CazdenonClassroomDiscourse

Educatorandappliedlinguist,CourtneyCazden,offeredthefirstsignificantscholarshiponclassroom
language,inhercriticalexaminationofthedynamicsofteacherandstudenttalk.
Anysocialinstitutioncanbeconsidereda
communicationsystem.Inthewordsofonelinguist,
MichaelHalliday:Itsveryexistenceimpliesthat
communicationtakesplacewithinittherewillbe
sharingofexperience,expressionofsocialsolidarity,
decisionmakingandplanning,and,ifitisa
hierarchicalinstitution,formsofverbalcontrol,
transmissionoforder,andthelike.Butwhileother
institutions,suchashospitalsservetheirclientsin
nonlinguisticways,thebasicpurposeofschoolis
achievedthroughcommunication.
Severalfeaturesofeducationinstitutionsmake
communicationsocentral.First,spokenlanguageisthemediumbywhichmuchteachingtakes
place,andinwhichstudentsdemonstratetoteachersmuchofwhattheyhavelearned.
Second,classroomsareamongthemostcrowdedofhumanenvironments.Fewadultsspendas
manyhoursperdayinsuchcrowdedconditions.Classroomsaresimilarinthisrespecttorestaurants
andbusesorsubways.Butinsuchplacessimultaneousconversationsarenormal,whereasin
classroomsoneperson,theteacher,isresponsibleforcontrollingallthetalkthatoccurswhileclass
isofficiallyinsessioncontrollingnotjustnegatively,asatrafficofficerdoestoavoidcollisions,but
alsopositively,toenhancethepurposesofeducation.
Third,andperhapsleastobviously,spokenlanguageisanimportantpartoftheidentitiesofallthe
participants.Variationinwaysofspeakingisauniversalfactofsociallife.Schoolsarethefirstlarge
institutiontowhichchildrencomefromtheirfamiliesandhomeneighborhoods,andinwhichtheyare
expectedtoparticipateindividuallyandpublicly(incontrast,forexample,tosimplysittingand
standingatappropriatetimesandjoininginprayersandsongsinchurch).Especiallyduringthe
periodofschoolconsolidationanddesegregation,andthecontinuingmigrationacrossstateand
nationalborders,classroomsusuallyincludepeopleadultsandchildrenfromdifferentlinguistic
backgrounds.
Differencesinhowsomethingissaid,andevenwhen,canbemattersofonlytemporaryadjustment,
ortheycanseriouslyimpaireffectiveteachingandaccurateevaluation.Forallthesereasons,itis
essentialtoconsidertheclassroomcommunicationsystemasaproblematicmediumthatcannotbe
ignored,orviewedastransparent,byanyoneinterestedinteachingandlearning.
Classroomdiscoursehappensamongstudentsandteacher.Butarguablythemostimportantgoalof
educationischangewithineachstudentthatwecalllearning.Howdothewordsspokenin
classroomsaffectthislearning?Howdoestheobservableclassroomdiscourseaffectthe
unobservablethinkingofeachofthestudents,andtherebythenatureofwhattheylearn?Inthe
wordsofDouglasBarnes,writtentwentyfiveyearsagoandquotedintheintroductiontothisbooks
firstedition,howdoesspeechunitethecognitiveandthesocial?Inthemorerecentwordsof
anthropologistBarbaraRogoff,howcanwebestunderstandrelationshipsamongthreeplanesof
analysisofanyevent:individualdevelopment,socialinteraction,andtheculturalactivitiesinwhich
bothtakeplace?
Itisnevereasytotalkaboutrelationshipsbetweenindividual(silent)thinkingprocessesandthe
dyadicorgroup(oftennoisy)interactionsintheclassroom.Butbecausethatrelationshipisatthe
heartofstudentlearningandmustthereforebeattheheartofteachersplanning,wehavetotry.

Creatingtheconditionsfortheinterdependentgoalsofacademicandlanguagedevelopmentforall
studentsrequireschangesinclassroomlanguageuse.Itsabigjob,andteacherscantmake
thesechangesalone.Contextsarenested,fromthemostimmediatetotheactofspeakingtothe
moredistant:classroom,school,district,andsoon.Plus,theclassroomcontextisneverwhollyofthe
participantsmaking.Bracketingoutsuchinfluencesandconsideringclassroomdiscourseasifit
wereautonomous,isexpedientforteachersandresearchers.Butthosewhohelptoshapethe
contextsthatsurroundtheclassroomhavetorealizetheirresponsibilityaswell.
Someteacherswillwanttotakeontheaddedworkoftryingtoinfluencepoliciesthataffecttheirwork.
Thatswhereteacherresearchcomesin.Inadditiontorefiningeducationintheirownclassrooms,
teachersresearchcancontributelocalevidencetodiscussionsabouteducationalpoliciesintheir
schoolsanddistricts.Thatevidence,liketheevidencefromtextorpersonalexperiencesprovidedby
studentspeakers,makesteachersstatementsinsuchforumsaccountabletoo?
Finally,awordfromoneteachertoothers.Thinkingabouttheresearchreported[here]inevitablywill
leadtogreaterselfconsciousness,atleasttemporarily.Ithasforme,whenteachinginSanDiego
andsince,andIwishitdidnthavetohappen.Iwishweasteacherscouldbeassuccessfulasso
manyparentsonintuitionalone.ButasanthropologistEdwardSapirexplains:Itissometimes
necessarytobecomeconsciousoftheformsofsocialbehaviorinordertobringaboutamore
serviceableadaptationtochangingconditions.Or,inhisblunterwords,analysisandconscious
controlarethemedicineofsociety,notitsfood.
Becauseofconditionsbothwithintheclassroomandoutsideit,weneedthemedicineofmore
carefulanalysisandconsciouscontrolsothatourimplicittheoriesofthelanguageofteachingand
learningcanbeopentocontinualrevision.Nothinglessdoesjusticetoourprofessionandour
children.