Exploring the Developing Integrated Cognitive Competence (综合认知能力发展探究)
Session 6 (第6讲)
Seek mutual promotion between thinking and language use (寻求思维与语言的相互促进)
Readings
Barkhuizen, Gary. 2008. A narrative approach to exploring context in language teaching. ELT Journal, 62(3), 231-239.
Rao, Zhenhui . 2007. Training in brainstorming and developing writing skills. ELT Journal, 61(2), 100-106.
Richards, Jack C. and Richard Schmidt. 2010. Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 4th ed. Harlow: Longman.
Q01 What shall we do in promoting our thinking skills and language skills? (为了促进思维技能与语言技能的发展，我们该做些什么？)
We can use think aloud (有声思维) to turn our thinking into language and use narrative inquiry (叙事研究) to explore our language for the thinking embedded in it.
Table 6.1 The two approaches to the mutual promotion between thinking and language use
|
Approach |
Think aloud |
Narrative inquiry |
Research |
|
Goal |
To turn active thinking into insightful language |
To explore language use to discover rich thinking |
For what? |
|
|
Thinking |
Language |
|
|
Process |
Ü |
Ü |
What to do? |
|
|
Language |
Thinking |
|
|
Performance |
Speak or write what you are thinking about. |
Analyze or synthesize what you spoke or wrote. |
How to do? |
Q02 What is think aloud technique? (什么是有声思维方法？)
Think aloud technique is a technique used in investigating learning strategies, in which learners think aloud as they are completing a task, in order that the researcher can discover what kinds of thinking processes or strategies they are making use of. For example, while writing a composition, a student may record his or her thoughts into a tape recorder during the planning, drafting, and revising of the composition. Later, the recording may be used to determine the planning or revision processes used by the student. (Richards and Schmidt, 2010: 599)
Wu Benhu
Think aloud technique can be used to describe not only learning strategies but also our thinking process in reading and writing.
Example 6.1
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/world/asia/12iht-educlede12.html?pagewanted=all
Chinese Universities Send Big Signals to Foreigners
Wu Benhu’s Think Aloud Record:
When I read a news report, I first notice its title since it will be my starting point or sometimes my ending point. That is to say, if the title can attract me, I will continue to read it. If the title cannot attract me, I will not read it.
With my long reading experience, I noticed ‘Chinese Universities’ in the above title and thought it was directly related to my profession and our country at the same time. So I decided to read this news report.
Before I read it, I was wondering what my purpose was in reading this news report with the following questions in mind:
1. Which Chinese universities are mentioned?
2. What are the big signals reported?
3. Who are the foreigners these big signals were sent to?
With these initial questions in mind, I would pay special attention to the Chinese universities mentioned, the big signals presented and the foreigners reported.
With the above think aloud record, I intended to show how my writing was initiated in my reading process. I also tried to show that reading is an interactive process rather than a passive receptive process. With the above account, I wanted to encourage my students’ active reading and creative reflection in reading: Reading can be a fascinating process of constructing our creative mind.
By Liz Gooch
Published: March 11, 2012
In the 1990s, Jeffrey S. Lehman, then the dean of the University of Michigan Law School, began visiting Beijing to help open a program for members of his faculty to teach at Peking University’s law school during the summer.
Wu Benhu’s Think Aloud Record:
I noticed the two different expressions in this paragraph:
1. the University of Michigan Law School
2. Peking University’s law school
In ‘the University of Michigan Law School’, ‘Law School’ is capitalized but in ‘Peking University’s law school’, ‘law school’ is not capitalized.
Why?
They have different structures:
1. the … Law School in which ‘University of Michigan’ is its attributive modifier (定语修饰语).
2. X’s law school in which ‘Peking University’s is the possessive case (所有格) of the noun phrase of ‘law school’.
Ü
Pattern 1
the + 定语修饰语 + 名词词组: the University of Michigan Law School
Pattern 2
所有格 + 名词词组:
Peking University’s law school
Q03 What is narrative inquiry? (什么是叙事研究？)
Narrative inquiry (or narrative research) is a procedure used in research on teacher cognition and teacher education as well as other disciplines, in which teachers’ stories and personal narratives are used both as a way for teachers to articulate their knowledge and practices and as a way of formulating their practical knowledge (practitioner knowledge). Teachers’ stories about their development as teachers, about critical incidents in teaching as well as other aspects of their professional experience are used as processes for teacher reflection and development, as techniques for collecting data on teaching, and as a way of legitimizing teachers’ knowledge. (Richards and Schmidt, 2010: 384)
Ü
Wu Benhu
Here we can see that narrative inquiry is a research procedure used to investigate teacher cognition. The main part of cognition is thinking. If it can be used to investigate teacher thinking, it can be used to investigate student thinking. Or it can be used to investigate both teacher thinking and student thinking.
Now we need to know how to use narrative inquiry to investigate our thinking.
From its design, we can see that narrative inquiry consists of 2 parts:
1. Telling a story.
2. Analyzing the story.
If we want to improve our English language learning, then our work in narrative inquiry will be changed into two extended parts:
1. Telling a story of English learning.
2. Analyzing the story of English learning.
Q04 How is narrative inquiry used in research? (叙事研究是如何用于研究的？)
Barkhuizen, Gary. 2008. A narrative approach to exploring context in language teaching. ELT Journal, 62(3), 231-239.
Abstract
In recent years there have been persistent calls for teachers to explore their teaching contexts in order to become more aware of them and to understand them. Doing so would enable teachers to make more informed decisions about their practice and their students' learning. This article outlines a narrative approach for exploring context. A narrative inquiry case is presented to provide a framework for the discussion. Emerging from this narrative case are three levels of story applicable to the participant English teachers' lives. A brief description of these levels is provided, and is followed by an illustration of each using extracts from the written story of one of the participating teachers. (B)
Wu Benhu
From the above abstract, we can find that we can make use of this study for our purpose if we use the ideas presented here:
… there have been persistent calls for teachers to explore their teaching contexts in order to become more aware of them and to understand them.
Ü
… it can be considered for students to explore their learning contexts in order to become more aware of them and to understand them.
Ü
Now, let’s explore our learning contexts with the following questions:
1. What is the goal of our English language learning?
2. What are the resources available to us in our English language learning?
3. What are the activities that promote our language use?
4. What are the activities that promote our thinking?
If we tell our stories related to these questions, we will know more about our learning contexts.
Q05 How to analyze a narrative case? (怎样分析叙事个案？)
We can write a story about a case of our learning and then analyze this case.
We may understand ‘narrative inquiry’ as follows”
1. ‘Narrative’ refers to ‘story’.
2. ‘Inquiry’ refers to ‘research’ or ‘analysis’.
Now, the following is one of my stories.
Example: A Narrative Case
综合认知能力研究纪事编号：2012-0315-0404.
接续时间：2012-03-15-04:04；地点： 丽泽花园22-1-502书房；记录人：吴本虎
[It was started from 笔记总号119-074]
2012年3月15日星期四 04:04-07:14
Last night I felt tired, or rather mental fatigue in nature. So I went to bed earlier than usual but I still picked up my bedside book Little Women (小妇人) by Louisa May Alcott from Page 86 to Page 102. I started my sleep at 23:11 after I wrote the line ‘Goal: learning for using or using for learning?’.
I woke up at 04:04 continuing my thinking about the goal of higher education and reconstructing my ideas as follows:
On the Goal of Our Educational Action (谈我们的教育行动目标)
On the Goal of Our Educational Action
What is the goal of our educational action?
Our goal: Learning for using or using for learning?
Ü
Competition and cooperation are twin brothers but neither of them is our single choice. We need both.
Achievements and progress are twin sisters but neither of them will be our ultimate purpose of educational action.
It is crucial for us to experience all of them – competition, cooperation, achievements and progress on our way towards the final goal of our lifelong effort – individual development and transcendence and social development and universal prosperity as the integrated outcome of our educational endeavor.
谈我们的教育行动目标
我们的教育行动目标是什么？
我们的目标：学以致用还是用以致学？
Ü
竞争与合作是孪生兄弟，然而我们不能只取其一。两者不可或缺。
成就与进步是双胞姐妹，然而两者并非我们教育行动的最终目的。
关键在于我们需要经历与体验一切，无论是竞争与合作还是成就与进步，在人生的长期努力中去实现我们的最高目标：个人的发展与升华和社会的发展与共荣的一体化集成。这将是我们在教育中通过共同奋斗力图创建的未来。
Wu Benhu
From the above story, you can find out how I learned and used English:
1. I combined my English learning with my English use.
2. I made use of the Internet in my English learning.
3. I often revised my English and Chinese texts to improve them.
These are some of my actions in learning and using English guided by my thinking. So you may find out my thinking is behind my English use.
Course Work for Session 6
Use either think aloud or narrative inquiry to demonstrate a case in your English learning. (运用有声思维方法或者叙事研究方法来展示你英语学习的一个个案。)
Study Guide for Session 7
Try to find the relationship between language, thinking, perception and memory. (尝试着去寻求语言、思维、感知和记忆之间的关系。)