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Applied Linguistics and Discourse Analysis
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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.