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The Impact of Literacy-Based Schooling on Learning a Creative Practice: Modal Configurations, Practices and Discourses
Abstract
Building on the argument that practices between teacher and learners in classrooms may differ (Scollon and Scollon, 1981; Brice Heath, 1983 [1996]; Street, 1984; Gee, 1996; Barton and Hamilton, 1998), I look at how literacy focused school classroom teaching/learning practices instilled into an individual have a long-term effect. Using a multimodal (inter)action analytical approach (Norris, 2004, 2014) and the site of engagement as my analytical tool that brings together concrete actions, practices and discourses as a coherent whole, I examine actions, practices and discourses produced and reproduced by an art teacher and a new art student in a small private art school in Germany. While the art teacher draws on and re-produces the practice of painting, the new art student draws on and reproduces the practices and discourses that she learned in formal schooling, forcing her to produce and understand modal configurations that do not align with the creative practice that she is learning. This paper has potential educational and social ramifications as it illustrates that formal schooling may have a negative effect upon creativity by focusing the schooled individual upon results and on language/listening. These foci directly translate into modal behaviour which disadvantages the individual when trying to learn a creative practice, where the process and showing/seeing are emphasised. As the world becomes more multimodal and creative, we may want to engage in more research to rethink what and how children are taught.
... That is, communication is comprised of far more elements than just the spoken or written linguistic codes. Rather, communication encompasses countless resources and modes with which semiotic systems are created, configured, and deployed (Franks & Jewitt, 2001;Goldin-Meadow, 2000;Norris, 2014;Roth, 2001), including the bilingual child's two languages. In that sense, semiotic resources are the materials, elements, actions available to create meaning, while communicative modes are the ways in which such resources are configured, organized, and deployed to create, shape, and reshape meaning in interaction. ...
... Current approaches to researching the instances in which such sociocultural aspects surface the school contexts focus heavily on examining isolated instances of the use of the students' L1 (García & Nava, 2012;Jaffe, 2007;Macswan, 2013) or on the implementation of pedagogical approaches that treat languages separately creating learning environments where the coexistence of the two languages is not possible (García-Mateus & Palmer, 2017). Such views deviate greatly from a social semiotic perspective in that they (1) do not explain learning on the basis of communication and (2) that they fail to recognize that the languages a person speaks and their sociocultural, historical, and semiotic resources and modes are interconnected as one integrated repertoire for communicative action (Cenoz & Gorter, 2017;Kress, 2010Kress, , 2011Norris, 2004Norris, , 2014. Thus, there still exists a pressing need for a social-semiotic multimodal communication-based approach where the use of the students' L1 and any other semiotic resource or communicative mode can be interpreted in relation to each other and in light of the communicative action being pursued and the social climate being promoted (Fairclough, 2011;Norris, 2014). ...
... Such views deviate greatly from a social semiotic perspective in that they (1) do not explain learning on the basis of communication and (2) that they fail to recognize that the languages a person speaks and their sociocultural, historical, and semiotic resources and modes are interconnected as one integrated repertoire for communicative action (Cenoz & Gorter, 2017;Kress, 2010Kress, , 2011Norris, 2004Norris, , 2014. Thus, there still exists a pressing need for a social-semiotic multimodal communication-based approach where the use of the students' L1 and any other semiotic resource or communicative mode can be interpreted in relation to each other and in light of the communicative action being pursued and the social climate being promoted (Fairclough, 2011;Norris, 2014). ...
Bilingual learners often integrate semiotic resources and communicative modes across the languages they speak. Unfortunately, current approaches to researching such a phenomenon assign pragmatic functions to individual discourse moves at best or to isolated utterances at worst. Thus, using a social semiotic multimodal interaction analysis, this study examined actions in interactions of a group of six transnational students participating in a second-grade literacy circle at a school in western New York, USA. The purpose of this was to account for the complex reciprocities among their multimodal ways of communicating, their learning climate , and ultimately their learning as mediated and evidenced in their integrated multimodal communicative action. Data included four audio recordings of four literacy circle reading activities that took place during a four-day period. Findings sug gest that, first, learning results from communication. Second, learning can only be evidenced through communication in interaction. Finally, communication is always multimodal and emergent while, at the same time, culturally governed. This presents direct implications for instruction and learning regarding the social conditions afforded to students to access their full repertoire of semiotic resourc es and modes to participate and act on their own behalf and in pursuit of their learning.
... Moreover, creative work allows for the exploration of discourses that shape the construction of fluid and hybrid ethnic identities (Adsett et al. 1996, Marsh, 2015O'Donnell, 2018;Somerville, 2012;Stevenson, 2002). Also, using mediated action as the unit of analysis allows for the study of a variety of creative actions, such as rehearsing a dance and writing a poem, as the focus is the social actor, acting with/through meditational means (Jones, 2005;Norris, 2004Norris, , 2011Norris, , 2014Scollon, 2005;Wertsch, 1998 ...
... Social actors coproduce their identity through social actions, mediational means and the environment. MIA allows for the micro analysis of concrete mediated actions (Scollon, 1998;Wertsch, 1998;Norris, 2002Norris, , 2004Norris, , 2006Norris, , 2009Norris, , 2010Norris, , 2011Norris, , 2012aNorris, , 2012bNorris, , 2012cNorris, , 2013Norris, , 2014Norris, , 2016Norris, , 2017Norris, , 2019. Using the site of engagement to analyse these concrete mediated actions highlights the interrelationship between the mediated actions, the mediational means, the practices and discourses (Jones, 2005;Norris & Jones, 2005;Norris, 2011Norris, , 2014Scollon, 2001). ...
... MIA allows for the micro analysis of concrete mediated actions (Scollon, 1998;Wertsch, 1998;Norris, 2002Norris, , 2004Norris, , 2006Norris, , 2009Norris, , 2010Norris, , 2011Norris, , 2012aNorris, , 2012bNorris, , 2012cNorris, , 2013Norris, , 2014Norris, , 2016Norris, , 2017Norris, , 2019. Using the site of engagement to analyse these concrete mediated actions highlights the interrelationship between the mediated actions, the mediational means, the practices and discourses (Jones, 2005;Norris & Jones, 2005;Norris, 2011Norris, , 2014Scollon, 2001). MIA also offers a systematic approach of working with the data from data collection to data analysis (Norris, 2019). ...
This thesis examines the construction of hybrid and fluid ethnic identity elements as produced by Māori and Pacific female artists. Ethnic identity studies within New Zealand reveal different types of ethnic identities, and although there is research being conducted into hybrid and fluid Māori and Pacific identity elements, no studies have been done examining the construction of these identities through mediated action. This thesis attempts to fill this gap.
Using video ethnography and socio-linguistic interviews, data were collected and analysed utilising multimodal (inter)action analysis (MIA) as the theoretical and methodological framework. Vertical identity production and site of engagement are analytical tools within MIA that allow for the study of the intersection between discourses and mediated actions performed by social actors. These analytical tools were applied to interview and video transcripts selected from the data, following a systematic process of data cataloguing.
Analysis of the data is presented in three chapters which show the ethnic and creative identity production of the participants as constructed through the central, intermediary and outer layers of discourse. The first analysis chapter demonstrates the way the participants create art by blending traditional and contemporary features and diverse knowledge, in turn constructing their immediate ethnic and creative identity elements. This analysis is compared to the way the participants verbalise these identity elements within their interviews. The second analysis chapter examines the way experiences of exclusion and inclusion from within their networks shape their continuous ethnic and
creative identity elements. The third analysis chapter explores moments of exclusion and inclusion but within larger communities such as mainstream New Zealand, and their ethnic communities. It also illustrates the way in which the participants’ art creates inclusion and shapes the general ethnic and creative identity development of other social actors.
Following this, wider discourses and practices are examined using the site of engagement as the analytical tool. This chapter demonstrates the way in which wider discourses such as colonial, superiority/inferiority and racism discourse intersect with practices such as superiority/inferiority, gratitude, and marginalisation and with the mediated actions performed by the participants. This analysis highlights the negative impact these discourses and practices can have on ethnic identity construction for Māori and Pacific social actors. To this end, numerous recommendations are made within the conclusion with the intention of changing these wider discourses and practices.
This thesis contributes to knowledge in the area of Māori and Pacific identity studies by utilising multimodal (inter)action analysis to study identity production. It also contributes to the theoretical and methodological framework of multimodal (inter)action analysis.
... Through the inclusion of all of these facets, the theoretical framework embraces the complexity of interaction. In order to analyse this complexity in practical terms, various methodological tools have been developed (Norris 2004(Norris , 2009(Norris , 2011a(Norris , 2014Geenen 2013;Makboon 2015;Pirini 2016), taking the study of interaction and language in use to a deeper level. This article explicates some key concepts and methodological tools, by illustrating these through examples from a large-scale study of 17 New Zealand families (84 individuals in age from infant to 84 years old) interacting via videoconferencing technology with family members across the globe, using either skype or facetime. ...
... Multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris 2004(Norris , 2009(Norris , 2011a(Norris , 2011b(Norris , 2013(Norris , 2014(Norris , 2015 originating from mediated discourse analysis (Scollon 1998(Scollon , 2001 is based in the sociological interest of humans acting in the world that we find in the work of Goffman (1963); incorporates the interest in intercultural interaction that we find in the work of Gumperz (1982); includes an interest in power in interaction that we find in the work of Wodak (1989); delves into the microanalysis of interaction that we find in the work of Tannen (1984), Schiffrin (1987), or Hamilton (1998); has a strong interest in applied linguistics that we find in the work of van Lier (1996); is strongly influenced by socio-cultural psychology as we find in the work of Wertsch (1998); and is grounded in social semiotic thought that we find in the writings of van Leeuwen and Kress (van Leeuwen 1999;Kress 2000;Kress andvan Leeuwen 1998, 2001). With these foundations, multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris 2004(Norris , 2011 has developed into a strong theoretical framework with an abundance of methodological tools (Norris 2004(Norris , 2009(Norris , 2011(Norris , 2013a(Norris , 2013b(Norris , 2014Geenen 2013;Makboon 2015;Pirini 2015Pirini , 2016) that make the analysis of (always) multimodal (inter)action possible, opening up research into new and promising directions. ...
... Multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris 2004(Norris , 2009(Norris , 2011a(Norris , 2011b(Norris , 2013(Norris , 2014(Norris , 2015 originating from mediated discourse analysis (Scollon 1998(Scollon , 2001 is based in the sociological interest of humans acting in the world that we find in the work of Goffman (1963); incorporates the interest in intercultural interaction that we find in the work of Gumperz (1982); includes an interest in power in interaction that we find in the work of Wodak (1989); delves into the microanalysis of interaction that we find in the work of Tannen (1984), Schiffrin (1987), or Hamilton (1998); has a strong interest in applied linguistics that we find in the work of van Lier (1996); is strongly influenced by socio-cultural psychology as we find in the work of Wertsch (1998); and is grounded in social semiotic thought that we find in the writings of van Leeuwen and Kress (van Leeuwen 1999;Kress 2000;Kress andvan Leeuwen 1998, 2001). With these foundations, multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris 2004(Norris , 2011 has developed into a strong theoretical framework with an abundance of methodological tools (Norris 2004(Norris , 2009(Norris , 2011(Norris , 2013a(Norris , 2013b(Norris , 2014Geenen 2013;Makboon 2015;Pirini 2015Pirini , 2016) that make the analysis of (always) multimodal (inter)action possible, opening up research into new and promising directions. ...
This article presents theoretical concepts and methodological tools from multimodal (inter)action analysis that allow the reader to gain new insight into the study of discourse and interaction. The data for this article comes from a video ethnographic study (with emphasis on the video data) of 17 New Zealand families (inter)acting with family members via skype or facetime across the globe. In all, 84 social actors participated in the study, ranging in age from infant to 84 years old. The analysis part of the project, with data collected between December 2014 and December 2015, is ongoing. The data presented here was collected in December 2014 and has gone through various stages of analysis, ranging from general, intermediate to micro analysis.
Using the various methodological tools and emphasising the notion of mediation, the article demonstrates how a New Zealand participant first pays focused attention to his engagement in the research project. He then performs a semantic/pragmatic means, indicating a shift in his focused attention. Here, it is demonstrated that a new focus builds up incrementally: As the participant begins to focus on the skype (inter)action with his sister and nieces, modal density increases and he establishes an emotive closeness. At this point, the technology that mediates the interaction is only a mundane aspect, taken for granted by the participants.
... While the way in which communication is configured influences the degree to which individuals have opportunities to engage in particular aspects of social life and participation, knowledge, in turn, regulates the extent to which an individual or a community can become empowered to actively take part in the construction and reconstruction of the immediate and the broader social systems (de Mejía, 2002). Similarly, knowledge is co-constructed and can only be evidenced through social interaction with others (Fairclough, 2011;Gee, 2011;Kress, 2010Kress, , 2011Norris, 2004Norris, , 2014Vygotsky, 1978). In the field of child development, for instance, and in Vygotsky's (1978) words, "human learning presupposes a specific social nature and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them" (p. ...
... While these theories framed the study in a comprehensible manner, theories within the field of social semiotics and multimodal communication would substantiate the explanations on "performance" as an integrated mode of communication which plays a central role in interaction and cognition (Kress, 2010;Norris, 2004Norris, , 2014. Alternatively, theories regarding the role of movement in cognitive mediation and knowledge construction could also provide solid bases upon which this approach can be grounded and its outcomes explained (Boyd et al., 2018;Franks & Jewitt, 2001;Goldin-Meadow, 2000;Hostetter & Alibali, 2008;Roth, 2001). ...
Education in Spain and Latin America has been experiencing an ever-increasing use of English as a medium of instruction at all levels and across curricula. Bringing the vast research-literature into a reflective dialogue is paramount to advancing the discipline and to refining English teaching practices. As such, this literature review systematically situates English-as-a-medium-of-instruction literature related to higher education within the Iberian-American school contexts where Spanish was the students’ first language. Thus, the paper asserts that while research that addresses methodological approaches, processes, procedures, and their effects in instruction is significant, there is still a pressing need for framing English-as-a-medium-of-instruction research within the reciprocal relationship existing among communication, classroom culture, social values, the classroom climate for learning, and ultimately, the students’ learning.
... While Kelly (2015) does point to the potential for new 'types' of activities in a comparable manner in which Ballagas et al. (2013) have identified the potentials for reading together at a distance, very little attention has been allocated to the micro-interactive strategies or particularities which contribute to the favourable evaluations implied, or exactly how this new technological medium constitutes a qualitative change in the interaction field, specifically for young children. This question is taken up specifically below with attention allocated to one of (the potentially many) interactive strategies which has recurred with some general regularity across sites of engagement (Scollon 2001;Norris 2011Norris , 2014) during a pilot study investigating the introduction /incorporation of young children (>4) in video-conferencing interactions. While it has been acknowledged that video-conferencing allows children "to show rather than tell, express through action instead of words, and use gesture and body language including 'skype kisses' (Ballagas et al. 2013, pp. ...
... Approaching the study of familial interaction through contemporary video-conferencing software and technologies from a Multimodal Mediated Theory perspective (Norris 2004(Norris , 2011(Norris , 2013(Norris , 2014Author 2013;Author et al. 2015); and employing Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis (MIA) (Norris 2004(Norris , 2006(Norris , 2009(Norris , 2011(Norris , 2013Pirini 2014) as a methodological framework has a number of distinct advantages. MIA provides an explicit framework for the analysis of verbal and non-verbal communication without overtly prioritising any single mode a priori (Norris 2004(Norris , 2011. ...
This article provides a preliminary answer to exactly why video-conferencing is evaluated as better than traditional telephony for long-distance familial interaction by allocating analytical attention to the showing of objects during interaction. While it is acknowledged that ‘showing’ constitutes an interactive move less contingent on linguistic maturation, more importantly, the showing of objects, artefacts or entities during video-conferencing interactions exemplifies an agentive and volitional production of identity elements on behalf of young children. Thus, while some have pointed to shortcomings of conversation-like activities mediated by video-conferencing in favour for more activity-driven tasks, I make a case for drawing upon pre-existing components of the material surround as a means to more comprehensively and longitudinally engage younger children in video-conferencing interaction.
... Some instances in the examples, however, are particularly relevant to the action of using video conferencing technology. Overall, the article will add to the literature on video conferencing as well as to the literature of knowledge communication and the literature on negotiating disagreements. 2 MULTIMODAL (INTER)ACTION ANALYSIS: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY Multimodal (inter)action analysis is a holistic analytical framework that understands the multiple modes in (inter)action as all together building one system of communication (Norris, 2004Norris, , 2011Norris, , 2013aNorris, , 2013bNorris, , 2014a, forthcoming). (Inter)action in this analytical framework is written with parenthesis around 'inter' in order to highlight that all actions, no matter if they are taken with another human being, or objects within the setting, or the environment, are interactions. ...
... (Inter)action in this analytical framework is written with parenthesis around 'inter' in order to highlight that all actions, no matter if they are taken with another human being, or objects within the setting, or the environment, are interactions. With this notion, the theory/methodology emphasizes the connection between social actors and environment (Norris, 2013aNorris, , 2014a, forthcoming). Building upon Scollon (1998, 2001) and many other frameworks (Goffman, 1959Goffman, , 1963Goffman, , 1974 Gumperz, 1982; Tannen, 1984; Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2001; Van Leeuwen, 1999; McNeill, 1992), multimodal (inter)action analysis consists of a large number of methodological tools that can be utilized to analyze (inter)action, i.e.: any human action, in its complexity. ...
This article takes a multimodal approach to examine how two young men communicate knowledge, shift attention, and negotiate a disagreement via videoconferencing technology. The data for the study comes from a larger ongoing project of participants engaging in various tasks together. Linking micro, intermediate and macro analyses through the various methodological tools employed, the article presents multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris, 2004, 2011, 2013a, 2013b) as a methodology to gain new insight into the complexity of knowledge communication via videoconferencing technology, which is relevant to many settings from education to employment, from organizations to gaming.
... What influences language teachers' understandings and visions about learning and teaching a language is the kind of educational discourses they have experienced and participated in as learners in their own past (Norris 2014;Murphy 2015;Moodie 2016, 38;Kuure et al. 2016). Pedagogical transformation emerges from a complex interplay of institutional, professional, and informal discourses that may function as hindrances but also as bridges for new practices (Ensor, Kleban, and Rodrigues 2017). ...
Technology development allows new ways of communication, learning and collaboration. This is reflected in the professional scenarios of language teaching. Modern curricula value participants’ interest and meaningful (inter)action as a basis for learning. Sensitivity is important in anticipating participants’ changing needs in modern learning environments, characterised by linguistic and technological hybridity, as well as novel pedagogical approaches. Language students, more familiar with teaching in the traditional classroom, need to appropriate new practices to orchestrate learning in settings requiring multiple activities simultaneously. This study explores how language students learn to manage complex pedagogical situations during a university course in which they create an online project for school children. During online chat sessions administered for the school pupils, the university lecturer’s office was an important site for negotiating and acting on pedagogical issues as well as practical matters arising from the work at hand. Nexus analysis was used as a research approach. Primary research materials include video recordings from the university lecturer’s office, chatlogs and reflection papers from students. The study is relevant for reconceptualising the changing roles of (language) teachers and provides new perspectives for language teacher education in a technology-rich world.
KEYWORDS: Language teacher education, sense-making, complexity, change, nexus analysis
... This innovation could include exploring new forms of ethnography, such as connection ethnography (Wargo & De Costa, 2017), which allows researchers to trace the relationship between in-class literacy development and out-of-class digital literacy development, and new ways of analysing multimodal data as a result of shuttling by learners between different learning domains. Thus, a greater focus on the digital aspects of language learning would require more sophisticated analytic tools, such as those recommended by Norris (2014), who used Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis to investigate literacy development in a school setting (see Pirini, Matelau-Doherty, & Norris, 2018, for an overview of multimodal analysis). At the same time, and in order to manage "big" qualitative data that might emerge from classroom research (e.g., through a comparative analysis of several classrooms), computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) packages such as ATLAS.ti, ...
... These multiple higher-level actions can be analysed using modal density, which is made up of both modal complexity and modal intensity (Norris 2004a). As lower-level actions are defined as the smallest pragmatic meaning units of a mode, modal complexity and intensity refer to lower-level action complexity, and lower-level action intensity, within a higher-level action (Norris 2014). ...
Researchers seeking to analyse how intersubjectivity is established and maintained face significant challenges. The purpose of this article is to provide theoretical/methodological tools that begin to address these challenges. I develop these tools by applying several concepts from multimodal (inter)action analysis to an excerpt taken from the beginning of a tutoring session, drawn from a wider data set of nine one-to-one tutoring sessions. Focusing on co-produced higher-level actions as an analytic site of intersubjectivity, I show that lower-level actions that co-constitute a higher-level action can be delineated into tiers of materiality. I identify three tiers of materiality: durable, adjustable and fleeting. I introduce the theoretical/methodological tool tiers of material intersubjectivity to delineate these tiers analytically from empirical data, and show how these tiers identify a multimodal basis of material intersubjectivity. Building on this analysis I argue that the durable and adjustable tiers of material intersubjectivity produce the interactive substrate, which must be established in order for actions that display fleeting materiality to produce intersubjectivity. These theoretical/methodological tools extend the framework of multimodal (inter)action analysis, and I consider some potential applications beyond the example used here.
The construction of Samoan identity in New Zealand is shaped by complex historical and contemporary social, economic, cultural and political factors. In addition, New Zealand-born Samoans are negotiating an ethnic and identity that incorporates their experience with the intergenerational stories and cultural knowledge of their ancestors. Such cultural and identity negotiations are occurring through the practice of Siva Samoa, Samoan dance. Using Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis we conduct a micro analysis of two excerpts of video data involving female Samoan dancers rehearsing for a dance showcase. Vertical identity production (Norris, S. (2011). Identity in (inter)action: introducing multimodal (inter)action analysis. Berlin and Boston: Mouton: 179, 2020:85) is used as a framework to analyze the multiple layers of discourse within each site of engagement that shape the construction of Samoan Identity for the participants involved.
This concise guide outlines core theoretical and methodological developments of the growing field of Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis.
The volume unpacks the foundational relationship between multimodality and language and the key concepts which underpin the analysis of multimodal action and interaction and the study of multimodal identity. A focused overview of each concept charts its historical development, reviews the essential literature, and outlines its underlying theoretical frameworks and how it links to analytical tools. Norris illustrates the concept in practice via the inclusion of examples and an image-based transcript, table, or graph.
The book provides a succinct overview of the latest research developments in the field of Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis for early career scholars in the field as well as established researchers looking to stay up-to-date on core developments.
Cambridge Core - Applied Linguistics - The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning - edited by John W. Schwieter
The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning - edited by John W. Schwieter June 2019
This article develops a new methodological tool, called scales of action, which allows the empirical investigation of ubiquitous actions such as driving on the one hand, and the highly complex relationships between (for example) drives and other actions in everyday life on the other hand. Through empirical analysis of ethnographic data of drives performed by a German artist and an American IT specialist, the article illustrates how talk and driving are embedded differently in different cultural contexts. Examining the actions of the two drivers before, during, and after a drive further demonstrates that chronologically performed actions are not necessarily sequential in nature. Using a mediated discourse theoretical approach and building upon multimodal (inter)action analysis, the article provides analysts with a tool that captures the inherent complexities of everyday actions. Through the notion of scales of action and their composition, this article sheds new light upon the complexity and cultural differences of drives and car talk in middle class Germany and North America.
In this article, we take a multimodal (inter)action analytical approach, showing how objects in everyday life are identity telling. As social actors surround themselves with objects, multiple actions from producing the objects to acquiring and placing them in the environment are embedded within. Here, we investigate examples from two different ethnographic studies, using the notion of frozen actions. One of our examples comes from a five-month long ethnographic study on identity production of three vegetarians in Thailand (Makboon, forthcoming); and the other example comes from a four-month long ethnographic study of three working parents on the East coast of North America (Norris, 2006, 2008). We illustrate the frozen actions embedded in particular objects and argue that the analysis of frozen actions allows us to partially understand how identity is produced and experienced by social actors in everyday life.
This paper draws on ideas and data from the ESRC funded research 'Rhetorics of the science classroom: a multimodal approach'. It suggests that learning is realised through the interaction between visual, actional and linguistic communication (i.e. learning is multimodal) and involves the transformation of information across different communicative systems ('modes'), e.g. from speech to image. It demonstrates that learning is a process of selection, adaptation and transformation motivated by the interests of pupils and the context of learning. Specifically, it analyses the different ways four Year 7 science pupils transformed their teacher's descriptions of cells in their production of texts on onion cells (and the choices they engaged with in producing them), focusing in particular on their use of analogy.
Cambridge Core - Sociolinguistics - Ways with Words - by Shirley Brice Heath
IntroductionThe Unity of Art and Science: A Historical PerspectiveNeuroscience's Contributions to Language Socialization ResearchSocialization to Art and Science within Remote Indigenous CommunitiesAdolescent LanguagePlanned Learning Environments and the Separation of Art and ScienceConclusions
References
Moving towards multimodal mediated theory, I propose to define a mode as a system of mediated action that comes about through concrete lower-level actions that social actors take in the world. In order to explain exactly how a mode is a system of mediated action, I turn to a perfume blog and use one blog entry as my starting point. The mode that I primarily focus on in this article is the mode of smell, explicating that the mode of smell is not synonymous with olfactory perception, even though modal development of smell is certainly partially dependent upon olfactory perception.
As I am ostensibly focusing on the one mode, I once again problematize this notion of countability and delineate the purely theoretical and heuristic unit of mode (Norris, 2004). I clarify that modes a) do not exist in the world as they are purely theoretical in nature; b) that modes can be delineated in various ways; and c) that modes are never singular.
Even though the concept of mode is problematical – and in my view needs to always be problematized – I argue that the term and the notion of mode is theoretically useful as it allows us to talk about and better understand communication and (inter)action in three respects: 1. The notion of mode allows us to investigate regularities as residing on a continuum somewhere between the social actor(s) and the mediational means; 2. The theoretical notion of mode embraces socio-cultural and historical as well as individual characteristics, never prioritising any of these and always embracing the tension that exists between social actor(s) and mediational means; and 3. The theoretical notion of mode demonstrates that modal development through concrete lower-level actions taken in the world, is transferable to other lower-level actions taken.
In this monograph, the author offers a new way of examining the much discussed notion of identity through the theoretical and methodological approach called multimodal interaction analysis. Moving beyond a traditional discourse analysis focus on spoken language, this book expands our understanding of identity construction by looking both at language and its intersection with such paralinguistic features as gesture, as well as how we use space in interaction. The author illustrates this new approach through an extended ethnographic study of two women living in Germany. Examples of their everyday interactions elucidate how multimodal interaction analysis can be used to extend our understanding of how identity is produced and negotiated in context from a more holistic point of view.
Our perception of our everyday interactions is shaped by more than what is said. From coffee with friends to interviews, meetings with colleagues and conversations with strangers, we draw on both verbal and non-verbal behaviour to judge and consider our experiences.
Analyzing Multimodal Interaction is a practical guide to understanding and investigating the multiple modes of communication, and provides an essential guide for those undertaking field work in a range of disciplines, including linguistics, sociology, education, anthropology and psychology. The book offers a clear methodology to help the reader carry out their own integrative analysis, equipping them with the tools they need to analyze a situation from different points of view. Drawing on research into conversational analysis and non-verbal behaviour such as body movement and gaze, it also considers the role of the material world in our interactions, exploring how we use space and objects - such as our furniture and clothes - to express ourselves. Considering a range of real examples, such as traffic police officers at work, doctor-patient meetings, teachers and students, and friends reading magazines together, the book offers lively demonstrations of multimodal discourse at work.
Illustrated throughout and featuring a mini-glossary in each chapter, further reading, and advice on practical issues such as making transcriptions and video and audio recordings, this practical guide is an essential resource for anyone interested in the multiple modes of human interaction.
Taking the action, rather than the utterance or the text, as the unit of analysis, this article isolates different modes, investigating the interdependent relationships, illustrating that the visual mode of gestures can take up a hierarchically equal or a super-ordinate position in addition to the commonly understood sub-ordinate position in relation to the mode of spoken language. Building on McNeill, Birdwhistell, Eco, and Ekman and Friesen, and using a multimodal interaction analytical approach (Norris), I analyse in detail three separate everyday (inter)actions in which a deictic gesture is being performed and spoken language is used by the social actor performing the gesture. With these examples, I build on previous work in multimodal analysis of texts and multimodal interaction analysis, illustrating that the verbal is not necessarily more important than the visual (Kress and Van Leeuwen; Norris; Scollon), demonstrating that verbal and visual modes can be utilized together to (co)produce one message (Van Leeuwen), and showing that a mode utilized by a social actor producing a higher-level discourse structure hierarchically supersedes other modes in interaction (Norris).