Classroom interactions, instructional activities and learning affordances of an undergraduate technical writing classroom: a sociocultural study
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Date
2014-08
Authors
Cheah, Swi Ee
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Abstract
This thesis is the result of an academic venture to explore writing practices in the
Malaysian higher education. The study assumes a sociocultural view and approaches
writing practices as the teaching, learning, and doing of writing. Classroom interactions,
instructional activities in class, participants’ interpretations of an acceptable technical
report, and language learning affordances are investigated as aspects contributing to
writing practices. This study is a qualitative case study, exploratory and interpretive in
nature. This case study was conducted for ten weeks in a technical writing class of
undergraduates as they learnt to accomplish the technical report. The participants were
28 students from the technical discipline and their English language lecturer. Data
sources were mainly formal classroom observations, interviews and informal discussions
with the teacher and the students, institutional documents related to the course, and the
students’ written products. Data analysis followed the research procedure that included
consistent use of research instruments, multiple readings, constant comparison, thematic
analysis, triangulation, and member checking of the data. The main finding of the study
indicates that writing in the sociocultural context is neither static nor unilateral. The
sociocultural context plays an important role in shaping the students’ writing practices in
class. Collectively, the students’ writing practices can become a norm that gives shape to
the sociocultural context where writing takes place. Four dominant talk features that
characterized the classroom interactions, four common themes that arose from the
instructional activities, the teacher and students’ agreement on the criteria of acceptable
technical reports but differing interpretations on each criterion, and language learning
affordances pointed to the importance of integrating affordances outside the classroom
as a resource of teaching writing in the classroom. Beneath the surface of observable
classroom activities and interactions, there are underlying factors that affect writing
practices in class. To unravel the complexities of these hidden domains, Activity Theory
was used as a tool to provide explanations and insights. The findings implicate the
importance of considering L2 writing as a sociocultural practice that requires more than
language skills and linguistics competence. This study has contributed to existing works
on second language writing and classroom talk. Specifically, this study has attempted to
bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners through cross-modality research
between classroom talk and writing. It is hoped that the research methodology comprising intense data collection and analysis can be replicated in other settings.
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Keywords
Learning Affordances , Instructional Activities , Classroom Interactions