CULI Workshop
Bangkok
November 20, 2012
Doing classroom research
The focus of this workshop will be on doing classroom research using qualitative
methodologies.
Types of research
Types of analytic procedures
What really happens during the implementation of TBLT lessons?
Markee (2000: Conversation Analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum. Chapter 7)
Coral analysis
Does TBLT enable students to learn new language, or is it merely a fun way for them to
practice language they already know? The best way to approach this problem is by
looking at actual classroom data of students engaged in linguistic problem solving. We
will do this by looking at a transcript in which one learner, L10, is trying to understand
what the word "coral" means.
Background Information
The talk reproduced in this collection comes from an intermediate-level ESL class for
graduate students that was taught during Spring semester 1990 at an American university.
The class lasted fifty minutes and was taught by an experienced teacher through a taskbased, small group methodology, using pedagogical materials on the Greenhouse Effect
that had been developed for this class. The tasks that the students had to complete
involved an open-ended four way exchange of information.
Students first read and discussed one of four thematically-related magazine articles on the
greenhouse effect in four small groups. A representative or representatives from each
group then presented the information contained in each reading with an overhead
projector in an oral, whole class activity. The end product was some written work, which
was done in a later class that was not recorded. Approximately 30 minutes (which include
five to 10 minutes of silent reading, depending on the group) were allocated to small
group discussion and about 20 minutes were given over to three oral presentations. The
first seven excerpts in the "Coral" collection were collaboratively produced by L9, L10
and L11 during the group work phase; and Excerpt 8 was produced by L10 during the
oral reporting phase to the whole class.
Discussion Issues
Let us now analyze this transcript to find the following pieces of evidence which
demonstrate that L10 first understands and then later shows that she has learned what
the word "coral" means, at least in the short term.
Instructions:
1. Read all of the following instructions before clicking on any links.
2. Click on Coral Collection to obtain the transcript in Adobe Acrobat Reader format
(.pdf).
3. Read the transcript. If you wish to listen to the original recording as you read the
transcript, click on the appropriate link below. NB: The recording is a field
recording. Consequently, the audio is difficult to understand on its own. However,
it will help you to understand the transcript, which uses transcription conventions
that you may not be familiar with.
4. Listen to the audio files
Excerpt 1
Excerpt 2
Excerpt 3
Excerpt 4
Excerpt 5
Excerpt 6
Excerpt 7
Excerpt 8
5. Read the questions below, which will help you with your analysis of the
transcript. As indicated by the line numbers in the transcript, each excerpt is
represented in the sequential order in which it occurred during the original talk
produced by the participants.
Answer the following questions
Questions:
1. Why should we NOT accept L10’s claim at line 211 of Excerpt 2 that she has
understood what the word “coral” means? What does this imply about what
teachers should do when students claim to have understood an answer to a
question?
2. In which excerpt does L10 experience a breakthrough in understanding the word
“coral?” Using the line numbers provided, identify the pieces of evidence that
demonstrate that L10 understands this word in this excerpt (Hint: You should be
able to find at least three separate pieces of evidence that support this analysis).
3. What role does conversational repair play as a catalyst for getting comprehensible
input in this collection as a whole and in the excerpt that you identified in
Question 2 above? Be sure to use the line numbers provided to back up your
analysis.
4. How can we be sure that L10's talk in Excerpt 8 is intended by L10 to be
heard as a definition of the word "coral"? (Hint: Look at Excerpt 3. Be sure
to use the line numbers provided to back up your analysis.)
5. What is distinctive about the way in which L10 constructs the definition
talk in Excerpt 8? (Hint: Look at the words that are highlighted in bold
script in Excerpt 8 and look at Excerpts 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 for the sources of
this definition. Be sure to use the line numbers provided to back up your
analysis.).
6. What do you notice about the quality of the definition L10 produces
initially in the excerpt you identified in answer to Question 2 and the
definition she produces in Excerpt 8? Can you provide an explanation for
this difference?
7. How does the evidence you have gathered in response to Questions 4, 5 and
6 speak to the issue of whether L10 has learned what "coral" means, at least
in the short term?
8. Now reconsider your analyses of Fragment 5 in light of the new gestural
information contained in the video clip of this fragment.
a. More specifically, first, look at line 400 of the transcript and watch
this part of the video to see what gesture L10 uses as she makes her
strong claim of understanding. Does this gesture confirm or deny
your prior analysis?
b. And second, look at lines 407-410. What embodied actions does L10
use during these lines, and does this additional visual evidence
change your previous analysis of when L10 demonstrates that she
had learned what coral means (as opposed to when she had merely
understood this word)?
Video of Fragment 5