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Hamline University DigitalCommons@Hamline School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations School of Education Summer 8-10-2015 A Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach to the Academic Language in Seventh Grade Social Studies Laura Beth Ripley Hamline University, lhennings01@hamline.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Ripley, Laura Beth, "A Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach to the Academic Language in Seventh Grade Social Studies" (2015) School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations 195 https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/195 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at DigitalCommons@Hamline It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Hamline For more information, please contact digitalcommons@hamline.edu, lterveer01@hamline.edu A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS APPROACH TO THE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE IN SEVENTH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES by Laura Ripley A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree in Master of Arts in ESL Hamline University Saint Paul, Minnesota August 2015 Primary Advisor: Bonnie Swierzbin Secondary Advisor: Kathryn Heinze Peer Reviewer: Brett Ripley TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….…1 Academic Language, Genre, and Systemic Functional Linguistics………… The Need for Understanding Language……………………………………….……… Role of Researcher………………………………………………………………………………7 Research Questions…………………………………………………………………………… Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………….9 Chapter Overviews ………………………………………………………………………….…9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………….10 Academic Language as the Language of School…………………………………….10 A Genre Based Approach…………………………………………………………………….12 Systemic Functional Linguistics………………………………………………………… 13 Key Terms and Components of SFL…………………………………………………… 16 Social Studies Genre and Sub-‐genres………………………………………………… 17 Identifying the Three Meanings………………………………………………………… 18 Theme Progression ………………………………………………………………………… 21 Systemic Functional Linguistics in the Classroom…………………………… ….23 The Gap………………………………………………………………………………………… …25 Research Questions…………………………………………………………………………….25 ii Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………26 Chapter Three Preview………………………….……………………………………………26 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………….……………….27 Study Purposes………………………………………………………………………………… 27 Methodology of Systemic Functional Linguistics Analysis…………………….28 Text Selection…………………………………………………………………………………….28 Data Collection Design……………………………………………………………………… 29 Theme Identification Specifications…………………………………………….….… 31 Reliability……………………………………………………………………………………… 32 Chapter Four Preview……………………………………………………………………… 32 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS…………………………………………………………………………….33 Chapter Overview.…………………………………………………………………………… 33 Text Corpus and Analysis……………………………………………………………………33 Results: Genres.………………………………………………………………………………….34 Results: Theme Progressions……………………… …………………………………….36 Results: Linguistic Resources of Themes…………………………………………… 43 Results: Non-‐Finite Terms………………………………………………………………… 47 Reliability Results………………………………………………………………………… ….48 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………… 48 Chapter Five Preview……………….………………………………………………….…… 49 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………………………50 iii Chapter Overview………………………………………………………………………….… 50 Discussion: Themes………………………………………………………………………… 50 Discussion: Discourse Connectors as Themes……………………… 53 Discussion: Temporal Clauses and Phrases as Themes………………… …….54 Discussion: Theme Progressions…………………………………………………………56 Discussion: Genre……………………………………………………………………………….59 Limitations…………………………………………………………………………………………61 Future Studies…………………………………………………………………………………….61 Implications……………………………………………………………………………………… 62 Dissemination of Results…………………………………………………………………… 64 Personal Reflection…………………………………………………………………………… 65 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….66 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………… 68 APPENDIX A: PILOT STUDY………………………………………………………………………… 71 APPENDIX B: PILOT STUDY TEXT………………………………………………………………… 74 APPENDIX C: TEXT EXCERPT SAMPLE……………………………………………………………76 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Genres in Social Studies…………………………………………………………………….19 Table 2: Theme Progressions for all Text Selections……………………………………… 36 Table 3: Theme Progressions in the Historical Recount Genre………………………….40 Table 4: Theme Progressions in the Factorial Explanation Genre…………………… 41 Table 5: Theme Progressions in the Discussion Genre…………………………………… 41 Table 6: Categorization of Themes as Process, Participant, or Circumstance…… 43 Table 7: Linguistic Resources of Themes…………………………………………………………46 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Genre Percentages of Total Text Selection…………………………………………34 vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Early in my career as a teacher of English learners I had the privilege of supporting ELs through co-‐teaching a seventh grade social studies class, as well as teaching two separate sections of an advanced ESL social studies class Equipped with my own passion for history and my zeal for students to develop their language skills, I opened the heavy U.S History text and began exploring what I would teach my students Once the class was in progress, it did not take me long to realize that the textbook was difficult for the students to read and comprehend As an ELL teacher, I expected this, and did my best to scaffold and break down the text with students The basic reading strategies I taught my students helped to a certain extent, but students still struggled with identifying the relevant or central ideas or making connections between events or outcomes I tried various strategies, and some days abandoned the text all together, in favor of developing language skills in other ways that I could better control I knew from much exposure in my teacher preparation that the language used in school contexts, academic language, (Fang & Schleppegrell, 2008; Zwiers, 2008) is different from language used in informal community and social contexts Furthermore, different purposes and contexts, or genres, of text employ different kinds of linguistic features (Coffin, 2006; Schleppegrell, 2012) Using this background knowledge, I was able to approach the textbook with some insight I relied on this basic knowledge and used it often in my classroom But I was still at a loss as to how to systematically teach the language forms and patterns used in this social studies textbook, and furthermore, how to focus on developing both language skills and critical reflection on the content With each section of reading, I wanted my students to be able to understand the main ideas, acquire new vocabulary, employ basic reading strategies, and to think critically about the ideas presented How was this to be possible? If I was struggling to wrap my head around it, how could my students do this? From my education and experience, I believe that understanding the particular language features of certain genres is imperative in teaching language skills However, I needed to not only review these principles, but also take a step into greater depth I started researching the linguistic features of texts in the social studies genre, and as I looked back to the textbook I had used, I made some observations It was packed with fast moving sections that covered complex ideas using not only advanced academic language, including multitudes of new content-‐ specific vocabulary, but also was organized through complex linguistic structures While some concepts are introduced with familiar, explicit connectors such as because of this, or so that, ideas may be presented through clause organization requiring students to understand implicit connections, explanations, or implications This text was altogether unlike everyday language This real life struggle in my teaching, combined with an acute awareness of my students’ struggles with this type of literature, led me to this project Academic Language, Genre, and Systemic Functional Linguistics There has been an abundance of research discussing the idea of academic language, the language used in school, that highlights its differences from informal or spoken language, namely its density, technicality, and abstract nature (Fang, 2008; Halliday, 1985; Zwiers, 2008) While students are often taught to read using texts that are more related to everyday, familiar language, the complexities and demands of literacy for students increase markedly at the secondary levels (Fang, 2008) Thus, at a school level when texts are increasingly important for instruction and learning, the language is more complex and difficult to comprehend One way a text can be come more complex is through the use of sentences that do not begin with a subject Examples (1) and (2) illustrate this (1) First claimed by France, Louisiana was given to Spain after the French and Indian war (2) Having acquired Louisiana through diplomacy, President Jefferson turned next to Florida Because the subject is in the middle of the sentence, it can be more complex for the reader to orient themselves to the information While many students can be at risk of falling behind, ELs in particular are at risk because it is less likely that they will have exposure to English academic language outside of school Current research highlights the important role of academic language and calls teachers to incorporate it in their instruction in order to help students develop the language they need to be successful in school (Schleppegrell, 2012) One of the frameworks that has arisen is the concept of genre-‐based approaches to language A 63 can guide students in looking for certain linguistic resources that are often used in meaning making for that genre This kind of anticipation of student need and preparedness for teachable moments helps students observe and practice skills that can help them to become better critical readers on their own Another implication of this study for the classroom is the ability for instructors to teach students strategic skills to sort through the linguistic resources of a text in order to aid their comprehension For example, a teacher may model how to underline noun groups in the Theme position of a text that contains primarily Themes of participants This immediately draws students’ attention to the people, groups, or entities driving the flow of events Similarly, a teacher could have students underline temporal phrases and clauses in Theme position in instances where the text is being organized in a chronological order, or where the position of events in time is being used to explain certain actions or outcomes If a teacher sees these organizational patterns first, and recognizes how they contribute to its meaning, she can teach these skills to her students, with the aim of increasing their comprehension through tools that unlock the language of a text These skills can also help students to grow their own critical literacy skills, promoting greater independence in their reading and comprehension A third implication is for teachers to recognize potential disconnects in a text when there is no Theme progression within the proximity of one or two clauses or sentences The analysis revealed that there are times when no Theme progression within proximity exists, yet the information connects to information discussed earlier in the text Teachers may find it valuable to guide students in making these 64 connections to link important information, and also to see the cohesiveness of a segment of text in its entirety A final implication of this study it that it can increase teachers’ ability to recognize when a text does not follow anticipated or conventional patterns For example, in this analysis, it was discovered that the factorial explanation genre text excerpts actually contained a higher percentage of time Theme progressions than did the historical recount text excerpts Time Theme progressions are used frequently in historical recount texts because their information is often organized chronologically (Droga, Feez & Humphrey, 2012) While time indicators are also a common feature in factorial explanations (Droga, Feez & Humphrey, 2012), they may serve a different purpose in that sub-‐genre than in recounts They may, for instance be highlighting how the timing of events or actions resulted in particular outcomes A teacher’s ability to recognize this and point it out to her students will promote deeper understanding of the author’s purpose of the text, which in this instance was to explain an event or outcome, not simply record it This is important because students may be expecting temporal phrases to be simply recounting information, rather than explaining it This awareness can also be useful for teachers to recognize when a text does not have a clear sub-‐genre Knowing this, she can anticipate that students may lack clarity about the purpose of the text, or struggle with other comprehension issues Dissemination of Results Upon the completion of this capstone, I will share the results of my research with other colleagues in the hope of promoting informed practice with the 65 instruction of ELs The primary way I will share my findings is through meeting with colleagues at my school, both ELL and mainstream teachers, and discuss how we might use this information to design instructional practices that support academic literacy in mainstream social studies classrooms, sheltered classrooms, and through co-‐teaching Personal Reflection The process of completing a capstone has been a journey of ups and downs, but in which ultimately, the gains certainly outweigh the sacrifices It was a big step for me to take on this project as a new teacher, still at the height of my learning curve in my profession, and adjusting to a leadership position at my school There were many times when I second-‐guessed the timing of completing my capstone, when I doubted my ability to manage all my responsibilities, and to do my work, both on this capstone and at school, with excellence When I started graduate school five years ago, one thing I declared adamantly was that I wasn’t coming out without my Master’s degree It was a goal I had set firmly before me And so, during this year, I held that goal in front of me, and the journey toward it has taught me invaluable lessons about perseverance, diligence, and discipline I learned to keep going through doubt and frustration, even when I was stumbling through research, lacking clarity on my project, and reading texts that I thought were beyond the scope of my competence Looking back those moments of doubt seem almost funny, because I discovered that if you keep working at something, it will turn out I learned that a long-‐term project requires diligence through pacing and incremental goal setting I was incredibly fortunate in the support of my primary advisor who organized a 66 capstone group that met bi-‐monthly We discussed our progress and set goals that the rest of the group would hold us accountable to These sessions taught me invaluable skills about outlining and managing progress on a long-‐term project Finally, I learned much about discipline during this journey There were many weekends and evenings, when after an intense week of work or busyness in my personal life, what I most wanted was to forget about my capstone and relax I learned, however, that goals require discipline, and as I opened my computer to type, or pored over research articles at my table late into the night, this characteristic began to instill itself in my being more and more I learned when to say no to other commitments, and how to think about my time carefully, balancing the parts of my life that bring happiness and health I also learned the importance of putting my computer away and resting, trusting that my mind would be renewed in energy and clarity after relaxation and fun I am grateful for a project of this size and scope because it has helped develop and nourish characteristics in my life that I desire to possess, and which will continue to serve me well in the future as I pursue other endeavors Conclusion The aim of this research was to better inform the instruction of ELs when using a secondary level social studies text, by understanding how language is used in this genre One of the primary outcomes has been an increased awareness on my part of the language and organizational characteristics of this genre, as well as potential obstacles to comprehension due to the way in which language is used One of my concerns as a teacher was not having the right strategies to help my students 67 navigate a text like this One of the important results of this research is that applying the SFL method to analyze a text not only raises awareness for teachers about the academic language demands, thus equipping them to anticipate student need and be prepared for teachable moments, but it also reveals which aspects of language may help unlock a passage for students Using this data, a teacher could narrow down the most relevant language features or text organizational strategies and help her students focus on those Some SFL strategies may even be taught or taught in modified form to help students focus in on important language use or organization in an increased independence context The level of textual understanding that results from an in depth SFL analysis goes beyond basic literacy strategies It uncovers the unique ways that language is used to make meaning in the social studies genre This knowledge provides an opportunity for teachers to tailor their instructional and literacy strategies to fit the demands and traits of the text Additionally, it provides an opportunity for teachers to broaden the literacy skills of students, going beyond general strategies, to really see the language of the text and make meaning from it These skills can not only develop the academic language necessary in social studies, but can be extended as students grow in becoming critical readers and thinkers across the content areas 68 REFERENCES Achugar, M & Schleppegrell, M.J (2005) Beyond connectors: The construction of cause in history textbooks Linguistics and Education, 16, 298-‐318 Christie, F (2011) Developing and implementing a genre-‐based pedagogy: A systemic functional linguistic perspective Caminhos Em Linguistica Aplicada 4(1), 1-‐21 Coffin, C (2006) Learning the language of school history: The role of linguistics in mapping the writing demands of the secondary school curriculum Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38(4), 413-‐429 Coffin, C., Donohue, J., & North, S (2009) Exploring English Grammar: From formal to Functional New York, NY: Routledge Colombi, C.M & Schleppegrell, M.J (2002) Theory and practice in the development of advanced literacy In M.J Schleppegrell & M.C Colombi (Eds.), Developing advanced literacy in first and second languages: Meaning with power (pp 1-‐19) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers Cowan, R (2008) The teacher’s grammar of English: A course book and reference guide New York, NY: Cambridge University Press Derewianka, B Exploring how texts work (1990) Newtown, Australia: Primary English Teaching Association Fang, Z (2008) Going beyond the fab five: Helping students cope with the unique 69 linguistic challenges of expository reading in intermediate grades Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(6), 476-‐487 Fang, Z & Schleppegrell, M.J (2008) Reading in the secondary content Areas: A language-‐based pedagogy Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press Fang, Z (2012) Approaches to developing content area literacies Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(2), 103-‐108 Fang, Z & Schleppegrell, M.J (2010) Disciplinary literacies across content areas: Supporting secondary reading through functional language analysis Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(7), 587-‐597 Halliday, M.A.K (1985) Introduction to functional grammar London, UK: Routledge Hart, D (2002) History alive!: The United States J Hayes (Ed.) Palo Alto: CA Teacher's Curriculum Institute Humphry, S., Droga, L., & Feez, S Grammar and meaning (2012) Newtown, Australia: Primary English Teaching Association Hyon, S (1996) Genre in three traditions: Implications for ESL TESOL Quarterly 30(4), 693-‐722 Martin, J.R (2002) Writing history: Construing time and value in discourses of the past In M.J Schleppegrell & M.C Colombi (Eds.), Developing advanced literacy in first and second languages: Meaning with power (87-‐117) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers Miller, C R (1994) Genre as social action In A Freeman & P Medway (Eds.), Genre and the new rhetoric (pp 23-‐42) London, UK: Taylor and Francis Group Morris, J & Hirst, G (1991) Lexical cohesion computed by thesaural relations as an 70 indicator of the structure of text Computational Linguistics 17(1), 21-‐48 Paltridge, B (2012) Discourse analysis: An introduction London: UK Bloomsbury Academic Scarcella, R (2002) Some key factors affecting English learner’s development of advanced literacy In M.J Schleppegrell & M.C Colombi (Eds.), Developing advanced literacy in first and second languages: Meaning with power (pp 209-‐ 226) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers Schleppegrell, M.J (2012) Academic language in teaching and learning The Elementary School Journal, 112(3), 409-‐418 Schleppegrell, M.J., Greer, S & Taylor, S (2008) Literacy in history: Language and meaning Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 31(2), 174-‐187 Schleppegrell, M.J (2004) The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc Schleppegrell, M.J., Achugar, M & Oteiza, T (2004) The grammar of history: Enhancing content-‐based instruction through a functional focus on language TESOL Quarterly, 38(1), 67-‐93 Schleppegrell, M.J & Achugar, M (2003) Learning language and learning history: A functional approach TESOL Journal, 12(2), 21-‐27 Schleppegrell, M.J (2007) At last: The meaning in grammar Research in the Teaching of English, 42(1), 121-‐128 Unsworth, L (1999) Developing critical understanding of the specialized language of school science and history texts: A functional grammatical perspective Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 42(7), 508-‐521 71 Zwiers, J (2008) Building academic language: Essential practices for content classrooms San Francisco, CA: Jossey-‐Bass 72 APPENDIX A: PILOT STUDY To begin solidifying my methodology, I ran a pilot study with a sample text from History Alive! The full text sample can be found in Appendix A I completed the pilot study following the steps outlined below Genre (Using parameters by Coffin, 2006) Genre family: Recording Theme identification – bolded in text The content of the text was also organized in a process/participant/circumstance chart Process and participants are also highlighted in the text sample The selection is primarily organized by presenting the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence through the lens of Thomas Jefferson’s (participant) agency and drafting The last paragraph shifts to organizing the ideas through outlining time sequences Examples of lexical cohesion: a “a document” and “this declaration of independence” and “Jefferson’s words” b “his task was to…” and “prepared him for this task” c “…a new nation based on ideals” and “the ideals that Jefferson mentioned” Language choices of mode or modality (underlined in the text sample): 73 a “Explain to the world”, “would change the world” both position America’s independence on the center stage of world events, implying that America’s fate would impact or change what happened throughout the world b The remaining underlined portions all place an extremely strong emphasis on Jefferson as the “force” behind the Declaration The emphasis on Jefferson seems to emphasize that Jefferson was a representative spokesman for the “American mind.” Notes and implications for instruction Use themes to understand that this event is being recounted through the actions of a particular person Use time indicators to give context to the central point, which is the actual drafting of the Declaration of Independence and its content After examining the content and organization, students should be able to discuss the author’s perspective Pilot Study Implications The pilot study outlined above informed a few aspects of my methodology for the whole study First, the pilot study revealed that it will be beyond the scope of this project to complete a process and participant chart for every text excerpt Therefore, analyzing the processes and participants will be limited to sections where complex clauses that begin without subjects occur with high frequency A process participant analysis is more suited to sentences such as these because the meaning can become obscured in a clause structure that does not follow a traditional subject verb progression 74 Second, the pilot study revealed that identifying and analyzing every occurrence of a nominalization will also be beyond the scope of this research Third, the pilot study had no specific framework for which linguistic resources were going to be identified After doing the study, I narrow the scope of the analysis to the linguistic resources of the Themes, therefore not including nominalizations and lexical cohesion devices Fourth, I decided to narrow the focus on text organizational resources by identifying Theme progression patterns 75 APPENDIX B: PILOT STUDY TEXT Pilot Study Text: History Alive! Lesson Sampler 2.1 Introduction On a June day in 1776, Thomas Jefferson set to work in a rented room in Philadelphia His task was to draft a document that would explain to the world why Great Britain’s 13 American colonies were declaring themselves to be “free and independent states.” The Second Continental Congress had appointed a five-‐man committee to draft this declaration of independence At 33, Jefferson was one of the committee’s youngest and least experienced members, but his training in law and political philosophy had prepared him for the task He picked up his pen and began to write words that would change the world Had he been working at home, Jefferson might have turned to his large library for inspiration Instead, he relied on what was in his head to make the declaration “an expression of the American mind.” He began, We hold these truths to be self-‐evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed —Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, 1776 In these two sentences, Jefferson set forth a vision of a new nation based on ideals An ideal is a principle or standard of perfection that we are always trying to achieve In the years leading up to the Declaration, the ideals that Jefferson mentioned had been written about and discussed by many colonists Since that time, Americans have sometimes fought for and sometimes ignored these ideals Yet, throughout the years, Jefferson’s words have continued to provide a vision of what it means to be an American 76 77 APPENDIX C: TEXT EXCERPT SAMPLE 15.2 Louisiana 124 words Across the Mississippi lay the unexplored territory of Louisiana This immense region (zig) stretched from Canada south to Texas From the Mississippi, (linear) it reached west all the way to the Rocky Mountains First claimed by France, Louisiana (none) was given to Spain after the French and Indian war In 1800, (time) the French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte convinced Spain to return Louisiana to France Napoleon (none) had plans for Louisiana He (linear) hoped to settle the territory with thousands of French farmers These farmers (zig) would raise food for slaves who (zig) toiled on France’s sugar plantations in the Caribbean Napoleon’s plans (none) alarmed frontier farmers New Orleans (none) was part of Louisiana If Napoleon (linear) closed the port to American goods, farmers (linear) would have no way to get their crops to market ... A ? ?SYSTEMIC ? ?FUNCTIONAL ? ?LINGUISTICS ? ?APPROACH ? ?TO ? ?THE ? ?ACADEMIC LANGUAGE IN SEVENTH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES by Laura Ripley A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment... ? ?the linguistic features of that genre that are being used ? ?to make meaning This model provides ? ?a practical ? ?approach ? ?to analyzing texts ? ?to understand ? ?the ? ?academic language... Japanese people write their language they use ? ?a combination of two separate alphabets as well as ideograms borrowed from Chinese ? ?The two alphabets are called hiragana
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