An Ecology of Literacy: a Context-Based Inter-Disciplinary Curriculum for Chinese As a Foreign Language
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An Ecology of Literacy: A Context-based Inter-disciplinary Curriculum for Chinese as a Foreign Language DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jianfen Wang, M.A. Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2016 Dissertation Committee: Professor Galal Walker, Advisor Professor Charles Quinn Professor Mari Noda Professor Xiaobin Jian Copyright by Jianfen Wang 2016 Abstract Traditional approaches to teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) are based on a reductionist view of communication. In the reductionist view, communication is construed as a matter of arriving at understanding through the use of semiotics (verbal and non-verbal behavior). The semiotics is seen as the means to understanding instead of the consequences of understanding. Literacy is construed as an endpoint ability achieved through reading and writing. Constrained by the reductionist view of communication, the constructive nature of conversation has not been appropriately taken advantage of by CFL programs. This dissertation proposes a conversation-driven approach based on a complex, systemic view of communication, which has been informed by an extensive literature in related disciplines, such as biology, developmental psychology, linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, neuroscience, information theory, systems theory, media studies, phenomenology, and philosophy of mind. In the systemic view, communication is construed as complex and dynamic processes that are embodied as coordinated behaviors among the participants. Behavior is not something a person does by himself. Rather, it is constituted by the changes of a participant’s position or attitude, which an observer describes as movements or actions in relation to a certain environment. Therefore, communication is irreducible to the physical ii sum of verbal and non-verbal behaviors that we observe. We conclude that learning to communicate in Chinese is not reducible to “mastering” isolated verbal and non-verbal behaviors we observe from acts of communication. Rather, learning to communicate is to orient one’s behavior toward Chinese-speaking contexts. This can only be done through personally enacting processes of communication over a sufficient period of time. Complex, dynamic processes of communication constitute an ecology of literacy (EOL) – a system that sustains itself by the diverse and interrelated communication processes that bring texts into being. The construal of “literacy as communication-related processes” has been promoted by scholars of Multiple Literacies Theory (MLT) and applied to educational research on literacy development of children in multilingual societies and on principles of curriculum formation. The construal of literacy as processes shifts our understanding of the relationships between literacy, texts, and the reader. Literacy is no longer viewed as a matter of endpoint abilities. Instead, it is seen as a system of ongoing processes that produce texts in a broad sense. The readers are essentially ever-evolving products of the texts that they embody. Indeed, they are living texts constituted by the processes of communication in which they are engaged. Conversation is identified as the most fundamental and productive process of communication in an EOL. It drives the evolution of literacy. The second half of this dissertation discusses how we may employ “conversation-driven” as a guiding principle for designing CFL curricula that can effectively accommodate the ever-growing involvement of multimedia in communication and lead to the construction of self- sustainable structures of the Chinese language in the learners’ systems. iii Dedicated to my husband Feng Pan iv Acknowledgements I am indebted to the members of my dissertation committee for their guidance and support during the course of my Ph.D studies: Dr. Galal Walker, Dr. Charles Quinn, Dr. Mari Noda and Dr. Xiaobin Jian. I thank my advisor, Dr. Galal Walker, for his dedication to students’ growth as original thinkers and responsible scholars. His insights on language and culture set me on the road toward seeking a systemic account of communication. His insightful guidance along this road has constantly pushed me to explore more broadly and think more profoundly about Chinese pedagogy. I thank Dr. Charles Quinn for devoting time to converse about my research ideas and provide detailed comments on my writings. Much new thoughts have emerged from these conversations. His insightful comments have forced me to explore more broadly and deeply into the fields related to literacy. I thank Dr. Mari Noda for introducing me to the Performed Culture Approach and for the structured guidance toward developing effective East Asian language curricula. I thank Dr. Xiaobin Jian for his guidance toward a practical understanding of various foundational Chinese texts in the context of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the 21st century and for his insightful comments on my dissertation. v Besides the members of my dissertation committee, I am also grateful to Dr. David Bloome of the Ohio State University and Dr. Diana Masny of the University of Ottawa. Dr. David Bloom’s course on discourse analysis introduced me to the social paradigm for construing literacy. The readings and discussions took place in that course granted me access to the ecological paradigm that I have adopted in this dissertation. I am grateful to Dr. Diana Masny for introducing me to Multiple Literacies Theory (MLT) and the philosophical work of Gille Deleuze and Félix Guattari through her publications and for patiently responding to my email inquiries concerning the construal of literacy as communication-related processes. The view of literacy as processes greatly facilitated my construal of literacies as constituting an ecology. I am grateful to those who have fostered, informed and facilitated my education in Chinese language, literature and culture, including Dr. Marjorie K. M. Chan, Dr. Zhiguo Xie, Dr. Patricia Sieber, Dr. Kirk Denton and Dr. Meow-Hui Goh. I am also grateful to those who have introduced me to the various aspects and perspectives of in teaching and learning foreign languages, including Dr. Alan Hirvela, Dr. Keiko Samimi, Dr. Patricia Scharer, Dr. Marnie Morrison, Dr. Francis Rogers, and the late Dr. Charles Hancock. Many sincere thanks go to all my past and current students and colleagues for their trust and encouragement. A lot of ideas in this dissertation have emerged and evolved through the numerous productive interactions with the language learners and teachers with whom I have worked. I am especially grateful to the participants of the 2014 Hangzhou summer program for providing valuable feedback regarding the implementation of the curriculum I have reviewed in Chapter 5 of this dissertation. I am vi also grateful to my current students and colleagues at Washington and Lee University for allowing me to implement my innovative first-year Chinese language curriculum and providing valuable feedback. Without their generosity and commitment, I would not have gained first-hand experience managing a college-level first-year CFL curriculum. Thanks also to my friends and colleagues at OSU: Ying Liu, Zhini Zeng, Xin Zhang, Bing Mu, Crista Cornelius, Hanning Chen, Debbie Knicely, Steven Knicely, Junqing Jia, Cong Li, and many others, for their tremendous support and encouragement during the writing of this dissertation. I am most indebted to my parents and parents-in-law for their unconditional love, support, and sacrifice. Finally, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my husband Feng Pan, whose care, goading and support made this dissertation possible. vii Vita March 1981 ....................................................Born, Hunan, P. R. China 2003................................................................B. A. English Language and Literature, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China 2003-2009 ......................................................EFL teacher, Beijing No.1 Middle School, Beijing, China 2010................................................................Adjunct Chinese Instructor, the College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 2011 ...............................................................M.A. Foreign, Second & Multilingual Language Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 2011-2014…………………………………..Graduate Research Associate, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 2015 to present…………………………….Visiting Instructor, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA viii Publications 1. Wang, J. (2015). Using rhymes to create a supportive environment for performing Chinese culture. Journal of K-12 Chinese Language Teaching, 1. http://clta-us.org/k- 12clt-issue-1/. 2. Wang, J. (2015). Language as an aspect of culture. In Baya’er (Ed.), International Chinese language pedagogy and Chinese culture, 193-200. Hohhot: Inner Mongolia, China. 3. Wang, J. (2008). On helping students with special needs. In Bian Yufang (ed.), Developing in assessment (在评价中发展), 194-197. Beijing: Minzu University of China Press. 4. Wang, J. (2007). Internet-based Hierarchical Teaching of English. In Handbook on theory and practice in modern education (现代教学理论与实践手册), 873-875. Beijing: People’s Daily Press/ Modern Education Press. Fields of Study Major Field: