Poetry, Politics, and Pedagogy: Defining and Developing Critical Literacies in Intermediate-Level College French Öffentlichkeit

Abstract

To begin with, this study expands on existing notions of foreign language literacy and critical literacies (Freire, 1993; Hasan, 1996; New London Group, 1996; Swaffar and Arens, 2005) by positing student voice and "production of knowledge" (Hasan, 1996) as central to the development of critical literacies in a foreign language. Using this definition, the primary investigator worked with several university-level French instructors to design two modules to represent the tenets of a critical literacies pedagogy. These modules were then integrated into a standard French 201 curriculum, a curriculum that, according to the syllabus, focuses on skill building and the acquisition of cultural literacy. With each module, students were asked to analyze and (re)produce the following textual genres: (1) slam poetry, and (2) political appeal. This study explored how this critical literacies pedagogical approach influenced student learning in a French 201 course for approximately one semester. A second French 201 course acted as the control group in which no formal critical literacies pedagogy took place.

This study used a mixed methods research design in order to investigate the research questions. Important quantitative findings provided evidence that a critical literacies pedagogical approach did not deter students from learning the traditionally taught grammar points in French 201. Furthermore, qualitative findings indicated that most students valued the opportunity to practice linguistic features (i.e., grammar points) by producing work that was of personal and/or political importance to them. While students were not always aware of their own linguistic progress and critical literacies development, their final slam poems and political appeals revealed their efforts to convey their sense of self as well as their "cross-cultural awareness" (Kramsch & Nolden, 1994) in a way that was often linguistically appropriate and stylistically sophisticated. Student development of critical literacies in a foreign language is ongoing and extends well beyond one semester of instructed learning, but this study illustrates the potential learning outcomes should such a pedagogy be implemented. Practical implications, assessment issues, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….1

Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………...10

Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………………..10

Research Questions………………………………………………………………………11

Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………………..11

Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………...17

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE……………………………………………20

Literacy, Multiple Literacies, and Critical Literacies Research…………………………21

Literacy and Foreign Language Education………………………………………………30

Bridging the Gap: Literature and Literacy-Oriented Approaches in the FL Classroom…41

Literature in Lower-Level Language Courses…………………………………...42

Literacy-Oriented Approaches and Their Effectiveness…………………………47

Voice, Empowerment, and Critical Literacies in the FL Classroom…………………….52

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………...59

Mixed Methods Research Design………………………………………………………..59

Rationale…………………………………………………………………………60

Implementation and Priority……………………………………………………..60

Participants and Setting…………………………………………………………………..61

Consent Procedures and Confidentiality…………………………………………………63

Classroom Procedures……………………………………………………………………64

Data Sources and Instruments……………………………………………………………73

Background Questionnaire……………………………………………………….74

Interviews………………………………………………………………………...74

Literacy-Based Pretest and Posttest……………………………………………...74

Observations……………………………………………………………………..76 Documents……………………………………………………………………….76

Traditional Foreign Language Assessments……………………………………..77

Quantitative Analysis Phase……………………………………………………………..77

Qualitative Analysis Phase………………………………………………………………70

Case Studies……………………………………………………………………...81

Researcher Positionality…………………………………………………………82

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS………………………………………………………………85

Quantitative Data Interpretation…………………………………………………………85

Preliminary Analyses: Pretest Differences………………………………………85

Preliminary Analyses: Instruments………………………………………………86 Analysis of Research Questions………………………………………………….87 Question 1………………………………………………………………..87 Question 2………………………………………………………………..88 Question 3………………………………………………………………..89 Qualitative Data Interpretation…………………………………………………………..91

Analysis of Research Questions…………………………………………………92

Question 3 (Part I)……………………………………………………….92

Question 3 (Part II)……………………………………………………..102

Question 4………………………………………………………………113

Taking a Closer Look: Three Case Studies……………………………………..121

Kristi: Confronting the Possibilities in the Classroom…………………122

Morgan: Self Expression for the True Intermediate……………………128

Ralph: Taking Literal and Metaphorical Risks…………………………135

CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION………………………………….141

Limitations……………………………………………………………………………...143

Future Research: Towards a Critical Literacies Curriculum in the FL Classroom……..144

Broader Implications for Foreign Language Education………………………………...146

Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………..150 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………152 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………….163

Appendix A: Background Questionnaire……………………………………………….163

Appendix B: Informed Consent Form………………………………………………….166

Appendix C: Control Group Composition Prompts……………………………………169

Appendix D: Control Group Presentation Project Guidelines…………………………172

Appendix E: Stage 1: Preparing the text……………………………………………….176

Appendix F: Stage 2: Working into the text, Part I…………………………………….181

Appendix G: Stage 2: Working into the text, Part II…………………………………...185

Appendix H: Stage 3: Reading the text aloud………………………………………….189

Appendix I: Stage 4: Analyzing the text, Part I………………………………………..193

Appendix J: Stage 4: Analyzing the text, Part II……………………………………….197

Appendix K: Stage 5: Composing texts………………………………………………...201

Appendix L: Stage 6: Introducing and analyzing students' texts………………………205

Appendix M: Stage 7: Publishing students' texts………………………………………209

Appendix N: Evaluation forms…………………………………………………………210

Appendix O: Interview Guides…………………………………………………………213

Appendix P: Literacy Pre/Posttest……………………………………………………...215

Appendix Q: Literacy Pre/Posttest Grading Rubric…………………………………….221

TABLES………………………………………………………………………………..225

Table 1: Sample Student Characteristics by Course Section…………………………...225

Table 2: Background Information for Participants Enrolled in Critical Literacies

Course…………………………………………………………………………..226

Table 3: Daily Schedule for Modules…………………………………………………..227

Table 4: Pretest Means and Standard Deviations By Course Section………………….228

Table 5: Independent Samples t-test Results for Biweekly FL Assessments…………..229

Table 6: Pretest and Posttest Means and Standard Deviations………………………....230

Table 7: Two-Way ANOVA Results for Literacy Development………………………231

FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………….232

Figure 1: Qualitative Data Analysis…………………………………………………….232

Figure 2: Plot of Pretest to Posttest Mean Scores………………………………………233

Figure 3: Plot of Pretest to Posttest Questionnaire Item 4 Mean Scores……………….234

Figure 4: Plot of Pretest to Posttest Questionnaire Item 7 Mean Scores……………….235

Figure 5: Plot of Pretest to Posttest Questionnaire Item 8 Mean Scores……………….236

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	French
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Language, Modern Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Stichwort	intermediate-level French foreign language instruction critical literacies
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Loichot, Valerie, Emory University Maxim, Hiram, Emory University
Committee Members	Dubreil, Sébastien, University of Tennessee Downey, Charles A, Emory University

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