Theoretical framework

1. Chris Lima Narratives from an online reading group for English language teachers worldwide: a case study on dialogue and online interaction M.C.B.Lima@open.ac.uk Background Information This investigation aims to analyse the possible relationships between reading and discussing literature in English and English language teachers’ narratives of their membership of and participation in the ELT Online Reading Group (ORG). The ORG is a discussion forum with free literature resources where English language teachers and TESOL studentsread and discuss classic and contemporary poems and short stories written or translated into English. Kaleidoscope 2012 9th Annual Graduate Conference in Education June 1st 2012 Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge Data analysis Forum posts, framed narratives and literary texts are submitted to discourse analysis using NVivo9. Code categories were developed based on Bakhtin’s concepts of dialogism & heteroglossia. Thematic analysis is done using Tropes. Research Questions • Which are the distinctive features of (a) participants’ responses to texts read in the group, and (b) their narratives of group participation? In particular, to what extent and in what ways are such responses and narratives related to: • The contact with the literary text? • The group interaction? • The technology-mediated nature of the setting in which they occur? Theoretical framework Literature and English Language Teaching Due to its colonial past, the place of English literature in both language learning and teacher education has always been a site of debate and controversy (Phillipson, 1992; Pennycook, 1998; Eagleton, 2008). Nonetheless, for all the attempts to impose a monologic colonial discourse, English language and literature have also become tools for empowerment (Canagarajah, 1999). Survey data is submitted to quantitative analysis using SPSS. Narratives & Reflective Practice Literature may provide a ‘safe ground’ for the exploration of teaching/learning concepts, beliefs and feelings without exposing participants too much since all stories have mythical, mimetic, cathartic, phronetic and ethical functions (Kearny, 2002). Relevance & Implications • Dialogism & Heteroglossia • This study is strongly influenced by Bakhtin’s views of the dynamic multiple relation between the self and others (Bakhtin and Holquist, 1982; Bakhtin et al., 1986). It is based on the notions that: • the dialogues happening between literary texts and readers, and among group members, have a role in shaping participants’ responses and their participation experiences. • the meaning attributed to the texts read in the group is a result of the relationships between the various texts read and produced in the Group and also of the myriad of other textual experiences participants bring with them. To better understand how teachers create meaning, build understanding and share knowledge in online professional communities. To re-evaluate the use of literature in teacher education and language learning development. To develop analytical codes and tools based on Bakhtin’s concepts of dialogism and heteroglossia Online Interaction Interactions do not occur in the void but through the meditational tools (Lamy and Hampel, 2007) which, in the case of this study, are the English language, ‘the software and the hardware participants have at their disposal’, the online environment itself, the time frame of their posting and replying, the institutions to which participants are related, and the assumptions and beliefs they bring to the interactions. Data Collection References Bakhtin, M.M., Holquist, M., 1982. The dialogic imagination. University of Texas Press. Bakhtin, M.M., Holquist, M., Emerson, C., 1986. Speech genres and other late essays. University of Texas Press. Canagarajah, A.S., 1999. Resisting linguistic imperialism in English teaching. Oxford University Press. Eagleton, T., 2008. Literary theory: an introduction. U of Minnesota Press. Kearney, R., 2002. On stories. Routledge. Lamy, M.-N., Hampel, R., 2007. Online communication in language learning and teaching. Palgrave Macmillan Pennycook, A., 1998. English and the discourses of colonialism. Routledge. Phillipson, R., 1992. Linguistic imperialism. Oxford University Press. Data consists of participants’ posts on the forum, teachers’ framed narratives and a Group survey. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/group/elt-online-reading-group