Discourse analysis by
definition relates to language as a whole.
Discourse is the overall performance of language. It
relates to communication of thought by words, talk and conversation. Its communication connected to culture and
identity. Discourse analysis is also the
way that language is used to create meaning.
When language is broken into parts patterns can then be identified. After this occurs relationships between the
parts can also begin to be examined. Discourse
is something that one doesn’t realize occurs around them constantly. The simple act of talking to family, friends,
and even going to class involves conversation.
In the adult learners transcript the dynamics of the language used
changed immensely over the course of the transcript. The main focus of my paper will relate to the
subjects feelings toward technology specifically computers and how it was never
considered that they could be used for education purposes. The researcher in this transcript is able to
change the entire conversation by having the subject become more comfortable
with researcher.
The
lens that I found to be most evident was language. The word choices between the researcher and
the subject were crucial. The researcher
started with a straight forward question and I could tell that the subject was
not quite comfortable. The subject
responds to the question with a lot of hesitation. The level of uncertainty was evident from
this point and there seemed to be a slight awkwardness. The subject has now said that they never
thought that computers could be used in the education setting. It wasn’t that she didn’t know that computers
could be used but never considered them for anything other than typing. In relation to the math program that the
subject had used, she admitted that she didn’t trust computers. She was perfectly content with solving
equations on her own and using a computer wasn’t necessary. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact
that the computer could analyze and represent what she wanted it to
represent.
At
this point of the transcript was when the researcher wanted the subject to
begin to recall personal memories in regards to the computer. This was when the subject admitted that she
didn’t consider that computers could relate to
education. She didn’t think that it was
necessary. This was when the dynamics of
the language between the researcher and the subject began to change. The questions and the responses went back and
forth a lot more and the subject became more comfortable with the
researcher. The subject relayed to the
researcher that the math program wasn’t essential to her because it was on the
computer and she saw it as difficult.
The end of excerpt one concluded with the researcher confirming and
reinforcing all of the subjects’ feelings towards computers.
Excerpt
two began with the researcher giving positive reinforcement to the subject by
saying what she had previously said was interesting and taking a genuine
interest in what the subject has to say.
The conversation began to change.
As the subject became more comfortable with the researcher the answers
that she gave became longer. The subject
now became more expressive and in detail with memories and personal
accounts. There was less hesitation but
the subject was still clinging to her fears of computers. She began to talk about her fears when she
was typing. What really freaked her put
was if she typed something and then it disappeared. She didn’t know what to do and then
discovered the undo button. These little
things that she started to discover allowed her to become less fearful. The researcher realized that the subject had
now found a new sense of assurance. This
is when you could tell that the fear that the subject had was diminishing. She began to recall the things that she
learned in word. These were things that
she taught herself. She realized that if
she needed help all she had to do was ask for it. The end of the transcript yielded results
that I didn’t expect. The subject began
to realize that her fear was irrational.
Computers had been around for awhile and with the creation of the
Internet any questions that one had about anything really could be looked up
with a click of a button.
The
language use between the researcher and the subject went back and forth a
lot. The researcher was the one that was
in the most control in the beginning and in middle of the transcript. The subject seemed unsure and had several
hesitations. As the interview progressed
the subject was able to open up. I think
that this was because the subject became more comfortable with the
researcher. It can also be in part
because the subject may have realized that her fear of the computers was
something that wasn’t as scary as it needed to be. There was a lot that she taught herself
partly because she needed to and didn’t even realize it.
Another
lens that comes in to play is micro perspective. The transcript was done in the
style of an interview so there was known face to face interaction. The interaction between the researcher and
the subject grew and developed throughout the course of the interview.
In
reading through the Discourse Analysis in Classrooms book I found that the
essay from chapter three that related the most to the adult learner’s
transcript was An Interactional Sociolinguistic Perspective on an Instructional
Conversation: Talking Opportunities for literacy into being by Mandy Smith. The entire transcript was based on the
interaction between the researcher and the subject building throughout the
transcript. In her essay Smith defines
three principals. There were two out of
the three that I found could be applied to the adult learners’ transcript. The first principal was that based around
reactions between two or more people.
She stated that how people act and react to each other tells how their
specific interactions construct what they are doing, what it means, and who
they are. From the beginning you could
tell that the researcher was the one who held the power. The researcher was the one who asked the
questions and the subject answered them almost painfully in the beginning. It took awhile for the connection to form
between the two. With time throughout
the transcript I could see that the language use had changed and the comfort
level became a lot higher. The responses
went from pure hesitation and uncertainty to more complex and concrete
responses. The subject was able to
address her fear of computers and come across the notion that computers could
be used for literacy purposes and that her fear was somewhat irrational. I think that she came to his realization in
part due to the questions that the researcher asked. This provoked her to think and to search her
mind.
The
second principal from Smiths essay that I applied to the adult learners’
transcript was the idea that relationships are formed through connections that
are made. The relationship between the
researcher and the subject changed throughout the transcript. The researcher was the one who was most
dominant and the subject was more passive.
As the questions became more in depth the researcher was able to ease
the subject into addressing her fears of the computer. They are able to relate to each other and
make connections at certain points that form the grounds of familiarity. When the subject begins to feel comfortable
with the researcher is when she really opens up. The researcher even says at some points that
some of the things she said are interesting and provides numerous points of
positive reinforcement which allows the subject to open up even more.
Overall
I found the transcript to be quite interesting.
Now knowing what discourse analysis was helpful in examining the
piece. Paying attention to the
linguistics was powerful because I now could piece together what was going on
in terms of the interaction between the researcher and the subject. The interaction and the relationship between
the two gradually built itself up. The
language was essential to pay attention to.
The fact that in the beginning there was so much hesitation was a
complete turnaround from what happened in the end. The connections were made throughout the
transcript and these connections kept building up on each other which allowed a
relationship to form!
