Cazden on Classroom Discourse

CazdenonClassroomDiscourse

Educatorandappliedlinguist,CourtneyCazden,offeredthefirstsignificantscholarshiponclassroomlanguage,inhercriticalexaminationofthedynamicsofteacherandstudenttalk.

Anysocialinstitutioncanbeconsideredacommunicationsystem.Inthewordsofonelinguist,MichaelHalliday:Itsveryexistenceimpliesthatcommunicationtakesplacewithinittherewillbesharingofexperience,expressionofsocialsolidarity,decisionmakingandplanning,and,ifitisahierarchicalinstitution,formsofverbalcontrol,transmissionoforder,andthelike.Butwhileotherinstitutions,suchashospitalsservetheirclientsinnonlinguisticways,thebasicpurposeofschoolisachievedthroughcommunication.

Severalfeaturesofeducationinstitutionsmakecommunicationsocentral.First,spokenlanguageisthemediumbywhichmuchteachingtakesplace,andinwhichstudentsdemonstratetoteachersmuchofwhattheyhavelearned.

Second,classroomsareamongthemostcrowdedofhumanenvironments.Fewadultsspendasmanyhoursperdayinsuchcrowdedconditions.Classroomsaresimilarinthisrespecttorestaurantsandbusesorsubways.Butinsuchplacessimultaneousconversationsarenormal,whereasinclassroomsoneperson,theteacher,isresponsibleforcontrollingallthetalkthatoccurswhileclassisofficiallyinsessioncontrollingnotjustnegatively,asatrafficofficerdoestoavoidcollisions,butalsopositively,toenhancethepurposesofeducation.

Third,andperhapsleastobviously,spokenlanguageisanimportantpartoftheidentitiesofalltheparticipants.Variationinwaysofspeakingisauniversalfactofsociallife.Schoolsarethefirstlargeinstitutiontowhichchildrencomefromtheirfamiliesandhomeneighborhoods,andinwhichtheyareexpectedtoparticipateindividuallyandpublicly(incontrast,forexample,tosimplysittingandstandingatappropriatetimesandjoininginprayersandsongsinchurch).Especiallyduringtheperiodofschoolconsolidationanddesegregation,andthecontinuingmigrationacrossstateandnationalborders,classroomsusuallyincludepeopleadultsandchildrenfromdifferentlinguisticbackgrounds.

Differencesinhowsomethingissaid,andevenwhen,canbemattersofonlytemporaryadjustment,ortheycanseriouslyimpaireffectiveteachingandaccurateevaluation.Forallthesereasons,itisessentialtoconsidertheclassroomcommunicationsystemasaproblematicmediumthatcannotbeignored,orviewedastransparent,byanyoneinterestedinteachingandlearning.

Classroomdiscoursehappensamongstudentsandteacher.Butarguablythemostimportantgoalofeducationischangewithineachstudentthatwecalllearning.Howdothewordsspokeninclassroomsaffectthislearning?Howdoestheobservableclassroomdiscourseaffecttheunobservablethinkingofeachofthestudents,andtherebythenatureofwhattheylearn?InthewordsofDouglasBarnes,writtentwentyfiveyearsagoandquotedintheintroductiontothisbooksfirstedition,howdoesspeechunitethecognitiveandthesocial?InthemorerecentwordsofanthropologistBarbaraRogoff,howcanwebestunderstandrelationshipsamongthreeplanesofanalysisofanyevent:individualdevelopment,socialinteraction,andtheculturalactivitiesinwhichbothtakeplace?

Itisnevereasytotalkaboutrelationshipsbetweenindividual(silent)thinkingprocessesandthedyadicorgroup(oftennoisy)interactionsintheclassroom.Butbecausethatrelationshipisattheheartofstudentlearningandmustthereforebeattheheartofteachersplanning,wehavetotry.

Creatingtheconditionsfortheinterdependentgoalsofacademicandlanguagedevelopmentforallstudentsrequireschangesinclassroomlanguageuse.Itsabigjob,andteacherscantmakethesechangesalone.Contextsarenested,fromthemostimmediatetotheactofspeakingtothemoredistant:classroom,school,district,andsoon.Plus,theclassroomcontextisneverwhollyoftheparticipantsmaking.Bracketingoutsuchinfluencesandconsideringclassroomdiscourseasifitwereautonomous,isexpedientforteachersandresearchers.Butthosewhohelptoshapethecontextsthatsurroundtheclassroomhavetorealizetheirresponsibilityaswell.

Someteacherswillwanttotakeontheaddedworkoftryingtoinfluencepoliciesthataffecttheirwork.Thatswhereteacherresearchcomesin.Inadditiontorefiningeducationintheirownclassrooms,teachersresearchcancontributelocalevidencetodiscussionsabouteducationalpoliciesintheirschoolsanddistricts.Thatevidence,liketheevidencefromtextorpersonalexperiencesprovidedbystudentspeakers,makesteachersstatementsinsuchforumsaccountabletoo?

Finally,awordfromoneteachertoothers.Thinkingabouttheresearchreported[here]inevitablywillleadtogreaterselfconsciousness,atleasttemporarily.Ithasforme,whenteachinginSanDiegoandsince,andIwishitdidnthavetohappen.Iwishweasteacherscouldbeassuccessfulassomanyparentsonintuitionalone.ButasanthropologistEdwardSapirexplains:Itissometimesnecessarytobecomeconsciousoftheformsofsocialbehaviorinordertobringaboutamoreserviceableadaptationtochangingconditions.Or,inhisblunterwords,analysisandconsciouscontrolarethemedicineofsociety,notitsfood.

Becauseofconditionsbothwithintheclassroomandoutsideit,weneedthemedicineofmorecarefulanalysisandconsciouscontrolsothatourimplicittheoriesofthelanguageofteachingandlearningcanbeopentocontinualrevision.Nothinglessdoesjusticetoourprofessionandourchildren.