title: Enhancing the Reading Engagement of University English Language Learners:  An Action Research Project

authors: Lee, Jocelyn Yee Vun

subjects: Applied Linguistics

abstract: Despite burgeoning research that has been conducted on the broad term “engagement” in the past decades, research into engagement in English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts remains scarce. Furthermore, in the English Language Learners (ELLs) context in Malaysia, where reading avoidance seems to be an issue, no research has specifically addressed reading engagement.

This qualitative case study aims to increase student reading engagement through a strategy-based intervention, Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), designed to engage ELLs with whom it was conducted under an action research paradigm. Another purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to which reflective practice and development as an action researcher would empower the practitioner in her professional development.

Data were collected from 41 students enrolled in an intact university class for 36 hours; a duration of a semester. Six participants, each representing different engagement levels, were selected for close study. Data collected from the six participants in this study were obtained from multiple sources, including transcriptions of participants’ reflective reading logs; transcriptions of audio-recordings of group discussions and a group interview; transcriptions of audio-recordings of the researcher’s private speech during lessons; and the researcher’s reflective journal. Most of the data were qualitative, but some - such as the word count in logs, speech size, number of turns in discussion, and reading engagement scores - were quantitative. In the first phase of the action research cycle, students received explicit instruction and teacher modelling, and in the second phase, they worked more independently. The data were subject to a procedure of grounded analysis, and triangulated to achieve a thick description.

The results showed that interactional opportunities such as retelling and group discussion supported four dimensions of ELLs’ reading engagement: behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic. From a sociocultural perspective, ELLs need one another to achieve engagement. Peer scaffolding, or collective scaffolding, in ways analogous to teacher scaffolding exemplified students’ agency. The findings of the present investigation showed that sustained silent reading, when effectively scaffolded, tended to have positive effects on ELLs. Evidence in the present study showed that growing engagement appeared to be attributed to Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), which allowed ELLs to move along the reading pathways from initial engagement, to emergent engagement, and finally, deeper engagement with texts. As a means of examining the practitioner’s position and practice, action research revealed the teaching style and tacit knowledge of the practitioner’s everyday practice. As a reflective teacher, I moved along a continuum comprised of identifying a problem (students were disaffected with reading), developing a research design, collecting data, refining the procedures, analysing the data, and presenting aspects of the study in the public domain. The present case study can be related, rather than generalised, to similar contexts. The study can make an original contribution to an academic understanding of reading engagement and the teacher’s reflective practice in relatable contexts. These findings have important implications for practitioners and researchers; they suggest that neglecting the role of reading engagement could be the cause of missed opportunities to support ELL literacy development and students’ critical thinking stance. The present study also shows that developing reflective opportunities has evident consequences for teachers who are engaging in action research.

text: Enhancing the Reading Engagement of University English Language Learners:  An Action Research Project Despite burgeoning research that has been conducted on the broad term “engagement” in the past decades, research into engagement in English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts remains scarce. Furthermore, in the English Language Learners (ELLs) context in Malaysia, where reading avoidance seems to be an issue, no research has specifically addressed reading engagement.

This qualitative case study aims to increase student reading engagement through a strategy-based intervention, Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), designed to engage ELLs with whom it was conducted under an action research paradigm. Another purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to which reflective practice and development as an action researcher would empower the practitioner in her professional development.

Data were collected from 41 students enrolled in an intact university class for 36 hours; a duration of a semester. Six participants, each representing different engagement levels, were selected for close study. Data collected from the six participants in this study were obtained from multiple sources, including transcriptions of participants’ reflective reading logs; transcriptions of audio-recordings of group discussions and a group interview; transcriptions of audio-recordings of the researcher’s private speech during lessons; and the researcher’s reflective journal. Most of the data were qualitative, but some - such as the word count in logs, speech size, number of turns in discussion, and reading engagement scores - were quantitative. In the first phase of the action research cycle, students received explicit instruction and teacher modelling, and in the second phase, they worked more independently. The data were subject to a procedure of grounded analysis, and triangulated to achieve a thick description.

The results showed that interactional opportunities such as retelling and group discussion supported four dimensions of ELLs’ reading engagement: behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic. From a sociocultural perspective, ELLs need one another to achieve engagement. Peer scaffolding, or collective scaffolding, in ways analogous to teacher scaffolding exemplified students’ agency. The findings of the present investigation showed that sustained silent reading, when effectively scaffolded, tended to have positive effects on ELLs. Evidence in the present study showed that growing engagement appeared to be attributed to Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), which allowed ELLs to move along the reading pathways from initial engagement, to emergent engagement, and finally, deeper engagement with texts. As a means of examining the practitioner’s position and practice, action research revealed the teaching style and tacit knowledge of the practitioner’s everyday practice. As a reflective teacher, I moved along a continuum comprised of identifying a problem (students were disaffected with reading), developing a research design, collecting data, refining the procedures, analysing the data, and presenting aspects of the study in the public domain. The present case study can be related, rather than generalised, to similar contexts. The study can make an original contribution to an academic understanding of reading engagement and the teacher’s reflective practice in relatable contexts. These findings have important implications for practitioners and researchers; they suggest that neglecting the role of reading engagement could be the cause of missed opportunities to support ELL literacy development and students’ critical thinking stance. The present study also shows that developing reflective opportunities has evident consequences for teachers who are engaging in action research.

year: 2015

title: State education, spirituality, and culture: teachers' personal and professional stories of negotiating the nexus

authors: Fraser, Deborah

subjects: spirituality

abstract: This paper explores the implications of spirituality for teaching and learning in multicultural state schools through the examination of several teachers' personal and professional narratives. In attempting to capture the intangible, these narratives provide insights into the possibilities, both conscious and unconscious, of creating a climate that fosters spirituality. The classroom stories of a spiritual nature that the teachers recounted (while many and varied) revealed some common themes that related to the climate of the classrooms. Sensitive issues of faith, beliefs, and culture emerged and the teachers' narratives illustrate ways in which inclusive communities can be fostered. The paper provides examples of cultural and social inclusiveness with a focus on two major themes: the relationship between life and death, and fostering a sense of belonging.

text: State education, spirituality, and culture: teachers' personal and professional stories of negotiating the nexus This paper explores the implications of spirituality for teaching and learning in multicultural state schools through the examination of several teachers' personal and professional narratives. In attempting to capture the intangible, these narratives provide insights into the possibilities, both conscious and unconscious, of creating a climate that fosters spirituality. The classroom stories of a spiritual nature that the teachers recounted (while many and varied) revealed some common themes that related to the climate of the classrooms. Sensitive issues of faith, beliefs, and culture emerged and the teachers' narratives illustrate ways in which inclusive communities can be fostered. The paper provides examples of cultural and social inclusiveness with a focus on two major themes: the relationship between life and death, and fostering a sense of belonging.

year: 2007

title: He purapura whetū tō te whakataukī

authors: Tuahine, Hōhepa

subjects: Whakataukī

abstract: Ko te whakataukī he kōrero e whakaatu ana i ngā tini āhuatanga o te Māori me te āhua o tōna taiao (Milroy, 2004, wh. 38).  Hei tuinga ake, he kōrero e pupuri ana i ngā tohutohu e tau ai te noho o te tangata ki te whenua.  Ka rerekē te whakatakotoranga o te kupu o te whakataukī o nehe, ki te reo Māori o nāianei.  Ko ngā whakataukī o tāukiuki i titoa i te wā e ora tonu ana ngā whare wānanga o nehe me ōna tohunga.  Ka mutu, ko te reo me ōna kupu kei tērā taumata e rere ana.  Nō reira, he kōrero e whakaata ana i te ao Māori, ko ōna atua, ko ōna tikanga, ko ōna pakanga, ko ōna tātai whakapapa, ko ōna mātauranga, ko ōna tohutohu (Milroy, 2004, wh. 38).  Ka tākaitia ake aua mātauranga ki te kōrero poto noa iho, ka tuku iho ai ki ngā uri whakaheke.

text: He purapura whetū tō te whakataukī Ko te whakataukī he kōrero e whakaatu ana i ngā tini āhuatanga o te Māori me te āhua o tōna taiao (Milroy, 2004, wh. 38).  Hei tuinga ake, he kōrero e pupuri ana i ngā tohutohu e tau ai te noho o te tangata ki te whenua.  Ka rerekē te whakatakotoranga o te kupu o te whakataukī o nehe, ki te reo Māori o nāianei.  Ko ngā whakataukī o tāukiuki i titoa i te wā e ora tonu ana ngā whare wānanga o nehe me ōna tohunga.  Ka mutu, ko te reo me ōna kupu kei tērā taumata e rere ana.  Nō reira, he kōrero e whakaata ana i te ao Māori, ko ōna atua, ko ōna tikanga, ko ōna pakanga, ko ōna tātai whakapapa, ko ōna mātauranga, ko ōna tohutohu (Milroy, 2004, wh. 38).  Ka tākaitia ake aua mātauranga ki te kōrero poto noa iho, ka tuku iho ai ki ngā uri whakaheke.

year: 2016