Literacy practices as social: relational-keys in literacy events

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to work toward more fully conceptualizing literacy practices as social by theorizing the combined relational and intellectual context for learning. This context is created through students’ and their teachers’ uses of language. In particular, the quality of language that creates this intellectual relational context is relational-keys that are inherent to any talk between people. Building upon Hymes (1974) conceptualization of key, relational-keys can be described as the emotional mood or spirit of a conversation, but they are much more than that per se. They are constitutive of the complex, multi-layered relationships that people have with each other, with themselves and with the material environment through their uses of language. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon a classroom ethnographic study in a first-grade classroom and using discourse analysis of classroom interactions, the author uses data from instructional conversations to illustrate how students and their teachers collaboratively perform relational-keys. Findings Findings reveal that students and their teacher perform relational and intellectual stances toward reading and toward each other through relational-keys, that frame the act of reading and their experience of doing it together. Originality/value The concept of relational-key provides literacy researchers with another tool to analyze what happens in instructional conversations. It also provides teachers with a curricular resource to identify relational-keys that are enacted. Therefore, teachers are able move away from the enaction of relational-keys that contribute to subtractive schooling, and toward relational-keys that nurture empowering stances in students toward reading and their relationships.

Developing English Supplementary Materials through Instructional Conversations

<p>This study aimed to develop English supplementary materials to meet the needs of nursing students on English learning through Instructional Conversation (IC) method. This research was categorized into research and development. The materials were validated by two experts to come to the final product. This research conducted at the Nursing Study Program involving students of the second semester. The data collected from classroom and checklist observation, questionnaire, an interview. Considering the data collected, the English textbooks available and used in the Nursing Study Program contains English language learning materials that are still common and less specific for students used in the nursing study program. Therefore, English supplementary materials through Instructional Conversation (IC) method should be developed by considering the needs of lecturers and students. English supplementary materials through the Instructional Conversation method were developed by considering several aspects.</p>

Intersections of Language, Content, and Multimodalities: Instructional Conversations in Mrs. B’s Sheltered English Biology Classroom

The challenges inherent in mastering academic content in a new language are many. When it comes to learning science in U.S. high schools, English learners (ELs) confront these on a daily basis. In an effort to document expert language/content instructional strategies, we analyze Mrs. B’s sheltered high school biology class, made up of ELs from around the world and representing varying stages of emerging bilingualism. The aim of this 2-year case study was to detail effective teaching patterns in a high-functioning multicultural science class—a class where the myriad linguistic, cultural, and affective needs of students are expertly met—and to subsequently suggest a model for understanding and undertaking powerful language and content learning supported by multimodal referents. From a rich data set comprising class recordings, interviews, reflections from Mrs. B, course documents, student work, and survey responses emerged a model of the language/content multimodal interface for teaching ELs.

The Social Construction of Warranting Evidence in Two Classrooms

This study examines how instructional conversations revealed the ways two teachers’ argumentative epistemologies (ideational and social process) shaped literacy events focused on the warranting of evidence. A microethnographic study of the literacy events within each teacher’s respective instructional unit revealed that each teacher’s epistemology shaped how students were asked to consider differing sources, relevancy, and sufficiency for warranting evidence within the context of writing extended argumentative essays. Events within an ideational epistemology required students to generate warrants as ideas to be applied to arguments in on-demand writing situations. Within a social process epistemology, students constructed warrants as a social practice appropriate for a specific rhetorical context. Each teacher supported his or her students in developing differing understandings of the nature of warranting. These findings highlight the importance of analyzing the teaching and learning of argumentative writing not only as written products of instruction but as a socialization into argumentative writing practices.

The Effects of Using Instructional Conversation Method on Oral Autonomy of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the impact of instructional conversations on oral autonomy of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Forty-nine Iranian intermediate EFL learners from three language institutes in Sarakhs were selected as the participants of the study based on their scores in Nelson Proficiency Test. Administering Nelson General Proficiency Test, participants were measured to make sure they are homogeneous. These participants were randomly assigned into to control and experimental groups. Participants in both groups sat for Learner Oral Autonomy Questionnaire with some modifications from Kashefian's learner autonomy questionnaire (2002). Results of independent samples t-test lack of any significant difference between the two groups in oral autonomy at the outset of the study. Throughout the study which lasted for 12 sessions participants in experimental group received the treatment, instructional conversations, as a tool for teaching speaking materials. Participants in the control group were taught the same materials as those practiced in the former group through such techniques as role playing, peer dialogues, and oral presentations. Finally, the posttest being the same as the pretest was administered. Results of independent samples t-test showed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control one in Oral Autonomy Questionnaire. The present findings provide pedagogical implications for employing instructional conversation in EFL speaking classrooms.