Instructional Conversations: Applying Tellability to Stories for Teaching English Ana Lado, Ph.D. lecture at Minghsin University of Science and Technology and Lunghua University of Science and Technology November 2015

How do successful teachers engage their students with a written text? An expert uses phased instruction of a balanced set of strands. The best teacher maximizes student learning. They utilize synchronicity between oral and written texts.

There is flow. For example, they accompany the presentation of a dialogue rich text with a dramatic activity, and accompany the presentation of a poetic text with a recitation activity. In other words, the teacher engages the students intertextually.

Some written texts are better for this type of ‘intertextual’ flow than others. These texts help students learn to comprehend the English in the written text and at the same time, they help them learn oral expression. They simultaneous teach oral and written skills. The students also learn to seamlessly transition back and forth between oral and written styles of English.

Labov’s Tellability Tellability was coined by Labov (1972) when he analyzed solicited narratives (conversational stories) of African- American youths who were asked to talk about specific personal experiences. It requires attention to more than just the readability of the written text. Readability focuses on the difficulty of a text’s syntax and vocabulary. Tellability focuses on oral success.

Labov's analysis began with asking the question “why this narrative-or any narrative-is felt to be tellable; in other words, why the events of the narrative are reportable.” Tellability refers to a relationship between tellers and listeners that takes account what is reportable and who can tell what to whom in what circumstances. Tellability is dependent on a specific context. It includes the study of discourse features used to keep a specific audience’s interest (Shuman 2012).

Baroni (2010) discusses tellabilty as noteworthiness of a narrative or its interest for listeners. The worthiness of a narrative depends on a relationship between topic and context and on the relationships among the participants in the storytelling occasion, as well as on the people described or implicated in the narrative. Noteworthiness depends on whether or not the events described are news, but as Goffman (1974) pointed out, some occasions warrant the repetition of an already familiar narrative. [This is our case in TESOL]

Readability vs. Tellability A Readability formula is a popular way to select texts but it cannot help us find the best texts for teaching oral and written language simultaneously. A Tellability formula can be used to describe written texts that are good for also teaching oral language.

Intertextuality: Written Oral and Graphic. Example from the book This Land is Your Land video of Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen - Obama Inauguration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnvCPQqQWds video of Woody Guthrie book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKUxGrH8Fk

Tellability is both A social criterion, referencing to the relationships among the participants and An intertextual criterion, referring to other narratives, other representations, and other discourses. The best teachers use all modes of communication, such as pictures, gestures, oral intonation, and text, all so that students understand. When Picture books and Radio Scripts have features that mimic the best teachers, they prompt successful conversations.

What criteria did I use to select picture books that mimic the best teachers? Overall principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 2. Appropriate Content by age 3. English Proficiency Level 4. Match text discourse to a CLT strategy.

1. Overall Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Principles (based on Nation, 2000; Lado, 1988) Examples: Comprehension: Visuals, Total Physical Response Expression: Reader’s Theater, Retelling Language Study: Substitution, Comparing/Contrasting Fluency: Chanting, Poetry Recitation Personalized Utilization: Projects, Rewriting

They should be of interest to the age group. Examples: 2. APPROPRIATE CONTENT The books should make age appropriate demands. Sequential plots are easiest. They should be of interest to the age group. Examples: A Little Overcoat Child’s picture book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ37_s7X3jA From a Distance lyrics = abstract global https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC3FW_RU-GI From a Distance lyrics = Turkey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLPj2h0N3bU From a Distance = Las Vegas Performance by Bette Midler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDSh5wUtXt4 Consider both the cognitive demands and the linguistic context of the sample.

Cognitively Demanding (difficult) B and D Range of Contextual Support and Degree of Cognitive Demands in Picture Books Cognitively Undemanding (easy) A and C Cognitively Demanding (difficult) B and D A. Contextually embedded language (clues) and Cognitively undemanding content (easy). Books with easy, accessible language and content. The format lends itself to hands-on and unison activities with linguistic, visual, and social supports. C. Context reduced language (few clues) and Cognitively undemanding content (easy). Books with less accessible language yet easy topic. The text might have a dense style and lack clarifying illustrations. Yet the topic is concrete and familiar. B. Contextually embedded language (clues) and Cognitively demanding content (difficult). Books with accessible language and demanding content. The text might have an oral style, transparent illustration, and patterned language but is unfamiliar, academic, or abstract. D. Context reduced language (few clues) and Cognitively demanding content (difficult). Books with language presented without contextual clues containing demanding content. The book’s format might require topic-specific vocabulary and skills and contain few linguistic, visual, and social supports.

3. ENGLISH PROFICIENCY LEVEL The books should make level appropriate demands. Consider both the amount and complexity of the sample. Walt Whitman When I heard the learn’d astronomer; When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me; When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them; When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick; Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. Langston Hughes My People The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

Examples of different amounts and complexity of language. Compare the Picture book version of When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer To a Comic Strip version http://zenpencils.com/comic/88-walt-whitman-when-i-heard-the-learnd- astronomer/ Compare the a picture book with only nouns (Bembo’s Zoo, De Vicq De Cumptich, 2000) to one with patterned sentences that can be used for substitution (Perfect Square, Hall, 2013). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPY-FZT9ME8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD9PnQFc8Kk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vjdKhqefQs

4. MATCH TEXT DISCOURSE TO CLT STRATEGY Comprehension taught using Texts with Verbs for TPR and Texts with actionable phrases for Reenactment and Role Play. Expression taught using Texts with rich dialogue for Reader’s Theater and Texts with sequence for Story Retelling.

Some books match Comparing Contrasting A Cool Drink of Water (Kerley, 2006) We can compare the verbs in italics with nouns in capitals. We can compare lyrical text and expository end notes. Celebrating (Swain, 1999) We can compare Chinese with English

Some books match Model-based Retelling Story Frame Questions Answers What is the title? Author? Illustrator? Kitten’s First Full Moon is Written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes (2004) 2. Who is the story about? This story is about a hungry kitten. 3. What happens first? The kitten sees the moon and thinks it is milk. 4. What happens next? She jumps off the porch. 5. What happens next? She runs through the garden. 6. What happens next? She climbs up a tree. 7. What happens next? She leaps into a pond. 8. How does it end? She finds a bowl of milk at home.

Some Match Fluency Fluency activities should: 1. Enough amount / quantity of language, 2. Make limited demands (repetition) and 3. Require a high level of performance. (Nation, 2008)

Some match Personalized Utilization Such as books with Projects Bread Comes to Life (Levenson, 2008)

Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) The database of books with Tellability associated with Teaching Beginner ELLs with Picture Books (Lado, 2012) http://www.corwin.com/picturebooks4ells/ Password: person Tellability is about conversation. Therefore it can be applied to all instructional conversations, such as Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI)

Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) lessons for Pakistan (Radio 99) With a focus on oral fluency. We target primary school education for everyone. While radio is one way communication, IRI includes interactions where students learn through games, involvement, jingles, songs, poems, and role plays. http://www.dw.com/en/global-3000-the- globalization-program-2015-06-22/e-18524037-9798. https://www.facebook.com/broadclass?fref=nf Radio 99 Broad Class Listen to Learn January 23

Hymes’ SPEAKING Model Setting and Scene "Setting refers to the time and place of a speech act and…to the physical circumstances" (Hymes 55). Participants Speaker and audience. Distinguished as addressees and other hearers (Hymes 54 & 56). Ends Purposes, goals, and outcomes (Hymes 56-57). Act Sequence Form and order of the event. Key Cues that establish the "tone, manner, or spirit" of the speech act (Hymes 57). Instrumentalities Forms and styles of speech (Hymes 58-60). Norms Social rules governing the event and the participants' actions and reaction. Genre The kind of speech act or event; for our course, the kind of story. The aunt might tell a character anecdote about the grandmother for entertainment, but an exemple as moral instruction.

Apply S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. Since the Pakistanis tell Aesop’s fables, we used this Genre but adapted to the Setting. For example including dialogue patterns: The bee said to the ladybug, “I am better than you. I fly in flowers and I sting.” What do you do? The ladybug said to the mosquito, “I am better than you. I fly under flowers and I crawl.” What do you do? And jingles that lead to TPR-like activities: [Jingle] What can you do? Everyone is better at something. I am better at something, too. Everyone is better at something. You are better at something, too

KEY POINTS Tellability of a Picture Book or An IRI script requires us to consider context and language and the flow among students, teachers, materials and Strategies in ways that current readability formulas do not.