This qualitative research study explores the use of television as text in
adult literacy as a means of bridging orality and literacy. The reason for selecting
television as an educational tool was to provide equal access to stories for both
non-readers and readers of print, and the 22 research participants were required
to complete a survey and participate in four 2-hour workshops, and a taped
interview. During the workshops, participants learned to actively engage with
the texts that were edited stories from the Canadian television series North of 60.
The researcher included reading strategies to encourage the participants'
interaction with the texts as active "readers" (see Fiske, 1987; Buckingham, 1993;
Bianculli, 1992) and brainstorming to increase their vocabulary prior to writing
reflective responses.
First, how television as text influences an adult literacy student's ability to
transfer information from oral texts into print texts is analyzed. The findings
indicate that television allows non-readers, reluctant readers, and delayed
readers of English to learn literary terms and conventions that apply to print
stories and practise four domains of language acquisition - listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. A selection of each participant's written responses to the
stories and interview fragments have been analyzed. Whenever possible, the
selection is based on a participant's favorite story or personal connection to a
character.
Second, the effect of brainstorming on written responses has been
examined. This technique is a pre-writing strategy the researcher used not only
to assist the participants in recording vocabulary relevant to the story, but also to
provide opportunities for sharing ideas in the construction of meaning. Based on
data collected during the interviews, individuals with short-term memory
problems indicate that repetition of vocabulary through brainstorming, note-taking,
and discussion reinforces memory retention, and second language
learners gain knowledge of pronunciation by hearing and rehearsing vocabulary
from the stories.
Third, factors contributing to the participants' reflective oral and written
responses to the television stories have been analyzed. The main factors
contributing to reflective thinking and writing involve the research pedagogy
and the development of reflective skills through practice. The researcher's
reflective methodology combines phenomenology, critical ethnography, and
emancipatory practice from the diverse perspectives of van Manen (1990), Haig-
Brown and Archibald (1996), and Freire (1974,1994,1997,1998) who have
informed this study together with other researchers in the respective fields. This
method situates the research participants and the researcher in a partnership in
which everyone contributes through dialogue to the learning process. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/42516 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Soleil, Naome |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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