Views, a Teacher-Researcher Journal, Artifacts, Reader Response Journals, Surveys, Field Notes and Video and Audio Taped Transcript Data
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Say What?: A Study of Systemic Functional Linguistics as a Literacy Tool for Promoting Word Consciousness and Agency in Postsecondary Literacy Students A dissertation submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) In the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services College of Literacy and Second Language Studies University of Cincinnati Heather Neal B.S. Wright State University 2000 M.S. Ed. Wright State University 2004 2012 Committee Chair: Dr. Susan Watts-Taffe ABSTRACT This study investigated the use of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as a literacy tool for helping developmental or transitional reading students better understand and critique disciplinary texts. In an urban community college setting, five SFL lessons were used to offer explicit instruction on academic language, or language for building disciplinary knowledge and for communicating about disciplinary content (Nagy & Townsend, 2012). This research considered whether these students experienced a shift in word consciousness (Nagy & Scott, 2009) or a heightened interest in word learning and several different forms of metalinguistic knowledge, including critical language awareness. It also examined whether students were afforded opportunities for agentic action (Lewis, Moje & Enciso, 2007) including opportunities to enact and negotiate identities and to impact change. Data were collected over the course of an eleven- week quarter from the perspective of the teacher-researcher and 18 developmental students from diverse backgrounds, including 5 English Language Learners. Several data sources were used including: interviews, a teacher-researcher journal, artifacts, reader response journals, surveys, field notes and video and audio taped transcript data. The data were analyzed using critical discourse analysis (Gee, 2011; Rogers, 2011) and typological analysis (Hatch, 2012). Several key findings emerged from this analysis. Students exhibited growth in word consciousness including academic language awareness and critical language awareness. Students used this awareness to appropriate academic language when it supported social aims. Students also engaged in opportunities for agentic action including enacting disciplinary identities, renegotiating their identities as readers and interrogating systems of power. Future research is needed to elucidate the aspects of SFL and critical literacy that are most beneficial for promoting word consciousness and agency. ii iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to a number of individuals who have graciously offered me their wisdom, their expertise, their time and their support because without them I would not have succeeded in this endeavor. First, I wish to offer sincere appreciation to my four committee members. I will be forever grateful for your patience, your insights, your challenges and your dedication. I am filled with gratitude for my committee chair Dr. Susan Watts-Taffe who has nurtured my passion for teaching and for language instruction and has offered me her unwavering support and kindness. I am forever indebted to my committee member, Dr. Connie Kendall Theado for her life- changing coursework on teaching postsecondary literacy students and for her steadfast encouragement. I am so incredibly grateful to my committee member Dr. Holly Johnson for igniting my passion for critical literacy and for complicating my views of literacy, language and culture. Finally, I feel such profound gratitude for my committee member Dr. Lisa Vaughn, a psychologist and educator who has inspired me to think in more global and transformative terms about the aims of research. Words simply cannot express how incredibly blessed I have been to have the four of you on my team. Next, I would like to extend gratitude to my colleagues at Midland Community College. In particular, I would like to thank my fellow developmental reading instructors for giving me the opportunity to explore SFL with our students and for allowing me to share our experiences with other researchers and practitioners. I greatly appreciate your faith and me and hope that sharing my experience as a developmental reading teacher will help others to better understand the vital importance of the work we do. I am proud to be part of such an innovative iv and learner-centered institution. I would also like to extend a special thanks to Midland’s Change Agents for their commitment to social justice and to our students. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for their patience and for their unfaltering support. I am honored to be the mother of Caleb and Julia, two remarkably astute, ethical and compassionate children who daily remind me of the importance of making a difference in the world and of seeing the very best in people. I also wish to thank my mother Theresa Domsher for a lifetime of unconditional love and for extending that love to my children. Next, I would like to thank my amazing husband and best friend Joseph Neal for his boundless love and for his belief in me and in the significance of this work. I wish to extend my appreciation to my friends for their benevolence, for their kindheartedness, and for the quality time we have spent together. I would also like to thank my extended family for their love and for their moral support. Finally, I would like to thank my students for sharing their brilliance, their searing insights and their life experiences with me. It has been such a privilege to be your teacher. As is often the case, I am convinced that you taught me far more than I ever taught you. In conclusion, I offer these humble words of gratitude to all of those mentioned here and to all of the other unnamed individuals who have inspired me and made a difference in my life. In turn, I hope to one day impact humanity in the way that all of you have impacted me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 Introduction Background to the Study Page 1 Research Questions Page 10 Purpose of the Study Page 11 Definitions Page 15 CHAPTER TWO Review of Related Literature Introduction Page 20 Major Influences in Literacy Theory Page 20 The Role of the Reader in Constructing Meaning Page 20 Rosenblatt’s Transactional Theory Page 20 Vygotsky & Schema Theory Page 21 The Social Turn in the Literacy Studies Page 22 Heath’s Way With Words Page 22 Funds of Knowledge Page 23 Critical Approaches to Literacy Page 23 Critical Literacy Page 24 Sociocultural Theory Page 24 Agency and Interdiscursivity Page 25 Relevant Theories of Language Learning Page 31 Language as a Social Semiotic Page 31 Features of Academic Language Page 31 SFL and Functional Theories of Language Page 32 Content Based Instruction Page 35 Genre Theory Page 35 Metafunctions and Associated Language Features of Page 36 Academic Texts Field and the Experiential Metafunction Page 37 Tenor and the Interpersonal Metafunction Page 39 Mode and the Textual Metafunction Page 41 Critical Discourse Analysis Page 42 Critical Language Awareness Page 44 CHAPTER THREE Methodology and Context Research Design Page 47 Research Site and Participants Page 47 vi Midland Community College Page 47 Teacher-Researcher Page 50 Classroom Context Page 51 Student Participants Page 54 Data Collection Page 55 Interviews Page 55 Videotaping Page 55 Artifacts Page 55 Teacher-Researcher Journal Page 56 Survey of Word Consciousness and Agency Page 57 Member Checking Page 58 Data Analysis Page 60 Measures of Quality Page 63 Study Limitations Page 66 Timeline Page 67 CHAPTER FOUR Findings Overview Page 69 Introduction Page 69 Lessons on Systemic Functional Linguistics Page 71 Lesson 1: Attitudinal Language and Authorial Positioning Page 72 Lesson 2: Identify Key Participants and Their Roles Page 78 Lesson 3: Reader/Writer Relationships Page 87 Lesson 4: Signal Words and Interpretations Page 93 Lesson 5: Theme/Rheme, Processes and Circumstances Page 103 SFL Feedback Form, Part A Page 110 Student Experiences with Agency Page 116 Initial Attitudes Related to Agency Page 116 Initial Survey Page 117 Early Reader Response Entries Page 123 Later Attitudes Related to Agency Page 127 SFL Feedback Form B Page 128 Final Survey Page 131 Middle-to-Late Reader Response Entries Page 135 Student Experiences with Word Consciousness Page 149 Initial Attitudes Related to Word Consciousness Page 150 Initial Survey Page 152 Early Reader Response Entries Page 153 Later Attitudes Related to Word Consciousness Page 158 SFL Feedback Form B Page 158 Final Survey Page 161 Middle-to-Late Reader Response Entries Page 164 Teacher-Researcher Experiences with Critical Literacy Page 174 vii Findings Related to Transformative Change Page 177 Change at the Individual Level Page 177 Change at the Institutional Level Page 177 Summary Page 179 CHAPTER FIVE Conclusions Overview Page 180 Summary of Research Questions Page 180 Implications for Practitioners Page 184 Implications for Researchers Page 195 Conclusion Page 201 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: The Metafunctions of SFL Page 6 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: The Three Metafunctions of SFL Page 37 Table 2.2: Nominalizations and the Grammatical Metaphors Page 38 Table 2.3: Differences in Modality Page 40 Table 2.4: Differences in Mode Page 41 Table 2.5: Differences in Theme Page 42 Table 3.1: Research Questions and Affiliated Data Sources Page 58 Table 3.2: Building Tasks and Guiding Questions Page 61 Table 4.1: SFL Lessons Page 71 Table 4.2: Three Texts