Winter 2003

Professor: Gordon Wells

Office: Social Sciences 1, Room 233; Phone: 9-4701; email: gwells@ucsc.edu

Homepage: http://people.ucsc.edu/~gwells

Office hours: Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 12.30 - 3.00 p.m., and by appointment.

Overview

Since the emergence of speech some 50,000 years ago, language has been the principal means through which humans have organized their activities together, reflected on them, and passed on their knowledgeable skills to successive generations. Language is thus the basis of culture and at the same time the mediator of each individualís social and intellectual development. As Halliday states,"When children learn language, they are not simply engaging in one type of learning among many; rather, they are learning the foundations of learning itself. ... Hence the ontogenesis of language is at the same time the ontogenesis of learning" (1993a, p.93). This remains true in school, where writing adds another important medium for learning. However, even in the classroom, talk constitutes the major use of language and it is mainly through discourse with self, in groups, and in whole class discussion that learning actually occurs. In this course, therefore, we shall explore the significance of Hallidayís claim and consider its implications for learning and teaching in the preschool years and in the more formal settings of school and university classrooms.

The course will be organized in two strands. In the first strand, drawing on published books and articles, we shall adopt a multidisciplinary approach to the study of language and its development in order to understand the role it plays in learning and teaching. The second strand, by contrast, will be more practical. Starting from audio and video recordings of events in homes and classrooms, course members will learn to transcribe and analyze episodes of discourse in order to make their own evaluations of the educational effectiveness of different styles of linguistic interaction.

The actual content of the course will be negotiated to take account of course membersí interests and concerns. For this reason, I have not prepared a predetermined list of weekly readings. However, it is likely that the topics to be addressed will include:

1. How conversation works: experience, intersubjectivity and the negotiation of meaning.
2. The development of language: learning to talk and talking to learn.
3. The contribution of parents and other community members in childrenís language development.
4. The beginnings of literacy: What exactly is involved in learning to read and write?
5. From home to school: similarities and differences in opportunities for interaction.
6. Language in the classroom: different functions and patterns of interaction.
7. Who asks questions and for what purposes?
8. What makes for good classroom discussion?

Evaluation of student performance will be based on: participation in class discussion, short papers based on readings, group and individual practical work, quizzes, and a final project report as class presentation and written paper.

The grade for the course will be given after the portfolio containing all course work has been reviewed. Individual assignments will not be graded but will be returned with comments.

Assignments

1. a) Make a transcript of the videoclip 'Windfinder'.

2. Group response to weekly readings, one set of which should be chosen for a written response.

3. a) Record an interaction between teacher and students (or parent and child) in which the adult is 'teaching'.

1. Transcribe and code the recording.

3. Individual (or group) inquiry leading to a report to be presented in class and written up as the final assignment.

Set text: Wells, G. (1986) The meaning makers: Children learning to talk and talking to learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

The following are recommended as additional reading:

Barnes, D. (1992) From communication to curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Booth, D. and Thornley-Hall, C. (Eds.) (1991) The talk curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Bruner, J.S. (1990) Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Cazden, C.B. (1988) Classroom discourse: The language of teaching and learning. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann. (second edition, 1999.)

Christie, F. & Martin, J.R. (eds.) (1998) Genres and Institutions: Social Processes in the Workplace and School. London: Cassell Academic.

Edwards, D. and Mercer, N. (1987) Common knowledge: The development of understanding in the classroom. London: Routledge.

Halliday, M.A.K. (1975) Learning how to mean. London: Arnold.

Hasan, R. and Martin, J.R. (Eds.) (1989) Language development: Learning language, learning culture. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Heath, S.B. (1983) Ways with words. Cambrdge: Cambridge University Press.

Lemke, J.L. (1989) Using language in the classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lock, A. (ed.) (1978) Action, gesture and symbol: The emergence of language.London: Academic Press.

Mehan, H. (1979) Learning lessons. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Mercer, N. (1995) The guided construction of knowledge. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Moll, L. (Ed.) (1990) Vygotsky and education: Implications and applications of sociohistorical psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Newman, D., Griffin, P. and Cole, M. (1989) The construction zone: Working for cognitive change in school. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Nystrand, M. (1997) Opening dialogue. New York: Teachers College Press.

Rogoff, B. (1990) Apprenticeship in thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Press.

Wells, G. (1981) Learning through interaction: The study of language development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wells, G. (1999) Dialogic inquiry: Towards a sociocultural practice and theory of education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wells, G. & Chang-Wells, G.L. (1992) Constructing knowledge together: Classrooms as centers of inquiry and literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Wells, G. & Claxton, G. (Eds.) Learning for life in the 21^st csntury: Sociocultural perspectives on the future of education. Oxford: Blackwell.

Wood, D. (1988) How children think and learn. Oxford: Blackwell.

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