The Sociolinguistic Aspects of Students’ Questioning

English 384/584

July 26, 2010

Introduction the Group Members

Sae Thao

Secondary Education Major

Introduction the Group Members

Mike Slowinski

Secondary Education Major

Introduction the Group Members

Dorothy Seehausen

Secondary Education Major

Introduction the Group Members

Kathy Records

Secondary Education Major

Questions

Why do students ask so many questions?

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A. What’s happening in the classroom (Mike)

B. Explain Linguistically (Dorothy)

C. Application and Strategies(Kathy)

Student Questions

What’s happening in the classroom?

Student Passivity

Students Not Asking Questions

Electronic Vs. Face-to-Face

Thomas Good’s Passivity Model

Procedural Questions Instead of Conceptual

Student Passivity - Classroom Factors

Teacher domination Peer pressure Types of activities Self-confidence Unsure how to ask

good questions

Wardhaugh’s Speech Acts

The functional approach of sentence

Who…

Ronald Wardhaugh, professor emeritus University of Toronto

Talk and Action An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2006)

What…

According to Wardhaugh… Conversations not only make statements,

they perform actions in the world Establish friendships Achieve cooperation Create a foundation for future interactions

An example…

Constative utterances: “I had a busy day today.” Connected with events or happenings.

Ethical propositions: “Thou shalt not kill.” Serve as guidelines to behavior in some world or

another.

For our purpose…

The Performative utterance: “I do.” Not only saying but doing something if certain

real-world conditions are met.

Austin’s Five categories…

Performatives Verdictives

Giving a verdict, estimate, grade, or appraisal “Guilty as charged.” “You got an A on your test.”

ExercitivesExercising of powers, rights, or influences

“I pronounce you husband and wife.” “Congratulations! You have just graduated from college.”

CommissivesPromising or undertaking, announcing an intention

“I hereby bequeath” “I intent to teach the best way I know how.”

BehabitivesApologizing, congratulating, blessing, cursing, or

challenging “I apologize” “I challenge you to learn.”

ExpositivesRefers to how one fits an utterance into an argument

or exposition “I argue, I reply, I assume…” “I argue in favor of my learning outcomes.”

And so…

A speech act… In some way changes the conditions that exist in the

world. For example:

“I sentence you to five years in jail.” “I sentence you to two hours of detention.” “Hello. How are you?” (friendly) “You jerk!” (not so friendly)

True/False

A speech act is neither true nor false in itself

However, these claims may be made about its having been done.

Hymes

Hymes' components of a speech event (mnemonic version):Setting- scene situationParticipants- Speaker, Receiver, otherEnds- outcomes and goalsAct sequences- form and contentKey- mannerInstrumentalities- Channel, codeNorms- of behavior and interpretationGenre- style, e.g. lecture, chat

Wardhaugh says…

“Once we begin to look at utterances from the point of view of what they do, it is possible to see every utterance as a speech act of one kind or other, that is, as having some functional value which might be quite independent of the actual words used and their grammatical arrangement.”

Laver and Trudgill…

“Being a listener to speech is not unlike being a detective. The listener…has to construct, from an assortment of clues, the affective state of the speaker and a profile of his identity.”

Communication Model

“All the world is a stage, and we are the players!” Wardhaugh

Application

The Critical Thinker

“If good thinkers are good questioners then are good questioners good thinkers?” (King, 13)

Inspiring Student Inquiry

The Critical Thinker

What is Critical Thinking?

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action“ (Scriven)

The Critical Thinker

Introduction

Skeptical but open-minded Looks at different points of view

Values fair-mindedness Respects evidence & reasoning

Respects clarity & precision Will change positions when reasoning

leads them to

How to Build Your Own Critical Thinker

Teaching How to Ask Questions Question Stems (refer to handout) Semantics & Syntax

Strategies Reciprocal Peer Questioning Reader’s Questions Conference-Style Learning

Inspiring Student Inquiry

Cooperative LearningHigher achievement & greater productivity

More caring, supportive & committed relationships

Greater psychological health, social competence & self-esteem

(Kagan)

Examples

Kagan, Spencer. Cooperative Learning. San Clemente: Kagan Publishing, 1994.

King, Allison. “Designing the Instructional Process to Enhance Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum.” Teaching of

Psychology 22 (1995): 13-17.

Scriven, Michael and Richard Paul. “Defining Critical Thinking: A Draft Statement for the National Council for Excellence in

Critical Thinking.” (1996) Available <http://www.criticalthinking.org/University/univlibrary/library.nclk > (21 July

2010).

Underwood, Marion K. and Rebecca L. Wald. “Conference-Style Learning: A Method for Fostering Critical Thinking with

Heart.” Teaching of Psychology 22 (1995): 17-21.

< http://www.harding.edu/dlee/bloom.pdf> (21 July 2010).

Work Cite

Wardhaugh, R. (2008) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 5th Edition, Blackwell Publishing, MA

Ciardiello, Angelo. “Did You Ask a Good Question Today? Alternative Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 42.3 (Nov. 1998): 210-220. EBSCOhost. Polk Library, UW-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI. 23 July 2010.

Good, Thomas, Ricky Slavings, Kathleen Hobson Harel, and Hugh Emerson. “Student Passivity: A Study of Question Asking in K-12 Classrooms.” Sociology of Education. 60 (July 1987): 181-199. EBSCOhost. Polk Library, UW-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI. 23 July 2010.