Final Paper

Rebeca R. Hill Literacy Discourse as an aspect of Linguistics

Suresh Canagarajah of the Baruch College, City Uni ersity of !e" #or$ states that %&thus, critical pe'agogy in L( has al"ays been sy)pathetic to the agency of subjects* the shaping influence of culture, 'iscourse, an' consciousness +an' not just of econo)ic an' )aterial con'itions, on learning acti ity* the relati e autono)y of specific social 'o)ains to critically negotiate the )achinations of econo)ic an' political structures* an' the po"er of local setting li$e the classroo) to 'e elop cultures of resistance to larger political forces.- +Hin$el, (../,. Part of a critical pe'agogy is critical literary 'iscourse. 0n his boo$, %Literacy, Discourse an' Linguistics,- 1a)es Paul 2ee brea$s 'o"n the )eaning of %"or's- into 'iscourses. 3lso, in his on4line article title' %5hat is literacy6- he further e7poun's on this by saying that, %by 8a 'iscourse 0 "ill )ean9 a socially accepte' association a)ong "ays of using language, of thin$ing, an' of acting that can be use' to i'entify oneself as a )e)ber of a socially )eaningful group or a social net"or$.- 5ithin this fra)e"or$, he branches out to the 'ifferent types of 'iscourses that are in place in society. :ach profession has its o"n 'iscourse, for e7a)ple, there is a 'iscourse of teaching, a 'iscourse of )e'icine, a 'iscourse of la", etc&but there are also 'iscourses that he labels as %pri)ary- an' %secon'ary.- ;he first one 2ee says that people ac<uire in the ho)e en iron)ent. ;he secon'ary one, people ac<uire in establish)ents an' other groups in society. 0n his boo$, %0ntro'uction to Discourse 3nalysis 9 ;heory an' =etho'- 2ee gi es this 'efinition9

%Discourse analysis is a reciprocal an' cyclical process in "hich "e shuttle bac$ an' forth bet"een the structure +for), 'esign, of a piece of language an' the situate' )eanings it is atte)pting to buil' about the "orl', i'entities, an' relationships.- +2ee, >???,. 0n so)e "ays, 0 feel that 2ee operates fro) a generati ist point of ie". Li'ia 5hite "rites, %&L( researches "or$ing in the generati e para'ig) assu)e that interlanguage gra))ars, li$e nati e spea$er gra))ars, in ol e unconscious )ental representations, although they 'o not necessarily agree as to the precise nature of these representations, for e7a)ple, the nature an' 'egree of influence of the L> an' the status of U2 constraints.- +5illia)s, (..@, People are influence' by their pri)ary 'iscourses in their ho)e en iron)ent "hich consists of "or's an' other influences that are boun' to certain constraints. =ental gra))ar is i)portant because "hen you ha e a poor person "ho un'erstan's "hat po erty is in his )in' )ay not be able to e7press it in "ays that are acceptable in the secon'ary 'iscourse. ;his 'iscourse opens the 'oors to free'o). But ho" 'oes a person get there6 Airginia 2onBaleB in her paper, %Construction of a Phonological De elop)ent ;est for =onolingual Spanish Preschoolers Leaning :nglish as a Secon' Languagestu'ies %a cogniti e approach to the stu'y of language, proposing that hu)an beings construct sy)bolic representations instantiating )eaning at the perceptual an' )e)ory le els in phonetic an' phonological processes&as a result, cogniti e an' linguistic processes are in ol e' in perceptual, )e)ory, an' )e'iational transfor)ational processes of soun's into )eaningful sy)bols an' phone)es.- +2onBales, >???,.

So a pri)ary 'iscourse for a chil' an' an L( learner )ay be ery si)ilar. 5hile )any of the actual "or's )ay not be a ailable because of the gra))ar aspect of the language, certainly in )e)ory "ith 'ifferent representations chil'ren an' L( learners are able gi e the puBBle )eaning. Ho"e er, "e 'o $no" that age 'oes play a part in language ac<uisition an' therefore, in the area of pri)ary 'iscourse on language ac<uisition. %Byalysto$ an' Ha$utaCs +>???, analysis of pre ious age4relate' stu'ies pointe' to )ultiple cogniti e factors that )ay lea' to age effects on SL3.- +SanB, (../,. ;he i'ea that an L( learner is influence' by his en iron)ent if that learner is i))erse' as a chil', that chil' "ill ha e a better chance to obtain nati e4li$e rea'ing s$ills is plausible. Ho"e er, "hat about if the parents canCt rea'6 ;he chil' )ay ha e an un'erstan'ing of the L( language but not the "riting aspect of the language. 5einreich state' that %interlingual i'entification- can happen "hen people are able to 'istinguish fro) one language to the other in a broa' sense. +Blac$shire4Belay, >??D,. %Such ju'g)ents )ay be conscious or unconscious, they )ay be accurate or inaccurate, an' they )ay be )a'e either by fully co)petent bilinguals or by learners still in the earlier stages of ac<uiring a ne" language.- +Blac$shire4Belay, >??D,. ;herefore, if parents to an L( learner are illiterate, the learners "ill only ha e a broa' an' si)plistic un'erstan'ing of the L( language. 3s an e'ucator, in countries "ere po erty is a ery real proble), the literacy factor beco)es a )ajor issue for secon' 'iscourse ac<uisition. ;his brings )e to Paolo Freire an' his "or$ "ith literacy a)ong people "ho $ne" ho" to spea$ in the pri)ary 'iscourse but certainly "oul' ne er be able to get in the 'oor of the secon'ary 'iscourse.

Paulo Freire is one of the )ost influential e'ucators of our century. He "as born in Recife, BraBil in >?(> an' 'ie' of a heart attac$ on =ay (, >??@. He "as a secon'ary school teacher "here he taught Portuguese fro) >?D> E >?D@. He later beca)e acti e in %a'ult e'ucation an' "or$ersC training- +http9FF""".e'ucation.)ia)i.e'u,. His best $no"n "or$ is %Pe'agogy of the Gppresse'- +>?@.,. He e)phasiBe' a syste) of learning as an %act of culture an' free'o)- +http9FF""".e'ucation.)ia)i.e'u,. He belie e' that the 'o)inant culture force' their ie"s on ho" to respon' to that of the poor. He e7pan'e' his i'eas to inclu'e9 %'ialectic, e)po"er)ent, generati e the)esF"or's, hu)aniBation, libratory e'ucation, )ystification, pra7is, proble)atiBation- an' %transfor)ation of the "orl'- +http9FF""".e'ucation.)ia)i.e'u,. %Lo e an' the 'ialectics of re olutionary practice pro i'e' Paulo Freire "ith the foun'ation for his pe'agogy of liberationHpe'agogy co))itte' to the collecti e struggle to restore our hu)anity- +Dar'er, (..(, p. //, . Freire realiBe' ho" i)portant it "as for teachers not to get har'ene' by the beurocratic re' tape an' get 'istracte' fro) the tas$ at han'. 3ccor'ing to 3ntonia Dar'er, %;here is no <uestion that Paulo Freire al"ays recogniBe' the enor)ity an' 'ifficulty of the pe'agogical ision that he propose'. But through the years, he coul' see no other alternati e to the restoration of our hu)anity than to Isuperse'eI the 'ebilitating fatalis) an' i)posing )yths that function to secure our consensus an' participation in the political 'o)ination an' econo)ic e7ploitation of t"o4thir's of the "orl'Js population. 0n'ee' such a ision entails an ongoing political process, one that can only be acco)plishe' by our sustaine' collecti e laborHa labor born of lo e, but 'eeply anchore' in an unceasing co))it)ent to $no" through both theory an' practice the nature of the beast that preys on our

hu)anity, an' "ith this $no"le'ge, to fight "ith un"a ering hope an' soli'arity for the ine itable birthing of a ne" "orl'- +Dar'er, (..(, p. //, Freire put into practice "hat those beliefs he hel' 'ear. He beca)e a catalyst for great change not just in his o"n ti)e but in the legacy he left behin'. 5hen analyBing PauloCs "or$, Peter =c Laren state', %pe'agogies al"ays pro'uce specific for)s of practical co)petency E literacyCs E that for the )ost part ha e been presse' into the ser ice of the 'o)inant culture. ;his situation occurs because of the "ays in "hich $no"le'ge is inscribe' in the social9 certain linguistic co)petencies, for)s of narrati e a''ress, an' signs of i'eological soli'arity are pri ilege' o er others an' others carry greater currency "ithin the social or'er- +=cLaren, >??K, p. L,. Social or'er "as 'efinitely i)portant to Freire. 0n his boo$ %Pe'agogy of the City,- +>??K,, Freire state' he felt there nee'e' to be )utual respect for stu'ents, teachers schools, parents an' the general co))unity. He e)phasiBe' the respect for public property because he belie e' that only then "oul' you be able to spea$ %of principles an' alues- +p. K.,. 5ithout social or'er, pan'e)oniu) "oul' ensue. Social or'er has a price an' Paulo "as a re olutionary. Perhaps that is "hy Peter =c Laren in his ne" boo$ %Che 2ue ara, Paulo Freire an' ;he Pe'agogy of Re olution+(..., )a$es the connection bet"een the re olutionary Che 2ue ara an' Freire. Un'oubte'ly, there "ill be those "ho 'isagree "ith this analogy. 0t is a little 'isturbing to thin$ of Freire in the co)pany of 2ue ara an' yet, there are si)ilarities. Both ha' isions of setting the oppresse' free in their countries. Gne "as at the point of a gun an' the other, using e'ucation to raise the stan'ar's of those oppresse' by the ruling class. ;his is a fascinating co)parison an' one that cannot be 'is)isse' "ithout ta$ing a har'

loo$ at both )en an' their li es. Personally, 0 plan on rea'ing this boo$ o er )y acation. Che 2ue ara is an icon in Cuban history an' 0 "oul' ery )uch li$e to see the connection to PauloCs "or$ an' 2ue araCs life. So )any of the )o'els "e ha e to'ay are because of i'eas Freire inspire'. ;he i'ea that, %e'ucation beco)es a tool both to 'e elop the hu)an potential of people, such as the ability to rea', an' to free the) fro) oppressi e con'itions such as po erty an' 'isease- +Ryan, et.al., (..D, co)es fro) PauloCs passion about e'ucation. 0 ha e state' a fe" of the facts about PauloCs life an' career. 0t is clear that Freire left a "ealth of $no"le'ge for e'ucators to buil' upon, but ti)e "ill in'ee' tell the story of "hether this )an "as truly a for"ar' thin$er or just a 'rea)er but he un'erstoo' the i)portance of opening the 'oor to the secon'ary 'iscourse an' he "as able to offer that $ey to )any people. 3s a language teacher, critical literally an' the secon'ary 'iscourse beco)es e7tre)ely i)portant "hen 0 thin$ about the 'ifferent stu'ents that co)e into )y classroo) each year. Ho" 'o 0 reach the)6 Freire "as certainly a )o'el for ho" to reach out to $i's "ho are struggling* especially those "ho are fro) the inner cities an' bring their o"n type of 'iscourse into the classroo). First, in )y opinion, it is un'erstan'ing that Literacy for )e no" )eans rea'ing an' "riting co)ple7 te7ts so that 0 a) able to analyBe )y "orl' en iron)ent an' )a$e 'iscerning, infor)e' choices. ;his is an aspect of linguistics that 0 nee' to be able to

infuse into )y teaching. ;he )ore 0 a) able to brea$ 'o"n co)ple7 te7ts an' rea' )ultiple te7ts* 0 "ill be able to )a$e infor)e' opinions. Har ey Daniels an' Ste en Me)el)an ga e an outline 0 "ill refer to in )y classroo) to ensure )y stu'ents beco)e literate )o'els. 0t is as follo"s9 1. Kids should read a wide range of materials in all classes (Spanish). 2. Students should read for the same purposes as literate adults, both for information and pleasure. A sense of purpose is a key to reading success. . Students need to read a lot! "olume, #uantity, and practice count. $. Students should read plenty of books and articles written at a comfortable recreational le"el, not frustration le"el. %. Kids need genuine choice of reading materials& at least half of what they read should be self'selected, based on interest and curiosity. (. )he classroom should become a reading community, a group of people who regularly read, talk, and write together. *. )eachers must help students de"elop a repertoire of thinking strategies to handle challenging te+ts, and guide students to be increasingly aware and in charge of their own thinking processes. ,. Students should engage in fre#uent interdisciplinary in#uiries, pro-ects, and where possible entire interdisciplinary courses to e+plore topics in depth. .. Students of all ages need to hear powerful writing in performance / reading aloud by the teacher and other students, dramatic interpretation, audio books, etc. 10. Adolescent students need opportunities to connect with the adult literate community, starting with teachers as readers who generously share their reading li"es with kids. 3 lesson plan follo"s that 0 use in )y classroo) that )o'els this aspect of linguistics9 N;his is all 'one in Spanish E it is a Regents ClassO. Lesson ;itle9 Learning the 'iscourse of en iron)ent an' :cua'or. Before "e begin, let )e say that at this point, the class has seen the "or$ of Gs"al'o Aiteri an' "e ha e 'iscusse' ho", )any ti)es, the artist incorporates the han'icrafts of a country into their "or$. Gther than that, no other infor)ation regar'ing :cua'or has been gi en.

;he country9 :cua'or +ULFL>4L(,

D3# > Objective for the day: 0ntro'uce lesson the)e9 :l )un'o 'e hoy&

Presentation Strategies: Discuss en iron)ental concerns an' solutions.

!e" #or$ State Stan'ar's9 >.>, >,(, >.K, D.(,

Culture9 ;he en iron)ent an' conser ation Teacher instructions: ;eacher opens up the class by ha ing a %Piensa- on the boar' "ith the follo"ing <uestions9 %5hat en iron)ental organiBations 'o you $no"6 Ho" 'o "e $eep our cities an' par$s clean6 Do you $no" any art that reflects your en iron)ent or culture6 ;eacher gi es stu'ents K to / )inutes to ans"er the <uestions +"rite 'o"n so)e possible ans"ers,. 3fter"ar's, teacher "elco)es the class an' refers to the 8PiensaC for to'ay. ;eacher as$s stu'ents to share their thoughts on the <uestions E K to D )inutes. 3fter"ar's, teacher as$s the <uestions, %5hat 'o you $no" about :cua'or6 2i e stu'ents (FK )inutes to thin$ about the ans"er. Ha e the) share "ith partners before engaging "ith the entire class. 3fter sai' ti)e, as$ for input. ;eacher then as$s the class to ta$e out their Aenn Diagra) an' ta$e notes regar'ing the D.A.D. they "ill be "atching. ;eacher then plays the D.A.D. regar'ing :cua'or. +;his D.A.D

Student Aenn Diagra) E Co)pareFContrast P.5.L. +5hat 0 $no", "hat 0 "ant to $no" an' "hat 0 learne',E ocabulary E ;he en iron)entFconser ation. D.A.D. E :cua'or 0nter ie" "ith Ra)Qn Sal'i a +nati e fro) Ruito, :cua'or,.

H.W. for class9 1rite % #uestions that you would like Se2or Saldi"a to answer for class tomorrow.

sho"s the country an' po erty of the people, scenic ie"s, tal$s about econo)ic issues that face :cua'or an' political figures that i)pact the go ern)ent. +;otal running ti)e9 >9>. )inutes,. 3fter the )o ie, teacher as$s the stu'ents to reflect about so)e things they ha e seen about :cua'or an' the en iron)ent but also about the people an' go ern)ent. 3lso, the par$s such as 2alapagos 0slan's, Cotopa7i, Chi)boraBo, Sangay. ;eacher as$s the stu'ents to finish "riting 'o"n as )any points as they can recall. ;eacher gi es the class /F@ )inutes to finish up. ;eacher intro'uces the guest spea$er, Ra)Qn Sal'i a +nati e of :cua'or, an' as$s the class to listen to SeSor Sal'i aCs story regar'ing life in :cua'or. 5rap4up9 Nthe last / )inutes of classO ;eacher as$s that stu'ents na)e > thing they learne' or "as re4enforce' in class an' then ha e stu'ents share. The country: Ecuador (U !"#$"%& D3# ( Objective for the day: 0ntro'uce lesson the)e9 :l )un'o 'e hoy& Culture9 ;he en iron)ent an' conser ation

Presentation Strategies: Discuss en iron)ental concerns an' solutions.

!e" #or$ State Stan'ar's9 >.>, >,(, >.K, D.(,

Teacher instructions: 3s stu'ents co)e into the classroo), stu'ents 'o their

Student P.5.L.

8PiensaC on the boar'. Gn4line :7ercise9 "eb site ;o'ayCs 8PiensaC is9 ta$e out your """.fbe.org.ec h.". <uestions for SeSor Sal'i a. ;eacher as$s stu'ents to share their %Para y Piensa- <uestions after <uestions an' to jot 'o"n "hat rea'ing. SeSor Sal i'a says. 3fter"ar's, teacher as$s the =in' )ap. follo"ing <uestions9 %Does the life story of SeSor Sal'i a influence Frayer =o'el your opinion on :cua'or fro) that of the D.A.D.6 State your response. S$it E using the future tense. ;a$e out your P.5.L. E "rite 'o"n so)e things that you ha e learne' H.W. for class9 regar'ing this country. ;eacher gi es stu'ents >. )inutes to "rap 3ontinue to work with partners and be up acti ity. ready to present your skits. Stu'ents than$ SeSor Sal'i a an' then as$s the class to go to the lap cart an' retreat their lap tops an' go on4line to """.fbe.org.ec an' follo" the 'irections on "or$sheet that teacher han's out. ;eacher han's out ( "or$sheets one has a =in' )ap that sho"s the objecti e an' the progra)s of %Fun'aciQn Bello :cua'or.Stu'ents are to a'' as )any 'etails as they can. +Usually (. )inutes for this acti ity,. 3fter finishing this acti ity, teacher as$s stu'ents to share their fin'ings "ith a partner. ;eacher han's out 8Frayer =o'elC an' )o'els up on the screen the Future ;ense of Regular Aerbs. ;eacher as$s stu'ents to thin$ about K things they "ill 'o if they beco)e part of the olunteers for F.B.:. Stu'ents are as$e' to share their response. ;eacher brea$s up the class in groups of fours by gi ing each stu'ent 'ifferent colore' D 'ifferent colore' notecar's. ;hey are to get together using the colors of their

car's. ;eacher as$s the) to create a s$it using the infor)ation they ha e gathere' fro) the D.A.D, the inter ie" "ith SeSor Sal'i a an' the on4line <uest. 0ncorporate the future tense. Gne person "ill be a tourist Nclass has alrea'y ha' ocabulary on touris)O, one person "ill be a par$ ranger, one person "ill be a olunteer an' one person "ill be a local fro) the area. ;eacher gi es the class the rest of the ti)e to "or$ on this project an' "al$s aroun' to ans"er any <uestions they )ay ha e.

Finally, this lesson continues for ( "ee$s as "e 'ig 'eeper into issues that effect :cua'or. ;he stu'ents go on4line an' rea' on4line ne"spapers fro) :cua'or an' pic$ hot4topics that in ol e the country. 3lso, they are in ol e' in a project that they "ill loo$ at statistical 'ata Nfor e7a)ple9 )ortality rate, po erty rate, une)ploy)ent, e'ucation, etc.O an' co)pile it into a presentation that "ill be gi en in front of the class. 5e learn about that secon'ary 'iscourse 2ee tal$s about an' ho" ital it is for countries such as :cua'or to ha e all of its people be able to rea' an' "rite so that their o"n stan'ar' of li ing )ay i)pro e. Ho"e er, "e also co)pare those statistics to =e7ico, "ho for e7a)ple, is a neighboring country "ho entere' the trillion 'ollar )ar$et an' yet al)ost T of the population of =e7ico li e in po erty. Learning the language of that secon'ary 'iscourse opens up 'oors to stu'ents "ho "ill be )a$ing the 'ecisions of to)orro". 5e are in the business of e)po"ering people

to stri e to be life learners an' that entails not just oursel es in this great country, but the "orl'.

References

2ee, 1. P. +(..?,. An 4ntroduction to 5iscourse Analysis& )heory and 6ethod, Second edition +( e'.,. Lon'on9 ; U F Boo$s U$. 2onBaleB, A. +>??L,. 7anguage and 3ogniti"e 5e"elopment in Second 7anguage 7earning& 8ducational 4mplications for 3hildren and Adults +> e'.,. Boston, =39 3llyn U Bacon. Luria, H., Sey)our, D. =., U S)o$e, ;. +n.'.,. Language an' linguistics in conte7t ... 4 2oogle Boo$s. 9oogle :ooks. Retrie e' 1uly (., (.>., fro) http9FFboo$s.google.co)Fboo$s6 i'VDLcWbg<R/:DCUpgVP3(X/UlpgVP3(X/U'<V Y:(YL.Y?CLiteracy,ZDiscourse,Zan'ZLinguistics9Z Z0ntro'uctionZan'Z5hatZisZLiteracyYKF Y:(YL.Y?DZbyZ1a)esZPaulZ2eeUsourceVblUotsVgsHjcih./>Us igV5R$A#G@1PenSX4BP$L .KBy<!DUhlVenUeiV [h:;!uPB

AanPatten, B., U 5illia)s, 1. +(..@,. )heories in Second 7anguage Ac#uisiton An 4ntroduction. =ah"ah, !e" 1ersey9 La"rence :rlbau) 3ssociates, 0nc.. Dar'er, 3. +(..(,. ;ein"enting <aulo =reire& A <edagogy of 7o"e. Boul'er, CG9 5est ie" Press. =cLaren, P. +>??K,. Critical Literacy an' Postcolonial Pra7is9 3 Freirian

Perspecti e. 3ollege 7iterature, 20+>,, @4(@.

Freire, Paulo +>??K,. <edagogy of the 3ity. !e" #or$, !#9 ;he Continuu) Publishing Co)pany. <aulo =reire. +n.'., Retrie e' =arch >D, (../, fro)
http9FF""".e'ucation.)ia)i.e'uFepFconte)porarye'FPaulo

Ryan, P., U Cooper, 1.=. +(..D,. )hose 1ho 3an )each +>.th e'.,. Boston, =39 Houghton =ifflin Co)pany Co)pany, H. =. +(..L,. Chapter L 4 :cua'or. 6c5ougal 7ittell >A"ancemos? 2 +pp. D>L 4 DX@,. : anston9 =cDougal Littell. Hin$el, :li.+(../,. @andbook of ;esearch in Second 7anguage )eaching and 7earning +>.th e'.,. =ah"ah, !e" 1ersey9 La"rence :rlbau) 3ssociates, 0nc.