergarten classrooms and the nature of literary understanding
Get PDFStorytelling and read-alouds have long been integral components of the preschool and kindergarten programs. Indeed, these practices are supposed 1) to demonstrate to children the value of literature and reading through enjoyable experiences; 2) to prepare children to learn to read through the development of linguistic and cognitive skills. These practices, however, have recently been the subject of controversies highlighting their limits. It has been argued, for instance, that storytime is not a « magical silver bullet »: simply immersing children in good literature will not turn them into readers. On the other hand, the use of literature as a teaching tool is often confined to the simplest aspects of narrative comprehension and seldom gives its due to its symbolic and aesthetic dimensions. It will be shown how these limits can be overcome within a literature-based framework where high-quality, demanding literary works provide the basis for an interactive storyreading program including different kinds of activities
Reading at home in Franca: A psycho-sociological look at youth literature, youth and their families
Get PDFThe reading and the readings of young people are at the crossroads of social and cultural mediations in which the school institution and the family share the first role. During decades, work on the reading of the young people distinguished the readings for leisure and the readings for school. Since about fifteen years, this cleavage does not correspond any more to reality. Well before the learning of the reading, the desire of reading takes its source in the exercise of the mother tongue and in the family uses of print. Reading skills come to reinforce it. The acquisition of a reading practice and the construction of a reader behaviour take place at home according to the choices of youth literature generally presented by the primary school and the beginning of secondary school. With the age of the secondary school, the reader builds two different universes of reading. One is composed of texts prescribed by the teachers and the other of readings called "for oneself". Whatever the age and skills, the dynamics of the activity of reading remains fragile. It rests on emotional investments
Two decades of research on teaching writing in the secondary schools in the US
No full textThis review covers what is known in the U.S. as “secondary school,” generally encompassing grades 7-12. The author frames the review by looking at the broader assessment context, particularly state-wide writing tests that often trivialize writing by requiring writing within severe time restraints on topics that may be of little interest to students and that may benefit students with from privileged social backgrounds. Further, these assessments reduce writing to limited forms such as the five-paragraph theme, even when the genre called for (e.g., narrative) may not be amenable to such forms. The review finds that assessment mandates in turn affect classroom writing instruction in what the author characterizes as negative ways, emphasizing the mastery of a generic form over the generation of ideas. The review concludes that, in spite all of the attention given to writing instruction, writing is not necessarily improving, in large part because of mandates for how writing is assessed
French children\u27s literature for ‘the children of the videosphere\u27
No full textWhat characterises children\u27s publishing in France at this time of a uniform worldwide culture imposed in a positive fashion by the 1989 Declaration of Children\u27s Rights and, more dubiously, by globalization and electronic reproduction? Can we speak of the influence on it of a new multinational republic of children through the increasing number of translations from other countries or does French children\u27s literature rest only on a few successful classics such as Jean de Brunhoff\u27s Babar or Charles Perrault\u27s tales, among which Little Red Riding Hood is a world\u27s bestseller? The purpose of this paper is to point out the contemporary literary trends evincing a new awareness of our writers, artist creators and publishing houses expressing the sensibility of our reading public
What observational learning in writing courses entails: A multiple case study
No full textObservational learning has proved to be effective with learners of various ages and in various school subjects, including writing. However, little is known about the actual behavior of learners while carrying out observation tasks. In this case study, students\u27 learning activities when processing observation tasks are closely analyzed: six students thought aloud while observing sets of writers as peer models, and were interviewed afterwards. Results suggest that observers carried out many (meta)cognitive activities, especially activities based on the internalization and development of criteria for effective writing (observing, comparing, evaluating, and reflecting activities). These are precisely the activities assumed to play a central role in learning to write. Observational learning seems to stimulate these activities naturally, albeit they are not very evident in typical school writing tasks and exercises
Reading books to young children: What it does and what it doesn\u27t do
No full textThe present report is an overview of six studies that share a common theme: What is the contribution of shared reading to child outcomes. The first three studies are experimental in nature and show that the number of times as well as the manner in which the adult reads to the child will affect children\u27s acquisition of comprehension and spoken vocabulary. The fourth study is an intervention with children who have poor vocabulary skills. The findings revealed that care givers can enhance children\u27s spoken vocabulary by reading books to them in an interactive manner, but that simply reading in their customary fashion may not promote vocabulary acquisition. Finally, the last two studies are correlational in nature. They provide converging evidence that shared reading predicts children\u27s vocabulary, and that, children\u27s vocabulary is a robust predictor of reading comprehension. These latter studies also show the limits of shared reading because parent reports of shared reading did not predict children\u27s early literacy skills or word reading at the end of grade 1
Written language skills and the notion of \u27lexicon\u27
No full textIn mainstream theory about written language skills there is a strong relation between the notion of \u27lexicon\u27 and \u27phonology\u27. The work of both researchers and teachers is rooted in this theoretical relation between lexicon and spoken language, which originates from the linguistic tradition of the past century. The problem with this position is that it has never been treated as a real hypothesis, and we should therefore not base our professional work on it without moderation. In the present article my aim is to show how different combinations of psychological and linguistic theories have different options and limitations concerning the relation between lexicon and phonology. In doing so, I claim that the mainstream theory of written language skills—particularly its relation between lexicon and phonology—is not the most plausible and defensible solution. In the present article I claim that it is possible to investigate the relation of speech and writing on a stronger empirical basis, and that this can be done by first giving equal validity to spoken and written language, and second by giving preference to theory with a minimum of introspection. The paper addresses researchers working with written language skills, and teachers who want to reflect on basic assumptions related to their profession. First, some assumptions concerning the mental lexicon in mainstream theory of written language skills are questioned. These assumptions are here linked to cognitivism and linguistic formalism. Second, alternative assumptions are derived from a pairing of functional approaches to language and connectionism. These alternative assumptions may be seen as contributions to a revitalized understanding of the connection between phonology and lexicon when studying written language skills