An Analysis of Cultural

Dissonance: Emergent

Readers in High School

Martha Bigelow, Univ. of MNNicole Pettitt, GA State Univ.

Kendall King, Univ. of MN

SLRF 2012

Pittsburgh, PA

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Adolescents with LFS/SLIFE An uncommon population in our journals

SLA - Tarone, Bigelow & Hansen (2009) School Experiences - Valenzuela (1999)

Few studies in classrooms Elementary - Platt & Troudi (1997) Post-secondary - Vásquez (2007)

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Two Different Learning Paradigms(Table 2.5, DeCapua & Marshall, 2010, p. 40)

SLIFE Conditions for Learning

US Schools

Immediate relevance Future relevance

Interconnectedness Independence

Processes for LearningShared responsibility Individual accountability

Oral transmission Written word

Activities for Learning

Pragmatic tasks Academic tasks

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Study questions

How are cultural dissonance and educational hegemony manifested and resolved in a high school ESL reading class?

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Cultural Dissonance“The mismatch between home and school when SLIFE, who come from different cultural values and different learning paradigms, encounter the mainstream culture and learning paradigm of U.S. schools”

(DeCapua & Marshall, 2011, p. 25)

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Research approach & context Four months of classroom-focused

ethnographic research Two newcomer reading classes Teacher: Ms. Mavis

Valued students’ languages and cultures Focused on developmental reading skills

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Data Audio and video

59 hours of classroom observations 5 hours of interviews 44 hours of tutoring sessions

10 focal students written work elicited assessments in English and dominant language

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Micro-ethnographic analysis Two students

Ayan Nadifa

Intertwined instances Dissonance Resolution

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Micro-ethnographic analysis

Cultural dissonance

Resolution

Ayan Work alone

Decontextualized language analysis

Completes tasks with peer support

Shows work to teacher

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“Ayan”

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Ayan

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Ayan

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15Excerpt 1: ‘No copying’ (Ayan)

INSERT VIDEO HERE

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Ayan’s interpersonal moves Engages with Ms. M. over ‘saw/see’ (prior to start) Gains support from her seatmate (turn 1) Manages relationship with student behind her, including

sharing his worksheet (3, 5, 8) Returns paper (11) Laughs and establishes physical contact with peers (12) Grabs Ms. M. and shows her paper (13, 14) Consults with seatmate (1, 2, 6, 19) Establishes contact again with student behind her (17-

18) Takes paper back again with his consent (20) Tries to engage researcher by reaching for her (24) Requests assistance from teacher (27)

17MALP construct

Ayan’s actions

Immediate relevance

turn in paper, get teacher’s stamp

Interconnectedness bodily/verbal contact with peers and teachers

Shared responsibility

recruits “help” from classmates, compares her and seatmate’s work to s’s behind them (3-way accomplishment)

Oral transmission makes print-based activity oral-based/multi-modal

Pragmatic tasks attempts to find the pragmatic in decontextualized academic task (turn in to teacher,

18MALP construct

Ayan’s actions

Immediate relevance

turn in paper, get teacher’s stamp

Interconnectedness bodily/verbal contact with peers and teachers

Shared responsibility

recruits “help” from classmates, compares her and seatmate’s work to s’s behind them (3-way accomplishment)

Oral transmission makes print-based activity oral-based/multi-modal

Pragmatic tasks attempts to find the pragmatic in decontextualized academic task (turn in to teacher,

19MALP construct

Ayan’s actions

Immediate relevance

turn in paper, get teacher’s stamp

Interconnectedness bodily/verbal contact with peers and teachers

Shared responsibility

recruits “help” from classmates, compares her and seatmate’s work to s’s behind them (3-way accomplishment)

Oral transmission makes print-based activity oral-based/multi-modal

Pragmatic tasks attempts to find the pragmatic in decontextualized academic task (turn in to teacher,

20MALP construct

Ayan’s actions

Immediate relevance

turn in paper, get teacher’s stamp

Interconnectedness bodily/verbal contact with peers and teachers

Shared responsibility

recruits “help” from classmates, compares her and seatmate’s work to s’s behind them (3-way accomplishment)

Oral transmission makes print-based activity oral-based/multi-modal

Pragmatic tasks attempts to find the pragmatic in decontextualized academic task (turn in to teacher,

21MALP construct

Ayan’s actions & resolution

Immediate relevance

turn in paper, get teacher’s stamp

Interconnectedness bodily/verbal contact with peers and teachers

Shared responsibility

recruits “help” from classmates, compares her and seatmate’s work to s’s behind them (3-way accomplishment)

Oral transmission makes print-based activity oral-based/multi-modal

Pragmatic tasks attempts to find the pragmatic in decontextualized academic task (e.g., turn in to teacher)

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Ayan & power Preferred ways of learning (e.g., shared responsibility)

might not align with sanctioned academic practices

Doing school involves treating language and language learning as abstractions (e.g., verb chart)

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Micro-ethnographic analysis

Cultural dissonance

Resolution

Nadifa Reading strategies

Plot analysis

Engages in plot analysis

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Nadifa

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Nadifa

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Nadifa

Excerpt 2: Authentic listening (Nadifa)

INSERT VIDEO HERE

Excerpt 3: Nadifa protests predicting

INSERT VIDEO HERE

29MALP construct

Nadifa’s actions & resolution

Immediate relevance

Text enjoyment

Interconnectedness

Shared responsibility

Oral transmission

Pragmatic tasks

30MALP construct

Nadifa’s actions & resolution

Immediate relevance

Text enjoyment

Interconnectedness Sharing a joke

Shared responsibility

Oral transmission

Pragmatic tasks

31MALP construct

Nadifa’s actions & resolution

Immediate relevance

Text enjoyment

Interconnectedness Sharing a joke

Shared responsibility

Participating in the storytelling

Oral transmission

Pragmatic tasks

32MALP construct

Nadifa’s actions & resolution

Immediate relevance

Text enjoyment

Interconnectedness Sharing a joke

Shared responsibility

Participating in the storytelling

Oral transmission Video is oral/written

Pragmatic tasks

33MALP construct

Nadifa’s actions & resolution

Immediate relevance

Text enjoyment

Interconnectedness Sharing a joke

Shared responsibility

Participating in the storytelling

Oral transmission Video is oral/written

Pragmatic tasks Social value of storytelling to teach a lesson, to enjoy, to be entertained

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Nadifa & power Preferred literacy practices might not align with

school practices. Doing school involves giving up her authentic

ways of interacting with text. Doing school involves treating text as abstract

object

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Two Different Learning Paradigms(Table 2.5, DeCapua & Marshall, 2010, p. 40)

SLIFE Conditions for Learning

US Schools

Immediate relevance Future relevance

Interconnectedness Independence

Processes for LearningShared responsibility Individual accountability

Oral transmission Written word

Activities for Learning

Pragmatic tasks Academic tasks

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Discussion Examination of assumptions of classroom

roles, scripts, pedagogical hegemony How would you theorize these data? How can adaptation/accommodation

happen?

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Thank you!! Marthambigelow@umn.edu Nicolepett0006@umn.edu Kendallkendall@umn.edu

We gratefully acknowledge: Ms. M and her students, who welcomed us into her

classroom to gather data and learn from them. The Univ. of Minnesota Dept. of Curriculum and

Instruction for providing funds to hire research assistants.