In our training in August, a
Fulbright alum presented his experience studying Korean. He was the first
American (typically known for poor study skills) to win the oratory prize for
beginning students. His presentation was on The Seven Temples, and the
way he won was by practicing… with everyone. He would walk around the city and
approach random strangers: “Can I tell you about the 7 famous temples?”
That’s
how I feel about my current research project. I finally made a decision about
how I want to focus my research, and I’m telling EVERYONE – teachers,
principals, fellow grantees, friends, parents, friends’ visiting parents,
teachers’ center coordinators, etc. This has helped me 1) get feedback and 2)
organize my own thoughts and ideas.
So… “Can I talk you about oral language in Mexican
primary schools?”
Project
objectives:
1) Describe indicators of strong oral language at
different age/grade levels, considering the national learning standards and
within the areas of vocabulary, structure, and dialogue.
2) Identify academic contexts that promote the
development of oral expression (teacher questioning, social structures,
learning activities).
Background/Justification:
Oral
language development is critical in the formation of literacy skills. This is
especially true for second language learners, who tend to develop vocabulary
and grammatical structures orally and then transfer them to writing. However,
strong oral language skills have value in and of themselves. They are included
in both Mexican and US learning standards, although Mexican education has
traditionally placed more emphasis on oral production – choral reading,
recitation, etc.
In
contrast to reading and writing, there are not many tools to measure oral
expression, and this makes it difficult to determine strengths and weaknesses,
establish academic goals, and measure progress. An analysis of speaking in
various school contexts will permit teachers (and potentially even the students
themselves) to perform these tasks.
Audience:
Mexican and US dual language primary school teachers
Hypotheses:
*Social curriculum (like the one at the private school,
Pequeño Sol, where I observe) supports academic language development.
*Participation in a Philosophy for Children program
(again, Pequeño Sol) develops oral language abilities.
*Oral language projects promote language development.
*Graded speaking activities elevate the status of oral
language among students and teachers.
*Socio-economic class and education level of parents
affects the level of oral language of children.
*These
factors also affect the register and complexity of language used by teachers.
*Advanced discourse
of a few children can elevate the discourse of a whole
class.
Methodology:
1. Collect audio recordings from different schools,
grades, and subject materials.
2. Transcribe recordings.
3. Analyze transcriptions for vocabulary, structure, and
dialogue. Look for patterns. Identify examples of discourse that exemplify oral
language learning standards.
4. Design a rubric or collection of exemplars to use in
evaluating oral language.
5. In examples of high levels of oral language, analyze
the context – type of activity, role of the teacher, evident routines – that
could have supported language production.
6. Summarize conclusions about context
