| The students for this module are ten Hispanic, bilingual
employees of a large bank in Atlanta, Georgia. While the bank has hired
these employees to help with their growing base of Hispanic customers,
they also expect them to function fully in the English requirements of
their jobs. Most of the employees are tellers with only a few who are supervisors
of different departments. Their Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
(BICS) are excellent, but their writing and formal English need "polishing"
according to bank expectations.
Even though the students are there for a common purpose, they will learn in their own individual style. As discussed in the articles in Joy Reid's book, Learning Styles in the ESL/EFL Classroom, students exhibit several learning styles. While no learner has only one style, one style will be predominant in most learners. The activities at the end of this module have attempted to address the needs of various kinds of learners as well as the tasks that each learner must be able to perform. Here is a basic list of the learning styles with a general description of each.
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| Since these students have been newly hired, their class
time with me will be considered a part of their job training as "acculturation"
into this particular workplace. Classes will meet three times a week
for an hour and a half each morning for nine weeks.
The bank has hired me to improve the English that their employees will be expected to use on the job. Since my responsibility is to the bank that hired me, I designed the program around the tasks necessary for the students to do their jobs well. I have had to do some detective work like interviewing native speaker employees about job descriptions and looking at and listening to samples of their work that will be similar to the work of my students. As a result of my "detecting," I found that there were many occasions for the use of different types of communication throughout the course of a regular day for a bank employee. Interactions with customers and other bank employees required skill at spoken communication-both informal interpersonal communication and highly technical communication about business matters. I was surprised to find that tellers also used narratives in their writing tasks required by their jobs. For example, they often had to relate to their supervisors in speech and then in writing what were called "unusual incidents" such as attempts to cash forged checks or customers who behaved in suspicious or peculiar ways. My program design, therefore, should help the employees to perform their banking tasks with as much professionalism as possible. To do this, I plan to do activities that build background knowledge for the required tasks and to give them actual practice in completing the tasks. As often as possible, I plan to use authentic materials in order to maintain face validity with the bank and the employee/students. Authentic materials will include the bank manual, examples of employee reports, bank memos, etc. While I feel my first responsibility is to the bank that hired me, I also feel that students place value on what they learn if they can see some personal benefit as well. To appeal to this intrinsic motivation, I plan to make reference to how the things we're learning in the "banking English class" can transfer to the conversations and writing they do in their personal lives. |
II. What Will This Module Provide for a Teacher?
What is a Discourse Analysis Approach to Teaching Grammar?
| Before I get into the nitty-gritty
of narrative discourse, I'd like to set up the framework within which it
rests. There are many definitions of discourse, but the main idea seems
to be that it is made up of rather large portions of language that is a
result of real interaction between two communicators. The theory behind
teaching grammar through discourse analysis is that certain grammatical
features cluster or gather together within a type of discourse. "A
cluster of features co-occur frequently in texts because they are serving
some common function in those texts" (Biber, 1995, p.91).
A writer or speaker's choice of discourse drives or determines the grammar that is used. In other words, the discourse that a person chooses to communicate in will determine the grammar cluster that is used. Because of this, we can say that discourse instruction leads to grammar instruction. Instead of choosing certain elements of grammar to be covered only at certain levels, all grammar elements can be taught at all levels. It's just that the depth in which you go into that grammar is different for different levels. Also, the purer forms of the major discourse types (involved, informational, narrative, and non-narrative) would probably be taught at lower levels. Upper levels would then be capable of dealing with discourse types that are embedded within one another. The lines between certain discourse types would be less obvious at the upper levels. In the soon-to-be-published Grammar in the Composition Classroom, the authors cite several principles for using this approach in ESL/EFL classes. While the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is probably the main focus of these principles, they also apply to ESP classes as well. The six principles (Byrd, In Press) include the following:
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| I think the usefulness of these guidelines in an ESP
setting is obvious. Let's face it. There are usually different levels even
in academic classes, but there are likely to be many levels spreading a
broader range when the company only wants to pay one teacher to teach one
class for all levels. If all levels of students are learning the same grammar,
you can adjust your expectations of their performance of that particular
gammar element. Students can be grouped by ability for some activities
and be given a more or less complex text to deal with in their particular
group. Presenting the grammar in a cluster for that particular discourse
will help students know the options (verbs, pronouns, etc.) that they have
when speaking or writing in that form.
Using a discourse analysis approach will help you as a teacher when you have to teach specific tasks that have to be mastered by your students. Once you've determined the discourse types that are necessary for your students to use, the grammar clusters are already determined by Biber's factor analysis. At least they give you the main elements to start with, but if you find, like I did, that there are other elements that are also predominant, then you can scratch the ones on Biber's list that don't apply and add the ones you deem important. Return to top of SectionReturn to Table of Contents for This Module |
What is narrative discourse and the grammar it utilizes?
Suspect approached me with a $30.00
check to be cashed. While I was processing the transaction, suspect
said he wanted small bills in a brown paper bag and that his ID was covered
in plastic explosives. I grabbed all my small bills and the suspect asked
for a bag again. I told him I did not have a bag. Suspect laughed and told
me I had a good sense of humor. Suspect then raised his arms up and told
me not to worry that he was going to rob me. Suspect said he had something
in his head that made him say things like that. Suspect was given the $30.00,
and he left the building.
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Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1996). Tense and Aspect in (Con) Text. In T. Miller (ed.), Grammar and Discourse. The Journal of TESOL France, 3, 19-33.
Biber, D. (1995). Variation across speech and writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Byrd, P. In press. Grammar in the composition syllabus. In P. Byrd and J. Reid (Eds.), Grammar in the composition class. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jones, Susan. (1997). Susan Jones' list of English irregualr verbs. Available on the World Wide Web at <http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones.htm>
Reid, Joy M., ed. (1995). Learning styles in the ESL /EFL classroom. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Tottie, Gunnel. (1991). Negation in English speech and writing: a study in variation. San Diego: Academic Press.
What would a conceptual model of the teaching program look like?
| The nine-week course that I envision will touch on all four dimensions described by Biber: involved discourse for conversing appropriately with customers and employees, informational discourse for understanding bank memos and manuals, non-narrative discourse for writing detailed descriptions, and narrative discourse for recounting actions involving unusual occurrences on the job. One to two weeks will be spent on learning and demonstrating appropriate use of each dimension as needed on the job. The additional two weeks will be used for embedding the dimensions within one another. For example, when a robbery or forgery occurs, the teller has to write a narrative of what happened and a non-narrative description of the suspect in the same report. |
How is the grammar to be organized in the program?
| A possible course schedule might look like the following:
(Note that only the narrative portion is fleshed out). |
WEEK |
DISCOURSE |
TOPICS ANDOR MATERIALS |
GRAMMAR |
1 & 2 |
Involved & Interactive Conversational English |
Customer Dialogue |
|
3 & 4 |
Informational & Technical Language of the Workplace |
Employee Manual |
|
5 |
Embedded Writing & Speaking in Involved & Informational Discourse |
Supplying information within conversation |
|
6 |
Narrative |
Elements of a narrative; models of narrative writing; analyzing the grammar of narratives; writing narratives |
past tense verbs; irregular verbs; third person pronouns; pronoun sequenceindirect quotation in "unusual incident reports" |
7 |
Narrative |
Practice writing and editing narrative reports with a variety of activities |
synthetic negation; complete sentence; public verbs; perfect aspect |
8 & 9 |
Non-Narrative & Embedded Writing & Speaking in Narrative & Non-Narrative |
Analyzing and writing descriptions |
List of grammar terms for narrative discourse
The following list is meant as a guide to help you with
teaching any of the suggested activities that you select. Use the links
for more information on definitions of terms and examples.
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Suggested activities for teaching the narrative portions of the module:
| Witness to a Robbery: In the first week of work on narrative, students view an actual robbery from the bank's video library. Together, the students can create the narrative as they remember it. This could be done on an overhead to show the whole group the process. Also, no one has to come up with the perfect narrative on the first day; it's done together. |
| Role Play: By the second week on narrative, students should be able to role play a robbery scene or a forgery scene for the purpose of writing a description. While tactile and kinesthetic learners act out the scene, visual and auditory learners report (either verbally or in writing or both) what they saw. The scene can be audio-taped or videotaped for further reference by the class. This provides practice in observation as well as practice in using the grammar of narration. |
| Peer Editing: Throughout the unit on narrative discourse, chances should be made for students to edit one another's work as long as the students are comfortable with the idea of showing their work in progress. Student work can be transferred to overhead transparencies (without the names) and edited by individuals and then by the whole class. |
| Self Editing: A diagnostic narrative writing can be taken before the unit begins. If you have a dramatic bone in your body, role play a forgery attempt for students to observe and then write about. This gives you an idea of the students' strengths and weaknesses and then allows them to see how much they have improved by editing their own work after receiving instruction. |
| Fill-in-the-Blank: Using native speaker writing of the reports students have to write, alternate exercises in which different grammatical elements are missing. For example, one exercise could leave out the past tense verbs while another might leave out the third person pronouns. Alternate how students fill in the blanks. Allow them to work with a partner or alone. Let it be their choice. Then go over the answers as a group. I find that students feel more ready to share their answers if they've checked their answers with another source first. |
| Analysis: Students use highlighters to locate the different factors found most often in narrative discourse as each factor is discussed. This can be done in a piece-meal fashion. For example, you could go over past tense verbs and then highlight them in yellow. After you've discussed third person pronouns or perfect aspect, you could have them highlight those factors in green within the same copy of a text. (Keep the text copy in a student folder). Students can also highlight a text based on the elements of a narrative format. |
| Reference Booklet: This is an on-going project throughout the course. Students create their own booklet as a reference for carrying out the writing, speaking, and presenting parts of their jobs. It represents the information they have obtained in a format that is user-friendly for their learning styles since it is designed by them according to their individual needs on the job and in the class. Entries can include the past participles of often-used irregular verbs or how and when to use perfect aspect verbs. It's tailor made by the students to suit their memory and learning style. |
| Modeling: Students observe the elements of narrative discourse in native speaker writing to see how it develops. Students can make lists in their booklets of common opening phrases and markers that occur repeatedly. While these phrases and markers may seem formulaic, they offer security in writing when trying to begin or end or just make the writing "flow." |
| Compare/Contrast: Provide students with examples of perfect aspect compared to simple past or synthetic negation compared to analytic negation. Discuss the effects of or meanings of the two. Discuss also what grammatical choices they might make in light of this discussion. This activity would probably work better in the second week when students are more familiar with the different factors. |
| Complete Sentences: Throughout the four units on discourse types, student should be practicing writing complete sentences using the various factors for that discourse. For example, students can be given a sheet with a list of fragments and asked to complete the sentences while adhering to their knowledge of the factors. |
| Pronoun Sequence: Students can complete a selected cloze activity in which the pronouns have been deleted. This gives practice in proper pronoun reference to the proper nouns in the text. |
| Chronological Order: Students can piece together a "strip-story" to show an understanding of the sequence of events in a narrative. Write the different sentences that come from the different elements of the narrative. Cut the story into strips and give one strip to each student. Have the students put them in proper order. Once it is complete, you can discuss how the elements revealed the order of the narrative. This would be a good activity after a lesson on the elements of a narrative. |
| Creating a Verb List: Students look at the list of public verbs and see which ones are used in their writing. The most common one is to say in their writing. From Biber's list (1995) we make a list that suits the purposes of the report. We also add verbs that are similar in function to public verbs but that aren't on his list, for example, the verb to tell. |