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Developing Year One Pupils' Language Through

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Developing Year One Pupils' Language Through DEVELOPING YEAR ONE PUPILS’ LANGUAGE THROUGH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AND THE LOCAL DIALECT IN THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS CHRISTINA CHRISTODOULOU A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Brighton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2015 ii ABSTRACT This research was conducted into the development of year one pupils’ literacy and language in Limassol in the Republic of Cyprus. Though predominantly Greek speaking, the island has a significant minority of non-Greek speaking inhabitants who learn using Greek as an additional language (GAL) alongside some use of their Cypriot dialect. The main aim of this study was to examine whether an early experience of studying quality children’s literature, including texts in the island’s dialect, supplementary to the main text-book, may enhance oral language development and promote literacy. Research work was structured as a bounded case study; the classroom, teacher and texts with 6 individual pupils selected as the focus for the data collection. Children were observed whilst engaged in literature circle discussions, role-play activity, reading and writing. The tools that have been used in the analysis of data – observations, a daily journal, oral and written samples – have proved particularly useful in analysing the progress occurred in participants’ oral and written language. Looking at the response of 6 six-year-old pupils to a variety of texts, such as a wordless picture book, a well-known fairy tale and a traditional folk tale from Cyprus, supplementary to the main text-book, findings highlight significant differences in students’ engagement and learning outcomes. Analysis of the discourse of circle discussions and group work shows that students were engaged in highly dialogic interactions with the texts and with one another, when being introduced to quality children’s literature. There was important development of their narrative speech, along with significant evidence of the students’ growing ability to speak in the target language with confidence, to structure their writing, to write for an audience and shape their texts more consciously. Findings also underline the importance of these literary texts for children who learn Greek as an additional language; increased motivation and learning opportunities being two such significant benefits. This research makes a significant contribution to current debates in Cyprus about the direction and purpose of children’s literacy and language development. It calls for greater iii use of the island’s dialect and the introduction and training in the use of a broader range of books in both Standard Modern Greek language and the Greek Cypriot dialect. iv LIST OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... vi LIST OF APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ viii INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 1 - CYPRUS: THE RESEARCH CONTEXT ................................................... 16 1.1. Historical background ........................................................................................ 17 1.2. National identity and Education in Cyprus ........................................................ 20 1.3. Minorities in Cyprus and cultural diversity in education ................................... 25 1.4. The Greek Cypriot linguistic landscape ............................................................. 29 1.5. The origins and developments of Greek-Cypriot children’s literature ............... 32 1.5.1. First Period (1894 – 1960) ................................................................................. 34 1.5.2. Second Period (1960-1974) ............................................................................... 35 1.5.3. Third Period (1974 – 2004) ................................................................................ 36 1.5.4. Fourth Period (2004 – until now) ....................................................................... 39 Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 42 2.1. Standard Modern Greek as an additional language and the regional Greek- Cypriot Dialect ................................................................................................... 42 2.2. First Language Acquisition ................................................................................ 45 2.3. Second and/or Additional Language Acquisition ............................................... 48 2.4. The pedagogy involved: A constructivist view of language learning ................ 57 2.5. The role of the text in language and literacy development ................................ 61 2.5.1. Wordless picture books as an educational tool .................................................. 67 2.5.2. Folk and fairy tales as an educational tool for first and additional language learning 69 2.6. Literature circles in the context of first and additional language instruction ..... 71 Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 76 3.1. Aim of the study ................................................................................................. 76 v 3.2. The Research Questions ..................................................................................... 77 3.3. Methodological Approach .................................................................................. 78 3.4. The participants .................................................................................................. 86 3.5. Data collection .................................................................................................... 87 3.6. Data analysis ....................................................................................................... 91 3.7. School and community context .......................................................................... 97 3.8. The research year ................................................................................................ 97 3.9. Ethics ................................................................................................................ 100 Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 105 CHAPTER 4 - DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ....................................................... 106 4.1. Part One: Young learners responding to the texts used ................................... 107 4.1.1. The main class textbook Γλώσσα Α’ Δημοτικού: Γράμματα, Λέξεις, Ιστορίες [Language Grade A’: Letters, Words, Stories] ............................................... 108 4.1.2. The wordless picture book Up and Up ............................................................. 123 4.1.3. The European fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood .............................................. 133 4.1.4. The traditional folk tale Spanos and the Forty Dragons: A Folk Tale from Cyprus .............................................................................................................. 140 4.2. Part Two: Children’s Writing .......................................................................... 152 Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 189 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION.............................................................................................. 191 5.1. Classroom and policy implications .................................................................. 191 5.2. Limitations ........................................................................................................ 199 5.3. Summary ........................................................................................................... 201 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 205 APPENDIX 1 ...................................................................................................................... 229 APPENDIX 2 ...................................................................................................................... 243 APPENDIX 3 ...................................................................................................................... 258 APPENDIX 4 ...................................................................................................................... 261 APPENDIX 5 …………………………………………………………………………… 267 vi LIST OF FIGURES Chapter 1 Figure.1.1. A timeline of the history of Cyprus .......................................................16 Figure 1.2.
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