A text transmutates from textbook to chalkboard to notebook
In this post I want to show you some of the research I’m doing in Mozambique. This research is part of my thesis, “Writing practices in a bilingual Mozambican primary school.” Basically, I’m looking at what writing goes on in classrooms and what that can tell us. Transmutational texts are texts that change as they move from one mode to another (also known as resemiotization). Transmogrified texts are when a book turns into a monster and eats you. But we’ll study those another time.
My methodology in a nutshell is to sit in the back of a classroom and take pictures of instances of writing. Writing normally includes these four elements:
- The textbook: the basis of a classroom lesson
- The lesson plan: the teacher’s outline of what will happen in a lesson
- The chalkboard: information is transfered from the textbook to the chalkboard and is used as the basis of teaching.
- The notebook: children copy information from the chalkboard into their notebooks
I’ve observed 23 class sessions so far and the pattern is almost invariable. The teacher writes on the board. The children copy off the board. That’s it. Occasionally there are departures, for example, when kids are invited to draw a picture.
The language situation is fairly typical of Mozambique and Africa in general. The teacher teaches in Portuguese which is her second-language and also the second-language of the children. Textbooks and all writing on the board, as well as most speaking by the teacher and students is in Portuguese. Since the children know very little Portuguese this creates all sorts of difficulties. Occasionally the teacher will start a lesson in Nyungwe, the local language which is familiar to most of the students. This is in accordance with educational policy which allows teachers to use the local language to help learners as long as most classroom instruction is in Portuguese. Mozambique is currently transitioning to a bilingual model of education in which parents may choose to have their child in either a Portuguese-only classroom or in a local language classroom. Implementation of this model is proceeding very slowly so 99% of classrooms in Mozambique use Portuguese even though probably 99% of children start school without knowing any Portuguese.
For my research I’m doing what’s known as multimodal analysis. This means that I’m looking at a variety of communication forms such as speaking, writing, and gesturing and trying to understand the different “affordances” of each mode. Affordances are 1.) what can be done using a mode and also 2.) what people are allowed to do with a mode. So for example, the mode of writing makes it possible to create a permanent record of information. And writing is the default way of being evaluated in school. Speaking on the other hand has the advantage of being quick and allowing a lot of people to be reached by a message but it doesn’t tend to be allowed as a form of evaluation (Tests are always written). In my research I’m also looking at the effect of L1 and L2 on the modes. There are big differences between speaking in Nyungwe and Portuguese for example. Children talk in Nyungwe with a lot of expression and enthusiasm. While their responses in Portuguese tend to be single words uttered in a monotone voice. And while Portuguese is commonly written I’ve yet to see a single word written on the chalkboard in Nyungwe.
Implications of this research include a better understanding of the affordances of L1 and L2 and the impact that may have on the uptake of bilingual education. Also, by looking at how texts “transmutate” we can better understand what writing is in the context of an L2 classroom.
Below is a gallery of photos from a single class period. In this Grade 3 class, the teacher is reviewing the number 8 with the children based on a page from the textbook. As you click through the photos you can see how the text develops on the chalkboard and transmutates as it moves from the textbook to the chalkboard to the children’s notebooks.
The textbook page that the lesson is based on
Lesson plan for a Grade 3 math class
The "cabeçalho" (heading) is always present on the board and must be copied by the children in each class.
Writing the discipline, Mathematics
Writing the theme: Exercises applying page 37
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Problem 1
Problem 2
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A boy comes forward to write on the board
Problem 3
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It's 8 meters from the back of the class to the chalkboard.
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Twenty minutes of class time are spent copying problems on the board. This is necessary because there aren't enough books to go around. There is less than one book for every three students and they aren't allowed to write in them.
Copying the work from the chalkboard
Neat writing under challenging conditions
Another teacher was gone so this class had 71 students in attendance. That leaves the teacher only a few seconds to correct each notebook.
Corrections from a previous class.
Ran out of time before the class ended
The child only had time to copy the heading.
Copying leaves little time for learning math.
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Confusion on numbering by 8s
Contrast on the board is reduced by previous erasures.
