Anne Pitkänen-Huhta Texts and Interaction
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JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN LANGUAGES 55 Anne Pitkänen-Huhta Texts and Interaction Literacy practices in the EFL classroom Esitetään Jyväskylän yliopiston humanistisen tiedekunnan suostumuksella julkisesti tarkastettavaksi yliopiston vanhassa juhlasalissa (S212) toukokuun 10. päivänä 2003 kello 12. Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by permission of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Jyväskylä, in Auditorium S212, on May 10, 2003 at 12 o’clock noon. UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ JYVÄSKYLÄ 2003 Texts and Interaction Literacy practices in the EFL classroom JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN LANGUAGES 55 Anne Pitkänen-Huhta Texts and Interaction Literacy practices in the EFL classroom UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ JYVÄSKYLÄ 2003 Editors Arja Piirainen-Marsh Department of Languages, English, University of Jyväskylä Pekka Olsbo, Marja-Leena Tynkkynen Publishing Unit, University Library of Jyväskylä URN:ISBN 9513914291 ISBN 951-39-1429-1 (PDF) ISBN 951-39-1449-6 (nid.) ISSN 1459-1677 Copyright © 2003, by University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä University Printing House, Jyväskylä and ER-Paino, Lievestuore 2003 ABSTRACT Pitkänen-Huhta, Anne Texts and interaction: Literacy practices in the EFL classroom Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2003, 288 p. (Jyväskylä Studies in Languages ISSN 1459-1677; 55) ISBN 951-39-1429-1 Yhteenveto: Tekstit ja vuorovaikutus: Tekstikäytänteet vieraan kielen luokkahuoneessa Diss. This study investigates literacy practices in the EFL classroom and subscribes to a social view of literacy (Literacy Studies). Accordingly, literacy is understood as a social practice where people talk about and around texts. Literacy in the classroom is embedded in the institutional context of education, which is characterized by specific discursive practices and by certain types of texts. As talk is central in the classroom, the present study pays special attention to the role of interaction in constructing literacy. Literacy practices are established, maintained and contested locally in particular literacy events through the interaction (including with texts) and actions of those participating in them. At the same time, however, their interaction and actions are shaped by the discursive (and social) practices of the institution. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the complexity of the interaction around and about texts, the study draws on research in classroom discourse, on instructional texts and on face-to- face interaction. The study examines how literacy events are organized within the institutional context of the classroom, what role texts play in literacy events and how talk among the participants shapes texts. The data comprised six successive video-recorded EFL lessons from which 13 literacy events, focusing on either the textbook or workbook, were chosen for micro-analysis. In addition, the data included the textbook and workbook texts used during the 13 events. The analysis uses methods drawn from interactional sociolinguistics and the ethnography of communication. The micro-analysis showed that literacy events are structured by talk and fall into three phases, viz. the opening, text processing and closing phases, each characterized by various interactional structures. The analysis also showed that texts play a major role in constraining and creating opportunities for talk, thus shaping and being shaped by talk. Furthermore, the participants attributed different meanings to texts in their talk, indicating that several constructions of literacy may be present within a single setting. Keywords: literacy, literacy practices, literacy events, text, interaction, classroom discourse Author’s Address Anne Pitkänen-Huhta Department of Languages P.O. Box 35 (P) FIN-40014 University of Jyväskylä FINLAND Supervisors Professor Paula Kalaja Department of Languages P.O. Box 35 (P) FIN-40014 University of Jyväskylä FINLAND Professor Arja Piirainen-Marsh Department of Languages P.O. Box 35 (P) FIN-40014 University of Jyväskylä FINLAND Reviewers Professor David Barton Literacy Research Centre Lancaster University Lancaster LA1 4YT England Professor Minna-Riitta Luukka Centre for Applied Language Studies P.O. Box 35 FIN-40014 University of Jyväskylä FINLAND Opponents Professor David Barton Professor Minna-Riitta Luukka ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis project has been a part of my life for several years and many people, near and far, have played a role during the process. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for the insightful and constructive comments that I have received from the examiners of the dissertation, Professor David Barton from Lancaster University and Professor Minna-Riitta Luukka from the University of Jyväskylä. I must also thank the teacher and the pupils who volunteered to participate in the research by letting us videotape their lessons. You made my study possible. The positive and congenial atmosphere that characterizes the former Department of English (now Department of Languages), University of Jyväskylä has been a great asset in carrying out this study, and therefore I wish to express my appreciation to past and present colleagues. I am most grateful to my supervisor, Professor Paula Kalaja, who has given her unfailing and generous support all the way from my licentiate thesis to the present study. She has never turned me away from her door but has always been eager to give advice and suggestions. I am also deeply grateful to my other supervisor, Professor Arja Piirainen-Marsh, for her support and valuable advice and comments on my several drafts. I also want to thank my friends and colleagues Riikka Alanen, Irene Hyrkstedt, Sirpa Leppänen, Tarja Nikula, and Jaana Toomar for many delightful professional and not so professional discussions. Thank you all, you have been my safety net. The year and a half spent at Lancaster in 1997-98 was a great inspiration for my study. I wish to express my warmest thanks to Professor David Barton and to other members of the Literacy Research Group for the many lively and inspiring discussions I was able to take part in. You taught me so much about the word and the world. I wish to extend my gratitude to the Department of English (Languages), the Faculty of Humanities and the University of Jyväskylä for financial support in accomplishing this journey. My thanks also go to Minna Jokisalo, Timo Korvola and Otto Huhta for technical help and to Michael Freeman for careful proofreading of the manuscript. Any remaining errors are my own. I also want to thank my parents for carrying a large share of responsibility for the well-being of my family, and I am also grateful for my sister’s family for their support. Most of all, I have to thank my family Ari, Otto and Riku, for bearing with me during this long journey with its ups and downs. You were always there. You have taught me that there is much more in life besides research; in fact, there is nothing more important in life than football – and even that is not so very important. Omistan tämän työn vanhemmilleni CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Orientation................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Aims ..........................................................................................................11 1.3 Data and methodology ........................................................................... 12 1.4 An overview of the study ....................................................................... 13 2 THE SOCIAL VIEW OF LITERACY ............................................................... 15 2.1 Defining literacy ....................................................................................... 15 2.2 Premises and development of Literacy Studies................................... 18 2.3 Literacy as social practice........................................................................ 21 2.4 Literacy practices and events.................................................................. 24 2.5 Literacy studies in the classroom ........................................................... 29 3 THE CLASSROOM AS A CONTEXT FOR LITERACY................................ 33 3.1 The classroom as an institutional context............................................. 33 3.2 Classroom discourse ................................................................................ 37 3.3 Texts in the classroom.............................................................................. 40 3.4 Speaker roles and texts ............................................................................ 44 4 THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE PRESENT STUDY ....................................... 48 4.1 Implications from previous research..................................................... 48 4.2 Research questions ................................................................................... 50 4.3 Methodological approach ....................................................................... 51 4.4 Data and transcription conventions ...................................................... 55 4.5 Analysis of the data.................................................................................. 60 4.5.1 Central concepts in the analysis.................................................. 60 4.5.2 Tools of analysis ............................................................................ 62 5 TALK ORGANIZES LITERACY EVENTS ..................................................... 65 5.1 The opening