T O W A R D S C R I T E R I O N V A L I D I T Y I N C L A S S R O O M
L A N G U A G E A N A L Y S I S : M E T H O D O L O G I C A L
C O N S T R A I N T S O F M E T A D I S C O U R S E
A N D I N T E R - R A T E R A G R E E M E N T
1D o u g l a s A l t a m i r o C O N S O L O2
• ABSTRACT: This paper reports on a process to validate a revised version of a system for coding classroom discourse i n foreign language lessons, a context i n w h i c h the dual role of language (as content and means of communication) and the speakers' specific pedagogical aims lead to a certain degree of a m b i g u i t y i n language analysis. The language used by teachers and students has been extensively studied, and a framework of concepts concerning classroom dis-course well-established. Models for coding classroom language need, however, to be revised w h e n they are applied to specific research contexts. The applica-tion and revision of an initial framework can lead to the development of earlier models, and to the re-definition of previously established categories of analysis that have to be validated. The procedures followed to validate a coding system are related here as guidelines for conducting research under similar circum-stances. The advantages of using instruments t h a t incorporate t w o types of data, that is, quantitative measures and qualitative information from raters' metadiscourse, are discussed, and i t is suggested that such procedure can con-tribute to the process of validation itself, towards a t t a i n i n g reliability of research results, as w e l l as indicate some constraints of the adopted research methodology.
• KEYWORDS: Discourse analysis; classroom discourse; metadiscourse; valida-tion; reliability.
1 A n e a r l i e r v e r s i o n of t h i s p a p e r w a s p r e s e n t e d i n t h e p o s t e r s e s s i o n at t h e X I A I L A W o r l d C o n -gress, Jyvâskylà, F i n l a n d , 4-9 A u g u s t 1996.
2 D e p a r t a m e n t o de L e t r a s M o d e r n a s - I n s t i t u t o d e Biociências, L e t r a s e Ciências E x a t a s - U N E S P - 15054-000 - São José d o Rio Preto - SE E - m a i l : d c o n s o l o @ I e m . i b i l c e . u n e s p . b r .
C a t e g o r i z a t i o n of discourse a c t s
i n c l a s s r o o m interaction
T h i s p a p e r r e p o r t s o n a p r o c e s s to v a l i d a t e a s y s t e m for c o d i n g c l a s -s r o o m d i -s c o u r -s e i n f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e l e -s -s o n -s . T h e c a t e g o r i e -s o f a n a l y -s i -s for t e a c h e r t a l k a n d s t u d e n t s p e e c h p r o p o s e d for v a l i d a t i o n i n t h i s s t u d y w e r e a d a p t e d f r o m a r a n g e o f m o d e l s a n d s t u d i e s o n c l a s s r o o m d i s -c o u r s e ,3
m a i n l y f r o m t h e c a t e g o r i e s d e v i s e d i n e a r l i e r m o d e l s t o c l a s s i f y a n d d e s c r i b e d i f f e r e n t c o m m u n i c a t i v e a i m s a n d p e d a g o g i c a l p u r p o s e s o f t e a c h e r t a l k a n d s t u d e n t s p e e c h . T h e t y p o l o g y o f d i s c o u r s e c a t e g o r i e s d e a l t w i t h i n t h i s p a p e r i s b a s e d o n t h e w o r k o f C o n s o l o (1996), a n e x t e n -d e -d a n -d r e v i s e -d v e r s i o n o f a m o -d e l o r i g i n a l l y p r o p o s e -d b y S i n c l a i r & C o u l t h a r d (1975, 1992) for a n a l y s i n g c l a s s r o o m i n t e r a c t i o n .
T h e u n i t s o f a n a l y s i s a t t h e l o w e s t r a n k o f d i s c o u r s e are c a l l e d " c o m m u n i c a t i v e a c t s " . B e y o n d t h e i r f o r m a l s y n t a c t i c a n d p h o n o l o g i c a l p r o -p e r t i e s , a c t s are l i n g u i s t i c i t e m s a t t h e l e v e l o f d i s c o u r s e , t h a t is, t h e y are a n a l y s e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e f u n c t i o n a l p r o p e r t i e s w i t h w h a t s p e a k e r s u s e a c t s for.
O n e a s s u m p t i o n i n t h i s c a t e g o r i z a t i o n o f d i s c o u r s e e l e m e n t s is t h a t t h e d i s c o u r s e v a l u e o f a n a c t d e p e n d s o n w h a t a c t s h a v e p r e c e d e d i t , w h a t are e x p e c t e d t o f o l l o w , a n d t h e w a y a c t s r e l a t e t o e a c h other. S u c h s e q u e n t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p i s c o n s i d e r e d t o a n a l y s e t h e d i s c o u r s e s t r u c t u r e b y m e a n s o f c a t e g o r i e s d e f i n e d n o t o n l y s t r u c t u r a l l y , b u t a l s o for c l a s s r o o m s p e c i f i c s i t u a t i o n s . T h e s o c i o l i n g u i s t i c c o n t e x t o f f o r m a l EFL l e s -sons, i n c l u d i n g n o n - v e r b a l b e h a v i o u r a n d p a r a l i n g u i s t i c a s p e c t s o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t d e t e r m i n e t h e s t r u c t u r a l a n d f u n c t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s i n c l a s s -r o o m d i s c o u -r s e ( h e n c e f o -r t h CD). T h e -r e l e v a n t " n o n - l i n g u i s t i c " f a c t o -r s t o i n f l u e n c e t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d a n a l y s i s o f c l a s s r o o m l a n g u a g e - t h e s o c i a l c o n v e n t i o n s o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a n d t h e s h a r e d e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e s p e a k e r s - a r e t r e a t e d i n t h e S i n c l a i r & C o u l t h a r d ( h e n c e f o r t h S&C) m o d e l (1975) as " s i t u a t i o n " . S u c h f a c t o r s i m p l y a n a n a l y s i s o f l a n g u a g e a n d i n t e r a c t i o n i n EFL l e s s o n s b a s e d o n t h e a w a r e n e s s o f s o c i a l , p e d a -g o -g i c a l , p s y c h o l o -g i c a l a n d l i n -g u i s t i c a s p e c t s o f c l a s s r o o m i n t e r a c t i o n .
A c t s c o n s t i t u t e t h e n e x t h i g h e r r a n k o f d i s c o u r s e c a t e g o r i e s , d e f i n e d as " m o v e s " . T h e s e c a t e g o r i s e t h e t y p i c a l i n t e r a c t i o n a l I n i t i a t i o n -R e s p o n s e - F o l l o w u p (I-RF) s t r u c t u r e o f l e s s o n s , w h i c h p r e d i c t s s t u d e n t m o v e s as r e s p o n s e s (R) t o t h e t e a c h e r ' s i n i t i a t i o n s (I). S t u d e n t s p e e c h is u s u a l l y e v a l u a t e d b y t h e t e a c h e r , i n f o l l o w u p (F) m o v e s . A d i f f e r e n t i a
-Fot a d e t a i l e d r e p o r t o n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e c o d i n g s y s t e m d e a l t w i t h h e r e , see C o n s o l o 1996 p . 1 4 4 - 8 7 ( C h a p t e r 4)
t i o n is m a d e i n t h e s y s t e m p r o p o s e d b y C o n s o l o (1996) b e t w e e n T T a n d s t u d e n t s p e e c h a t t h e r a n k o f m o v e s b y u s i n g t h e l a b e l s Is, Fs a n d Rt for i n i t i a t i o n s (Is) a n d f o l l o w - u p m o v e s (Fs) p r o d u c e d b y s t u d e n t s , a n d resp o n s e s g i v e n b y t h e t e a c h e r (Rt), i n o r d e r t o a n a l y s e t h e s resp e c i f i c c o n t r i -b u t i o n s o f t e a c h e r s a n d s t u d e n t s t o CD.
T h e i n t e r a c t i o n a l u n i t is d e f i n e d as a n e x c h a n g e , w h i c h is d e t e r m i -n e d b y t h e o c c u r r e -n c e o f a -n I or I s m o v e . E x c h a -n g e s c o m b i -n e t o f o r m t r a n s a c t i o n s . T h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of a t r a n s a c t i o n b o u n d a r y u s u a l l y c o i n -c i d e s w i t h t o p i -c -c h a n g e , t h a t m a y b e m a r k e d b y b o u n d a r y m o v e s s u -c h as F r a m e (Fr) a n d Focus (Fo). T r a n s a c t i o n s differ f r o m e x c h a n g e s i n t h a t w h i l e i t is p o s s i b l e t o e s t a b l i s h i n t e r n a l p a t t e r n s a n d a c a t e g o r i z a t i o n for e x c h a n g e s ,4
l i t t l e c a n be s a i d ab | o u t t h e p a t t e r n s for t h e i n t e r n a l s t r u c -t u r e o f -t r a n s a c -t i o n s . T r a n s a c -t i o n s c o m b i n e -t o f o r m l e s s o n s , -t h e h i g h e s -t u n i t o n t h e r a n k s c a l e for a n a l y s i n g CD.
T h e a c t s w h i c h c a t e g o r i s e t h e f u n c t i o n s o f c l a s s r o o m l a n g u a g e , as p r o d u c e d b y t e a c h e r s a n d s t u d e n t s , are p r e s e n t e d b e l o w :5
1. Maker { m r k } 15.5 Informative reply { i - r p l } 2. Starter { s t r } 15.Ł i. Offer reply { o - r p l } 3. E l i c i t a t i o n { e l i } 16. Rect { r e a }
4. Comprehension check { c p - c h k } 17. Protest { p r o } 5. Confirmation check { c f - c h k } CO Correction { c o r } 6. Clarification { c l a } 19. Evaluate { e v l } 7. Directive { d i r } 20. Metastatement { m s t } 8. Informative { i n f } 2 1 . Apology { a p l }
9. Comment { c o m } 22. Tank { t h k }
10. Clue { c l u } 23. Encouragement { e c g }
11. M o d e l { m d l } 24. Conclusion { c o n }
12. Bid { b i d } 25. Terminate { t e r }
13. N o m i n a t i o n { n o m } 26. Greeting { g r t } 14. A c n o w l e d g e { a c k } 27. Parting { p r t } 15.1. Affirmative reply { y - r p l } 28. Aside { a s i } 15.2. Negative reply { n - r p l } 29. Translation { t r l }
15.3. Choice reply { c - r p l } 30. Rhetorical aquestion { r t q } 15.4 Repetition reply { r p - r p l }
4 V a r i o u s p a t t e r n s , s u c h as IP, a n d I { R F } " , d e r i v e d from t h e b a s . c I R F s t r u c t u r e are p r e s e n t e d in S i n c l a i r & C o u t h h a r d (1975) a n d C o n s o l o (1996).
5 For t h e d e f i n i t i o n s of t h e acts, see C o n s o l o , 1996, p . 1 7 0 - 8 5 .
T h e n e x t s e c t i o n r e p o r t s o n a p r o c e s s t o v a l i d a t e t h e r e v i s e d v e r s i o n of t h e S&C m o d e l p r o p o s e d b y C o n s o l o (1996), f o c u s i n g a t t h e r a n k o f t h e c o m m u n i c a t i v e a c t s l i s t e d a b o v e . T h e v a l i d a t i o n o f t h e s e r e v i s e d c a t e g o r i e s o f a n a l y s i s is e s s e n t i a l t o s u p p o r t t h e r e s u l t s a n d f u r t h e r i m p l i c a -t i o n s o f s u c h a s -t u d y , s i n c e i -t s a c h i e v e m e n -t s w i l l h a v e b e e n r e a c h e d t h r o u g h c r i t e r i a o t h e r t h a n t h o s e p r e s c r i b e d b y t h e o r i g i n a l m o d e l .
V a l i d a t i o n of categories of a n a l y s i s
T h e v a l i d i t y a n d r e l i a b i l i t y o f o b s e r v a t i o n a l p r o c e d u r e s , a n d o f c a t e -g o r i e s o f a n a l y s i s , a r e k e y i s s u e s i n r e s e a r c h . A m a j o r a i m i n c l a s s r o o m r e s e a r c h is, a c c o r d i n g t o C h a u d r o n (1988, p . 2 3 ) ,
to produce descriptions and interpretations of classroom events, and the rela-tionships between them, that w i l l be identified by others as real and meaning ful for teachers, learners, and learning.
T h e a s s u m p t i o n a b o v e is f o l l o w e d i n t h i s s t u d y w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f h o w t e a c h e r s a n d s t u d e n t s e n g a g e i n v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n i n EFL l e s s o n s , a n d t o t h e e x t e n t w h i c h c l a s s r o o m o b s e r v a t i o n , r e c o r d e d l e s s o n s a n d t r a n s c r i p t s c a n r e v e a l t h e m e a n i n g s a n d g o a l s o f t h a t t y p e of i n t e r a c t i o n ( S t u b b s , 1983).
V a l i d i t y a n d r e l i a b i l i t y i n d a t a a n a l y s i s a r e f o c u s e d o n a n d i n v e s t i g a t e d h e r e for a n u m b e r o f reasons. Firstly, since b o t h q u a l i t a t i v e a n d q u a n -t i -t a -t i v e a p p r o a c h e s w e r e f o l l o w e d -t o c o l l e c -t a n d a n a l y s e -t h e d a -t a c o r p u s a s s e m b l e d b y C o n s o l o (1996), t h e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n a n d m e t h o d o l o g y i n c l u d e d d i f f e r e n t p r o c e d u r e s a n d r e s e a r c h i n s t r u m e n t s . A s a r e s u l t , d i f f e -r e n t t y p e s o f i n f o -r m a t i o n , fo-r e x a m p l e , c l a s s -r o o m d a t a o b t a i n e d b y m e a n s of a u d i o - r e c o r d i n g s a n d b y d i r e c t o b s e r v a t i o n , w e r e c o m b i n e d i n l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s . T h e w a y s u c h i n f o r m a t i o n w a s g a t h e r e d a n d p u t t o g e t h e r b y t h e r e s e a r c h e r a l o n e is l i k e l y t o f a v o u r d e v i a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e n a t u r e o f p h e n o m e n a , as t h e y o c c u r i n t h e f i e l d , a n d t h e i r i n t e r p r e t e d v e r s i o n s ( L a m p e r t & E r v i n - T r i p p , 1993; Ochs, 1979). R e c o r d i n g s r e v e a l c l a s s r o o m p h e n o m e n a w i t h a c o n s i d e r a b l y h i g h d e g r e e o f r e l i a b i l i t y . D a t a f r o m f i e l d n o t e s a n d t r a n s c r i p t s , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , a r e a f f e c t e d b y i n t e r v e n -i n g f a c t o r s c o n c e r n -i n g t h e o b s e r v e r ' s -i n t e r p r e t a t -i o n o f p h e n o m e n a , as w e l l as h i s or h e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f r e c o r d i n g s w h i l e l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s are p r o d u c e d . T h e s e f a c t o r s c a n m a k e r e s e a r c h o u t c o m e s s u b j e c t i v e a n d less r e l i a b l e , t h u s l i m i t i n g g e n e r a l i z a t i o n o f r e s u l t s ( L a m p e r t & E r v i n -T r i p p , 1993; -T e s c h , 1990).
T w o " v a l i d a t i o n s e s s i o n s " , r e f e r r e d t o as v a l i d a t i o n s e s s i o n s 1 (VS1) a n d 2 (VS2) w e r e c a r r i e d o u t so as t o v e r i f y t h e v a l i d i t y a n d t h e r e l i a b i l i t y of p a r t o f t h e s y s t e m o f c a t e g o r i e s u s e d t o c o d e l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s . D u e t o p r a c t i c a l c o n s t r a i n t s i n h a v i n g a l l c a t e g o r i e s o f d a t a a n a l y s i s v a l i d a -t e d , -t h e d e c i s i o n w a s -t o p r o c e e d w i -t h u s i n g p a r -t o f -t h e c o d i n g s y s -t e m i n t h e s a m e w a y t h o s e c a t e g o r i e s h a d b e e n u s e d t o c o d e d a t a i n e a r l i e r s t u -d i e s . C a t e g o r i e s s u c h as e x c h a n g e s a n -d m o v e s6
h a v e t h e r e f o r e n o t b e e n f u l l y v a l i d a t e d n e i t h e r i n V S l n o r i n VS2. R a t e r s w e r e a s k e d t o f o c u s o n t h o s e c a t e g o r i e s t h a t h a d b e e n s u b j e c t t o a d j u s t m e n t a n d r e d e f i n i t i o n , as f r o m t h e p i l o t s t u d y a n d t h e p r e l i m i n a r y d a t a a n a l y s i s c a r r i e d o u t b y C o n s o l o ( 1 9 9 6 ) ,7
a l l a t t h e r a n k o f a c t s .
V S l a n d VS2 a i m e d a t (1) t h e t r a i n i n g o f e x t e r n a l r a t e r s t o u s e t h e s y s t e m o n l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s , a n d (2) t o h a v e t h e r a t e r s c o d e s a m p l e s o f d a t a , t h a t is, e x t r a c t s f r o m l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s , b y f o l l o w i n g s p e c i f i c d e s -c r i p t i o n s o f t h e -c a t e g o r i e s o f a n a l y s i s .
For V S l , e i g h t p r o f e s s i o n a l s ( t e a c h e r s a n d / o r r e s e a r c h s t u d e n t s ) w o r k i n g i n t h e a r e a s o f ELT/ELT w e r e c o n t a c t e d r e g a r d i n g t h e i r v o l u n -t a r y c o n -t r i b u -t i o n -t o v a l i d a -t e -t h e s y s -t e m o f c a -t e g o r i e s o f a n a l y s i s i n -t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n . H o w e v e r , o n l y four o f t h e m w e r e a c t u a l l y p r e s e n t i n t h e s e s s i o n . T h e " e x t e r n a l r a t e r s " i n V S l a r e r e f e r r e d t o as r a t e r 1, r a t e r 2 , r a t e r 3 a n d r a t e r 4.
R a t e r 1 a n d r a t e r 2 a r e n a t i v e s p e a k e r s o f E n g l i s h , a n d h a d b e e n w o r k i n g i n ELT for m a n y y e a r s w h e n t h e y t o o k p a r t i n V S l . R a t e r 1 h o l d s a n M A i n TEFL, a n d h a d b e e n f o r m a l l y e x p o s e d t o s o m e o f t h e t h e o r e t i c a l b a c k g r o u n d r e v i e w e d for t h i s s t u d y w h i l e s h e d i d h e r M A . R a t e r 2 w a s w o r k i n g t o w a r d s h i s M A i n TEFL w h e n t h e v a l i d a t i o n s e s s i o n w a s car-r i e d o u t . H e h a d p car-r e v i o u s l y w o car-r k e d i n ELT i n B car-r a z i l , w h i c h m e a n s n o t o n l y d o e s h e s p e a k s o m e P o r t u g u e s e , b u t a l s o h e is f a m i l i a r i z e d w i t h t h e t e a c h i n g c o n t e x t s i n v e s t i g a t e d h e r e .
R a t e r 3 a n d r a t e r 4 w e r e w o r k i n g o n t h e i r d o c t o r a l t h e s e s a t t h e t i m e . R a t e r 3 s p e a k s E n g l i s h as L 2 , a n d h i s r e s e a r c h w a s i n t h e a r e a o f s p o k e n E n g l i s h . R a t e r 4 i s a n o n - n a t i v e s p e a k e r o f E n g l i s h . B o t h o f t h e m are p r o f i c i e n t i n t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e .
B o t h t h e t r a i n i n g o f r a t e r s a n d t h e c o d i n g o f d a t a s a m p l e s w e r e car-r i e d o u t o n t h e s a m e o c c a s i o n d u e t o t h e c o n s t car-r a i n t s i m p o s e d o n c o u n t i n g o n v o l u n t a r y e x t e r n a l c o o p e r a t i o n . A c o m m o n p r o b l e m is t o a s s o c i a t e t h e
6 A s for t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n m o v e s i n T T ( I , Rt a n d F) a n d i n s t u d e n t s p e e c h (Is, R a n d Fs), t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h o s e m o v e s w e r e c l e a r l y u n d e r s t o o d b y r a t e r s i n b o t h V S l a n d V S 2 . 7 See C o n s o l o . 1996, p.105 12.
p r a c t i c a l i t i e s of h a v i n g t h e r e q u i r e d p h a s e s o f t r a i n i n g r a t e r s a n d v a l i d a t i n g c a t e g o r i e s o f a n a l y s i s o n d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n s , w i t h t h e l i t t l e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f f e r e d b y m o s t p r o f e s s i o n a l s w h o m a t c h t h e n e c e s s a r y s t a n -d a r -d s t o b e e x t e r n a l r a t e r s .8
I f " w e l l - t r a i n e d a n d l i k e - m i n d e d c o d e r s " ( L a m p e r t & E r v i n - T r i p p , 1993, p . 196) a r e d e s i r a b l e , f a v o u r a b l e c o n d i t i o n s are t o b e e s t a b l i s h e d so as t o t r a i n r a t e r s p r o p e r l y . T h e t r a i n i n g o f r a t e r s 1 4 i n V S l w a s c o n c e n -t r a -t e d i n a s h o r -t -t i m e s l o -t ; -t h a -t o n e or p o s s i b l y -t w o r a -t e r s d i d h a v e n o -t l e a r n e d e n o u g h a b o u t t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f a n a l y s i s is s t r o n g l y s u g g e s t e d b y u n s a t i s f a c t o r y r e s u l t s i n t h e i r u s i n g t h e c o d e s w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n l o w l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t , as r e p o r t e d b e l o w .
T h e preparation of m a t e r i a l s
T h e s a m p l e s f r o m l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s u s e d t o v a l i d a t e t h e c a t e g o r i e s of a n a l y s i s i n c l u d e d b o t h p l a i n a n d c o d e d t r a n s c r i p t s ; t h e s e h a d b e e n r a n d o m l y s e l e c t e d f r o m t h e c o r p u s , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c r i t e r i a e x p l a i n e d b e l o w .
S a m p l e s w e r e f r o m t e n w h o l e l e s s o n s p r e v i o u s l y t r a n s c r i b e d a n d c o d e d b y t h e researcher. T h e t u r n w a s i n i t i a l l y a d o p t e d as a n i n t e r a c t i o n a l r e f e r e n c e w i t h i n t h e t r a n s c r i b e d lessons, s i n c e i t c a n b e c l e a r l y i d e n t i f i e d as a u n i t of s p o k e n l a n g u a g e a n d v e r b a l i n t e r a c t i o n ( t h i s r e s e m -b l e s t h e p a t h f o l l o w e d -b y S i n c l a i r a n d C o u l t h a r d , 1975, t o w a r d s t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f m o v e s ) , t o b e c o d e d i n t e r m s o f m o v e s a n d a c t s . M o r e s p e -c i f i -c a l l y , t e n s e q u e n -c e s o f t w e n t y t u r n s e a -c h w e r e s e l e -c t e d f r o m t h e t o t a l o f 6 5 5 8 t u r n s c o n t a i n e d i n t e n l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s . T h e t o t a l n u m b e r of t u r n s w a s a d j u s t e d t o 6 5 6 0 , f r o m w h i c h 328 t w e n t y - t u r n s e q u e n c e s w e r e o b t a i n e d . For e x a m p l e , t u r n s 0 0 1 - 0 2 0 w e r e f r o m " L e s s o n 1 " a n d s t a n d as " s e q u e n c e 0 0 1 " . T u r n s 6 5 4 0 - 6558, f r o m " L e s s o n 1 0 " ,9
s t a n d as " s e q u e n c e 3 2 8 " .
T h e t e n s e q u e n c e s r a n d o m l y c h o s e n ( b y r e f e r r i n g t o a t a b l e of r a n -d o m n u m b e r s ) are i n -d i c a t e -d i n T a b l e 1 b e l o w :
8 T h o s e f a c t o r s a p p l y t o l i m i t e d a v a i l a b i l i t y u n d e r t h e c o n d i t i o n s of " v o l u n t a r y p a r t i c i p a t i o n " i n r e s e a r c h . T h e p r o b l e m m a y be e l i m i n a t e d b y h a v i n g p a r t i c i p a n t s ' a v a i l a b i l i t y a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l c o m m i t m e n t i n r e t u r n to p a i d w o r k .
9 T h e l a b e l s " L e s s o n 1 - L e s s o n 10" for s a m p l e s u s e d i n t h e v a l i d a t i o n s e s s i o n s are d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e l a b e l s L E S 1, LES2, LES3 a n d so o n , r e f e r r i n g t o l e s s o n s t a u g h t b y e a c h teacher.
T a b l e 1 - V a l i d a t i o n sessions: s a m p l e s e q u e n c e s ( f r o m a u d i o - r e c o r d e d l e s s o n s )
Teacher1 0
/Lesson Turns Sequences ( n u m b e r i n g 001-328)
NSl/"Lesson 1" 400 -420 1 (020)
421 - 4 4 0 2 (021)
441 - 4 6 0 3 (022)
N N S l / " L e s s o n 2" 021 - 0 4 0 4 (028)
281 - 3 0 0 5 (041)
NNS4/"Lesson 8" 141 - 160 6 (229)
581 - 6 0 0 7 (251)
721 - 7 4 0 8 (258)
NS2-ADV3/"Lesson 9" 001 - 020 9 (268)
601 - 620 10 (298)
F u r t h e r d e c i s i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e u s e o f t h e s e l e c t e d s a m p l e s s u c h as w h i c h s a m p l e s w o u l d b e m o r e s u i t a b l e for t r a i n i n g r a t e r s or for v a l i -d a t i n g t h e c a t e g o r i e s , a n -d t h e a c t u a l o p e r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f t h e t r a i n i n g a n d t h e c o d i n g p h a s e s i n t h e v a l i d a t i o n s e s s i o n , l e d t o t h e f i n a l c h o i c e o f s i x s a m p l e s , t h r e e o f w h i c h are p r e s e n t e d i n A p p e n d i c e s 1-3.
W o r k i n g m a t e r i a l s ( b o o k l e t s w i t h d e f i n i t i o n s1 1
a n d e x a m p l e s , h a n -d o u t s w i t h t h e s e l e c t e -d s e q u e n c e s ) w e r e p r e p a r e -d a n -d u s e -d for t r a i n i n g raters, a n d for t h e c h e c k i n g o n t h e r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f a n a l y s i s .
T h e t r a i n i n g p h a s e
A f u l l y c o d e d s a m p l e ( A p p e n d i x 1) w a s t h e d e p a r t u r e p o i n t for p r e -s e n t i n g t h e c o d e -s for t r a n -s c r i p t i o n a n d e x a m p l e -s o f t h e c a t e g o r i e -s of a n a l y s i s ( e x c h a n g e s , m o v e s a n d a c t s ) . T h e s a m p l e i n A p p e n d i x 2 w a s u s e d for t r a i n i n g r a t e r s t o d o t h e c o d i n g o f m o v e s a n d a c t s . T h e a u d i o t a p e s w e r e a l s o p l a y e d i n t h e v a l i d a t i o n s e s s i o n s so as t o i l l u s t r a t e v a r i a
-10 Teachers i n v o l v e d i n C o n s o l o ' s (1996) s t u d y are n a t i v e speakers (NS) a n d n o n - n a t i v e s p e a k e r s ( N N S ) of E n g l i s h .
11 A s p r e s e n t e d i n C o n s o l e 1996, p . 1 7 1 8 6 . I n V S 1 , r a t e r s h a d t o g e t a c c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e d e f i n i -t i o n s d u r i n g -t h e firs-t p a r -t of -t h e session, a n d i -t is a r g u a b l e w h e -t h e r -t h e y w e r e a b l e -to g r a s p -t h e d e f i n i t i o n s of t h e a c t s i n order t o a p p l y s u c h c a t e g o r i e s i n t h e c o d i n g of d a t a s a m p l e s . T h e s e c o n d g r o u p of r a t e r s (VS2) h a d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o s t u d y t h e d e f i n i t i o n s a t t h e i r w i l l b e t w e e n t h e first a n d t h e s e c o n d d a y
t i o n s i n m e a n i n g c o n v e y e d b y i n t o n a t i o n c o n t o u r s1 2
a n d p r o v i d e r a t e r s w i t h a m o r e r e l i a b l e a c c o u n t o f t h e p h e n o m e n a u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
R e s u l t s : V a l i d a t i o n S e s s i o n 1
T h e s u b c a t e g o r i e s o f a c t s d e a l t w i t h i n V S 1 a n d l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n e a c h t w o r a t e r s w h o h a v e r a t e d t h e o c c u r r e n c e s o f t h e s a m e a c t s are p r e s e n t e d i n T a b l e 2:
T a b l e 2 - A g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n r a t e r s i n V S l
Range of acts Raters Level of
agre-Coefficient of ement ( p0) agreement: K SUBGROUP I
{mrk}, {str}, -fell}, {cp-chk}, {cf-chk}, {cla}, {dir}, {inf}, {com}, {clu}, {mdl}
rater 1 - rater 2
researcher - rater 1 researcher - rater2
34.6% ( p0= 0.34)
74% ( p0= 0.74)
38.4% ( p „ = 0.38)
0.25
0.65 0.29 SUBGROUP I I
{bid}, {nom}, {ack},
rater 3 - rater 4 51.4% (p0= 0.51) 0.46
{y-rpl}, {n-rpl}, {c-rpl}, {rp-rpl}. {i-rpl},
researcher - rater 3 71.4% ( p0= 0.71) 0.68
{rea}, {pro} | researcher - rater 4 64% ( p
0= 0.64)
0.58
T h e p r o c e d u r e for v a l i d a t i n g t h e a c t s w a s t o h a v e t w o r a t e r s c a t e -g o r i z i n -g t h e s a m e d a t a s a m p l e s i n d e p e n d e n t l y , a n d t h e n d e t e r m i n e t h e d e g r e e a n d s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e r a t e r s ' a g r e e m e n t ( C o h e n , 1969; L a m p e r t & E r v i n - T r i p p , 1993). F o l l o w i n g C o h e n (1969), t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f c a s e s a b o u t w h i c h t h e r a t e r s a g r e e d ( n o m i n a l s c a l e a g r e e m e n t ) is d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e c a l c u l a t i o n o f p0. For e x a m p l e , t h e i n t e r - r a t e r a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n t h e r e s e a r c h e r a n d r a t e r 1 for a c t s r a n g i n g b e t w e e n " m a r k e r s " a n d " m o d e l s " , as s h o w n i n T a b l e 3 b e l o w , is g i v e n b y
p0 = 0.27 + 0.06 + 0.04 + 0.02 + 0.29 + 0.02 + 0.04 = 0.74
A c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f a g r e e m e n t b y c h a n c e is, h o w e v e r , e x p e c t e d . T h i s c a n be d e t e r m i n e d b y m u l t i p l y i n g t h e p r o b a b i l i t i e s o f t h e m a r g i
-12 Intonation has not been indicated in transcripts, except for •?• for i n t e r r o g a t e s and standard intonation patterns such as (RISE|, [FALL], [FALLRISE) and [RISEFALL].
120
n a l s . For a c t s 1 ( m a r k e r ) 1 1 ( m o d e l ) , t h e r e s e a r c h e r p l a c e d 0.08 o f t h e c a s e s u n d e r t h e c a t e g o r y " c o n f i r m a t i o n c h e c k s " ( c f c h k ) , w h i l e r a t e r 1 p l a c e d 0.04 o f t h e cases i n t h i s c a t e g o r y . T h e e x p e c t e d c h a n c e a g r e e m e n t for c f c h k i s t h e n (0.08)(0.04) = 0.0032. V a l u e s for c h a n c e a g r e e m e n t are t h e p a r e n t h e t i c a l e n t r i e s a l o n g t h e a g r e e m e n t d i a g o n a l i n T a b l e 3. T h e p r o p o r t i o n o f a g r e e m e n t t o b e e x p e c t e d b y c h a n c e , pc, i s f o u n d b y a d d i n g t h e p a r e n t h e t i c a l v a l u e s :
pc = 0.1089 + 0.0084 + 0.0032 + 0.0008 + 0.1369 + 0.0008 + 0.0024 = 0.2614
T h e c o e f f i c i e n t o f a g r e e m e n t , K , i s t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f a g r e e m e n t after a g r e e m e n t b y c h a n c e i s r e m o v e d f r o m c o n s i d e r a t i o n , w h i c h c a n b e o b t a i n e d as f o l l o w s :
K = P0
;Pc
= 0.65
Pc
V a l u e s o f K r a n g e d 0.25 0.65 for a c t s i n s u b g r o u p I a n d 0.46 0.68 for s u b g r o u p I I . G i v e n t h e m i n i m a l a m o u n t o f t r a i n i n g g i v e n t o r a t e r s 1 4 a n d c o n s i d e r i n g t h e o b s e r v a b l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e i r h a n d l i n g o f c a t e g o r i e s a n d d a t a s a m p l e s d u r i n g V S l , t h e l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t for a c t s d e a l t w i t h r a t e r s 3 a n d 4 w e r e s l i g h t l y h i g h e r t h a n t h e o n e s for s u b g r o u p I ( a n d e s p e c i a l l y for r a t e r 2) m a y b e d u e t o t h o s e r a t e r s ' p r e v i o u s k n o w l e d g e o f t h e S&C m o d e l a n d c u r r e n t i n v o l v e m e n t i n r e s e a r c h . R a t e r 2 ' s l o w l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t , t h e l e a s t e x p e r i e n c e d m e m b e r i n t h e g r o u p as far as b o t h d i s c o u r s e c a t e g o r i e s a n d r e s e a r c h p r o c e d u r e s a r e c o n c e r n e d , c o r r o b o r a t e t h i s c o n c l u s i o n .
V a l i d a t i o n S e s s i o n 2
B e c a u s e t h e l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t a c h i e v e d i n V S l w e r e n o t c o n s i d e r e d s a t i s f a c t o r y , a n d g i v e n t h e c h a n c e s t h a t s u c h r e s u l t s m a y h a v e b e e n n e g a t i v e l y a f f e c t e d b y t h e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h V S l w a s c o n d u c t e d , a s e c o n d s e s s i o n w a s c a r r i e d o u t . T h e r a t e r s i n VS2 w e r e a l l M A TEFL s t u d e n t s , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f o n e m e m b e r o f t h e a c a d e m i c s t a f f w h o v o l u n t e e r e d t o j o i n t h e g r o u p . T h e s i x r a t e r s i n VS2 are r e f e r r e d t o as r a t e r 5 r a t e r 10. U n l i k e r a t e r s 1 4, r a t e r s i n VS2 ( e x c e p t for t h e s t a f f m e m b e r ) h a d n o t b e e n e x p l i c i t l y e x p o s e d t o t h e t h e o r e t i c a l b a c k g r o u n d for c a t e g o r i e s o f d i s c o u r s e a n a l y s i s . T h u s r a t e r s i n VS2 n e e d e d s o u n d t e a c h i n g a n d p r a c t i c e i n u s i n g t h e c o d e s b e f o r e a t t e m p t i n g t o r a t e t h e set o f a c t s .
VS2 w a s a c t u a l l y c o n d u c t e d o n t h r e e d i f f e r e n t d a y s so as t o a l l o w for a p p r o p r i a t e t r a i n i n g o f r a t e r s a n d s a t i s f a c t o r y r a t i n g o f t h e c o d i n g s y s t e m . T h e f i r s t t w o m e e t i n g s (days o n e a n d t w o ) w e r e e n t i r e l y d e d i c a t e d t o t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e s t u d y a n d a d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e c o d i n g sys t e m , b y t h e r e s e a r c h e r , t o t h e g r o u p o f r a t e r s . T h e s a m e s a m p l e s f r o m l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s u s e d t o t r a i n r a t e r s i n V S l w e r e c o d e d a n d d i s c u s s e d , a n d r a t e r s 5 1 0 h a d m o r e t i m e t h a n r a t e r s 1 4 t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e c a t e g o r i e s a n d p r o c e d u r a l a s p e c t s o f c o d i n g f o l l o w e d b y t h e r e s e a r c h e r .
O n t h e t h i r d day, t h e a c t u a l r a t i n g o f t h e c a t e g o r i e s a t t h e r a n k o f a c t s w a s c a r r i e d o u t . R a t e r s w e r e r a n d o m i c a l l y g r o u p e d i n p a i r s , a n d e a c h p a i r d e a l t w i t h a p r e v i o u s l y d e t e r m i n e d s u b g r o u p o f a c t s , as i n V S l . I n VS2 n e a r l y a l l t h e a c t s w e r e r a t e d ,1 3
as o p p o s e d t o V S l , i n w h i c h t h e n u m b e r o f r a t e r s w a s t o o s m a l l t o d e a l t w i t h a l l t y p e s o f a c t s . T h e p r o c e d u r e o f r a t i n g s u b g r o u p s o f a c t s w a s a d o p t e d so as t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e h a n d l i n g o f d e f i n i t i o n s t o b e f o l l o w e d b y r a t e r s . I n t h i s w a y , c a t e g o r i e s for o c c u r r e n c e s o f s p e c i f i c a c t s t h a t m a y l e a d t o d o u b l e l a b e l l i n g , for e x a m p l e c o m m e n t s a n d i n f o r m a t i v e s , w e r e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y t e s t e d b y t w o r a t e r s w o r k i n g o n t h e s a m e s a m p l e s . A p p e n d i x 3 i l l u s t r a t e s h o w t h e s a m e s a m p l e w a s p r e p a r e d t o b e h a n d l e d b y d i f f e r e n t r a t e r s , e a c h g r o u p d e a l i n g w i t h a p r e d e t e r m i n e d set o f a c t s . G a p s w e r e p r e p a r e d for t h e l a b e l l i n g o f a c t s w i t h i n t h e r a n g e b e i n g d e a l t w i t h e a c h p a i r o f r a t e r s .
13 Four t y p e s of a c t s g r e e t i n g s , p a r t i n g s , a s i d e s a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s h a v e n o t b e e n v a l i d a t e d i n t h i s s t u d y d u e t o t h e r e d u c e d n u m b e r of r a t e r s a n d t h e s h o r t a m o u n t of t i m e t o d e a l w i t h t h e l a r g e n u m b e r of c a t e g o r i e s . I t has b e e n a s s u m e d t h a t , s i n c e t h o s e c a t e g o r i e s are d r a w n from s i m i l a r s t u d i e s o n c l a s s r o o m b e h a v i o u r a n d t h e i r d i s c o u r s e f u n c t i o n s are less p r o n e t o a m b i g u o u s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , t h e y w o u l d be t h e ones t o be left o u t .
B e c a u s e t h i s p r o c e d u r e r e s e m b l e s t h e t e c h n i q u e o f t e s t i n g l a n g u a g e b y f o c u s i n g a t t e n t i o n o n o n e p o i n t ( g r a m m a r or v o c a b u l a r y , for e x a m p l e ) a t a t i m e , t h e c o d i n g o f a c t s w a s o p e r a t e d u n d e r t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f a " d i s c r e t e p o i n t t e s t " ( O i l e r Jr., 1979), a n d i n w h i c h r a t e r s c h o s e t h e c a t e g o r i e s f r o m a p r e e s t a b l i s h e d set o f " a l t e r n a t i v e s " , as i n a m u l t i p l e c h o i c e t e s t .
T h e l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t for e a c h set o f a c t s i n V S 2 are p r e s e n t e d i n T a b l e 4 b e l o w :
T a b l e 4 A g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n r a t e r s i n VS2
Range of acts Raters Level of agreement Coefficient of
agreement: K
SUBGROUP I rater 5 rater 6 44.2% ( p0= 0.44) 0.41
| m r k ) , (str), (eli), (cpchk),
(cfchk), (cla), (dir), (inf|, researcher rater 6 37% (p„= 0.37) 0.25 (com), (clu), (mdl) researcher rater 6 54% ( p0= 0.54) 0.41
SUBGROUP II rater 7 rater 8 80% ( p0= 0.8) 0.75
(bid), (nom), (ack), (yrpl),
(nrpl), (crpl), (rprpl), researcher rater 7 97% ( p0= 0.97) 0.96 (irpl), (rea), (pro) researcher rater 8 83% (p0= 0.83) 0.79
SUBGROUP III rater 9 rater 10 40% ( p0= 0.4) 0.31
(ack), (cor), (evl), (mst), (apl),
(thk), (ecg), (con), (ter). (grt) researcher rater 9 65% ( p0= 0.65) 0.51
(prt) researcher rater 10 45% (p„= 0.45) 0.24
T h e h i g h e s t l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t for a l l t h e r a t e d a c t s , i n b o t h V S l a n d VS2, w e r e t h e r e f o r e 7 4 % for a c t s i n s u b g r o u p I ( K = .65), as s h o w n i n T a b l e s 2 a n d 3, 9 7 % for a c t s i n s u b g r o u p I I ( K = . 9 6 ) a n d 6 5 % for a c t s i n s u b g r o u p I I I ( K = . 5 1 ) , as s h o w n i n T a b l e 4.
L e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t r e a c h e d i n V S l a n d VS2 are, o n t h e w h o l e , n o t as h i g h as t h e l e v e l s r e a c h e d i n e a r l i e r s t u d i e s i n w h i c h c a t e g o r i e s for a n a l y s i n g l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s w e r e v a l i d a t e d , as for e x a m p l e i n M i t c h e l l e t a l . (1981) a n d R a m i r e z e t a l . ( 1 9 8 6 ) .1 4
T h e r e s u l t s r e a c h e d h e r e m a y h a v e h a d t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n o f t h e f o l l o w i n g f a c t o r s . F i r s t l y , t h e c o m p l e x i t y of t h e s y s t e m o f d i s c o u r s e e x c h a n g e s a n d a c t s , w i t h i t s l a r g e n u m b e r o f p r o p o s e d c a t e g o r i e s , e s p e c i a l l y a t t h e l e v e l o f a c t s . T h e s p e c i f i c s o f e a c h d e f i n i t i o n t h a t , i n s o m e cases, d i s t i n g u i s h a c t s t h a t h a v e s i m i l a r c o m m u n i c a t i v e f u n c t i o n s , h a v e t o b e c a r e f u l l y g r a s p e d b y c o d e r s . T h i s s e e m s
14 T h e p r o c e d u r e for d e t e r m i n i n g r e l i a b i l i t y o n t h e c o d i n g of l e s s o n t r a n s c r i p t s i n t h e s t u d y c o n d u c t e d b y R a m i r e z et a l . (1986) w a s d e v e l o p e d b y C. C h a u d r o n a n d o t h e r s at t h e U n i v e r s i t y of H a w a i i , as r e p o r t e d i n C h a u d r o n (1988, p.24).
to b e f e a s i b l e , h o w e v e r , o n l y after e x t e n s i v e t h e o r e t i c a l a n d m e t h o d o l o g i c a l f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h t h e s y s t e m a n d t h e c o d i n g p r o c e d u r e . S e c o n d l y , l a c k o f f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h t h e s y s t e m p r o b a b l y l e d m o s t r a t e r s t o m i s i n t e r p r e t d e f i n i t i o n s a n d / o r h a v e d i f f i c u l t y i n c o d i n g a c t s t h a t are e x p e c t e d t o be p r o b l e m a t i c d u e t o t h e i r s i m i l a r f u n c t i o n s . T h e s e are, for e x a m p l e , c l a r i f i c a t i o n s (cla), c o n f i r m a t i o n c h e c k s (cfchk) a n d c o m p r e h e n s i o n c h e c k s ( c p c h k ) ; c l u e s ( c l u ) , i n f o r m a t i v e s ( i n f ) a n d s t a r t e r s (str); a n d a c k n o w l e d ges ( a c k ) a n d e v a l u a t e s (evl). C a s e s i n w h i c h t h e r e s e a r c h e r a n d r a t e r s d i s a g r e e d o n t h o s e a c t s are s h o w n i n T a b l e 5 b e l o w :
T a b l e 5 A c t s : r a t e r s ' d i s a g r e e m e n t i n VS1 a n d VS2
Subgroup I
Case n. Researcher Rater 1 Subgroup 11
(12) cfchk cpchk Case n. Researcher Rater 7
(15) str inf (21) pro inf
(20) str dir
(21) eli inf
(23) eli inf Subgroup I I I
(24) inf eli Case n . Researcher Rater 9
(27) inf eli (4) ack irpl
(28) inf eli (6) ter ack
(31) inf
(13) ack evl(37) com cor (15) ack evl
(38) mdl cor (17) ack HES
(43) eli cpchk (18) ack evl
(44) clu inf (20) ack evl
(45) cla cpchk
A t h i r d f a c t o r a f f e c t i n g t h e l e v e l s o f a g r e e m e n t w a s m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , b y r a t e r s , o f d e f i n i t i o n s a n d c o d i n g i n s t r u c t i o n s , l e a d i n g t o d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n c a s e s s u c h as (21), (23), (24), (27) a n d (28) for s u b g r o u p I , i n w h i c h t h e r e s e a r c h e r a n d r a t e r 1 d i s a g r e e d o n e l i c i t i o n s ( e l i ) a n d i n f o r m a t i v e s (inf); a n d i n c a s e s (4) a n d (17) for s u b g r o u p I I I , i n w h i c h r a t e r 9 d i d n o t f o l l o w t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s a n d u s e d c a t e g o r i e s o t h e r t h a n t h e a c t a s i n s u b g r o u p I I I . T h e s e d r a w b a c k s c a n b e l i n k e d t o t h e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h V S l w a s c a r r i e d o u t , for d e s p i t e t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f r a t e r s 14, as r e p o r t e d i n t h e i r p r o f i l e s a b o v e , t h e y w e r e n o t f i b e n e n o u g h t r a i n i n g t o d e a l w i t h t h e c a t e g o r i e s p r o p o s e d h e r e .
N e v e r t h e l e s s , h i g h l e v e l s of a g r e e m e n t a r e p o s s i b l e , as s h o w n b y t h e r e s u l t s r e a c h e d b y r a t e r 7 ( s u b g r o u p II) i n c o m p a r i s o n t o t h e r e s e a r c h e d ( K = . 9 6 ) , as s h o w n i n T a b l e 6 b e l o w :
R a t e r 7 w a s t h e o n e c o l l a b o r a t o r w h o p r o b a b l y b e s t l e a r n e d h o w t o
a p p l y t h e c a t e g o r i e s b y s t u d y i n g t h e m c a r e f u l l y b e t w e e n t h e m e e
t i n g s .1 5
T h i s c o r r o b o r a t e s t h e c o n c l u s i o n s r e a c h e d a b o v e as for t h e insuf
f i c i e n t p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e o t h e r r a t e r s .
C o n c l u s i o n
T h e p r o c e s s t o v a l i d a t e a s y s t e m for c o d i n g c l a s s r o o m d i s c o u r s e i n
F L l e s s o n s r e p o r t e d i n t h i s p a p e r h a s p r o v e d u s e f u l for a b e t t e r u n d e r s
t a n d i n g of v a l i d i t y a n d r e l i a b i l i t y o f a g i v e n s e t of d i s c o u r s e c a t e g o r i e s .
T h e c a t e g o r i e s w e r e a p p l i e d i n a c o n t e x t i n w h i c h t h e d u a l r o l e o f l a n
g u a g e a n d t h e s p e a k e r s ' s p e c i f i c p e d a g o g i c a l a i m s l e a d t o a c e r t a i n
d e g r e e o f a m b i g u i t y i n l a n g u a g e a n a l y s i s , a n d t h a t is o n e r e a s o n w h y
t h e l e v e l o f i n t e r r a t e r a g r e e m e n t w a s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y h i g h .
T h e v a l i d a t i o n of c o m m u n i c a t i v e a c t s c o n f i r m e d t h e c o m p l e x i t y of
t h e c o d i n g s y s t e m , a n d t h e a m b i g u i t i e s f o u n d i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n s of s o m e
a c t s . S u c h a m b i g u i t y is a l s o a c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h e a m b i g u i t y i n c l a s s
r o o m c o m m u n i c a t i o n , as p o i n t e d o u t a b o v e . For e x a m p l e , t h e t e n d e n c y
of u s u a l l y i n t e r p r e t i n g t e a c h e r s ' a c t s i n F m o v e s as e v a l u a t e s b l u r s t h e i r
o t h e r f u n c t i o n s , s u c h as a c k n o w l e d g i n g s t u d e n t s p e e c h , p r o v i d i n g i n f o r
m a t i o n or t e r m i n a t i n g a n e x c h a n g e .
T h e o v e r a l l set of p r o c e d u r e s f o l l o w e d t o v a l i d a t e t h e c o d i n g s y s t e m
p r e s e n t e d h e r e ( s e l e c t i o n of d a t a s a m p l e s , t r a i n i n g of r a t e r s , d a t a c o d i n g
a n d r e s u l t s ) , d e s p i t e t h e c o n s t r a i n t s f a c e d i n t h i s s t u d y , m a y b e s e e n as
g u i d e l i n e s for c o n d u c t i n g r e s e a r c h u n d e r s i m i l a r c i r c u m s t a n c e s , a n d
a t t e m p t i n g t o o b t a i n h i g h e r l e v e l s of r e l i a b i l i t y i n c l a s s r o o m l a n g u a g e
a n a l y s i s .
CONSOLO, D. A . E m busca da validade criterial na análise da l i n g u a g e m de sala de aula: limitaçőes metodológicas do metadiscurso e da concordância entre
avaliadores. Alfa (Săo Paulo), v.43, p. 113134, 1999.
• RESUMO: Este aitigo relata um processo para validar um sistema de catego
rizaçăo do discurso em aulas de lingua estrangeira, um contexto no qual o duplo papel da linguagem (conteúdo e meio de comunicaçăo) e os objetivos
15 According to rater 7's own statement.
pedagógicos específicos dos falantes geram um grau de ambigüidade nos sig nificados dessa linguagem. A linguagem de sala de aula foi investigada, objeti
vando estabelecer um arcabouço de pressupostos e categorias de análise do dis curso pedagógico. As categorias propostas no estudo tratado (Consolo, 1996,
p.14487) foram adaptadas a partir de uma variedade de modelos para a aná lise do discurso e da interaçăo em sala de aula. Modelos propostos para tal
análise necessitam, entretanto, de revisőes e adaptaçőes ao serem utilizados em contextos diversos daqueles para os quais foram utilizados originalmente
e, nesse processo de (re)adaptaçăo, redefinemse categorias existentes, bem
como criamse novas categorias. Nesse processo, fazse necessário validar um modelo recriado, para garantir a cientificidade do estudo realizado e suas
implicaçőes. Apresentamos os procedimentos utilizados para validar o modelo de análise utilizado por Consolo (ibidem), incluindose a seleçăo dos dados, o
treinamento depesquisadoresparticipantes, a codificaçăo das categorias e os resultados do estudo. Sugerese que tais procedimentos contribuam para a
validade e confiabilidade de resultados de pesquisas, enquanto revelam limi taçőes decorrentes da metodologia adotada.
1
PALAVRASCHAVE: Análise do discurso; discurso de sala de aula; metadis
curso; validaçăo; confiabilidade.
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A p p e n d i x 1
CODED LESSON EXTRACT ( N S l L e s s o n 2) S A M P L E 1 FOR GROUP T R A I N I N G T u r n s : 396 4 2 41 6
I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e l e s s o n : T a n d STS are d i s c u s s i n g t h e s t u d e n t s ' i m p r e s s i o n s a b o u t t h e c h a r a c t e r s i n t h e f i r s t p a r t o f a s h o r t s t o r y ( " T h e H i t c h h i k e r " , b y R o a l d D a h l ) . T h e STS h a d a l r e a d y l i s t e n e d t o t h e e x t r a c t i n c l a s s a n d f o l l o w e d t h e t e x t i n t h e i r c o u r s e b o o k s . S i n c e o n l y t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e s t o r y is k n o w n b y t h e STS, t h e T is w o r k i n g o n p r e d i c t i o n s a n d s u g g e s t i o n s for t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e n a r r a t i v e . S e t t i n g : w h o l e c l a s s i n t e r a c t i o n .
(turns - s p e a k e r s ) (utterances) (acts) (moves)
396 St3 /you/
/+ you're (speaking) abaut three (possible)/
397 T: /oh + ok +/
/so + one possibilitiy is + this man is a thief/ this man is a thief/
|FS)
(mrk) (irpl)
l s l
Rtl(Isl)
(1511— 397 T: / + so + what happens next?/
398 St: / + (IJNINTXa gun)/
fell) ( i r p l ) 399 T
400 St:
401 T
/he/ (FS) / + he steals the car: ?/ (cla)
/ + he pulls out a gun [RISE'/ the says + drive me + to London [RISE]
/ + or he (tells) the guy to get out of the car + and (clu) drives off with his car + uhm?/
(UNINT) N / A
/ok +/ (mrk) /that a possiblity/
I I
R1(I1) 11521 I I
(cfchk)
(eli)
401 T : / +anything else?/ (eli)
402 St4: /(maybe) + they could start talking abaut the car + er: (irpl)
(Rl(Il))
F1(R1) [BE1/152] 11
RKIl)
403•T: who/ (FS) f f l l 5 3 |
/ + w h o would (star |RISE| ] / (eli)
404 • •St4: /(the hitchhiker]/ (irpl) R l ( I l )
/and er + he (tries to)/ (irpl)
405•T: / o h + / (ack) F1(R1)
/(UNINT) + you have a:=/ (inf/407)
406Co (UNINT) N/A (R2(ID)
407•T: /amazing car/ (405/inf) F1(R1)
408 St4: /yeah/ (ack) Fsl(Fl)
/+ and (UNINT)/ N/A
16 Only turns 396 408 have been reproduced in this appendix due to reasons of space.
A p p e n d i x 2
CODED LESSON E X T R A C T ( N N S 4 L e s s o n 1) S A M P L E 2 F O R G R O U P T R A I N I N G T u r n s 563 5 9 81 7
I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e l e s s o n : T a n d STS are d i s c u s s i n g a t a s k d o n e p r e v i o u s l y i n p a i r s (a m a t c h i n g a c t i v i t y , " C h i l d r e n l e a r n w h a t t h e y l i v e " , as i n H e a d w a y A d v a n c e d ) .
C O D I N G F O R M O V E S A N D A C T S
(turns - s p e a k e r s ) (utterances) (acts) (moves) 563 T. /everybody agrees?/
564 St: /yes/
565 STS: /no/
1223] • 566 - T: / ({CHUCK)) what did you have? ..
567 - St: / I think + (UNINT) "to appreciate"/..
[224] -568 - T: / w i t h hostility?/
569 - St: /yes/ 570 - St (UNINT) 571 - St: /(UNINT)(fight)/
572 - T: / [5] to fight?/ / + (that's possiblity)/
[225] -573 - St: /do you tink + that |RISE|/N
(INTERRUPTED TURN)
• — ]226] -574 - S t l : /to fight (could be) (UNINT)/
™JL / y e s /
I 2 2 7 J - :
576 - S t l : /(to fight) * to • to: ; 1 | to (get) something/
577 - St: /to get something that you want/
578 - St: /yes/
579 - T: /but the author + shares the same opinion + that the child learns er + lives with hostility + he learns to fight/ /13] I don't know/
/ + he may be wrong/
/ + I ' m not saying that he is right (RISE-FALL]/ / II] I'm just saying that + this is l(UNINT)]/
580 - St: l(UNINT) -12281 •
17 Only turns 563 - 580 have been reproduced in this appendix due to reasons of space.
A p p e n d i x 3
CODED LESSON S A M P L E 2 ( N N S 1 L e s s o n 1) FOR V A L I D A T I N G ACTS T u r n s 0 0 7 0 3 11 8
I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e l e s s o n : I n t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h i s l e s s o n t h e T h a d s e t a n e x e r c i s e t o b e d o n e i n c l a s s . T h e t a s k w a s t o m a t c h s e n t e n c e s t h a t c o n t a i n e d p r e p o s i t i o n s t o a l i s t o f c a s e s t h a t e x p l a i n e d t h e u s e s o f t h e p r e p o s i t i o n s i n t h e s e n t e n c e s . A t t h i s p o i n t , t h e T is h a l f w a y t h r o u g h t h e c o r r e c t i o n o f t h e e x e r c i s e .
007 T:
( E x a m p l e s of g a p s for a c t s v a l i d a t e d b y r a t e r s 1, 2 , 5 a n d 6)
/ [ l ] Stephen/
/ + dV
008STl(*Stephen) lev./
I nom
1) (HES) 0 0 9 T :
010 S i l :
011 T /"as it's one in the morning by then"/ lei. I I + four/ / [2] four [RISE]/ 2)_ (HES) (itpl) 3) 011 T: / [3] do you agree?/ 012 St: /no/ 013 T: /no/ 4 L (nrpl) (ack) I I Rl(H) 10091-I 10091-I Rl(H) F1(R1) ^î—(BE1/009] R1(I1) F1(R1)
0 1 3 T : / 1 1 | why four (then)? 5) 11
014 S t l : /(UNINT) N/A/016 (Rl(ll))
015 T: /wait wait/ 6) F1(R1)
016Stl: •= (UNINT)/ 014/N/A (Rl(H))
017 T: /(UNINT)/ N/A
/ + position?/ 7) 11
/ + place?/ oo
1010]
[0111
018 S t l
/ + position?/
/ [1] (er:)/ (HES)
1012] 0 1 9 T :
020 St: 021 T:
022 S t l :
/or does it answer the question + when? 10)_
N/A /(UNINT)/
/(UNINT)/
/ + then + so | 1 | which is (the answer)?/ 11)
/ II] (three)/ (irpl) /(right?)/ 12)
(RKID) TJ7ÄIBE1/012]
I I R l ( I l ) / I s l
1BE2/012]
18 A shorter sample is shown here (and therefore fewer gaps than those for the acts coded i n this lesson sample) due to lack of space.
C O D E D L E S S O N S A M P L E 7. ( N N S 1 L e s s o n 1) FOR VALIDATING: ACTS
-T u r n s 0 0 7 0 3 1
( E x a m p l e s of g a p s for a c t s v a l i d a t e d b y r a t e r s 3, 4 , 7 a n d 8)
007 T: / [1] Stephen/ l + ál
008 Stl(Stephen): /er:/ 1) (eliˇ (HES) 009 T: /"as It's one In the morning by then" 010 Stl: /er:/ / + four/ 011 - T: / [2] four [RISE]/
(ell) (HES) 2)
(cfchk) 011 - T / (3] do you agree?/
012 St: /no/ 013 T: /no/ (ell) 3) Rl(H) I I R l ( l l )
[009]
F1(R1) IBE1/009] I I
Rl(H)
013 • • T: / [1] why four (then)?/ (eli) 11 [0
014 - ST1: /(UNINT) - N/A/016 (Rl(ID)
015 - T : /wait wait/ (dir) F1(R1)
016 • CO = (UNINT)/ 014/N/A (Rl(Il))
017- T: /(UNINT)/
/ + position?/ / + place?/
{eli] (eli)
i N / A 11
[010] •
[0111 —
018 - S t l :
/ = position?/
/ (1) (er:)/
(eli)
(HES)
[012] -019 - T: /or does it answer the question when? (eli)
020 - St: /(UNINT)/ N/A 021 - T:
022 - Stl:
023 - T:
023 - T:
/(UNINT)/ N / A / + then + so |1] which is (the answer)?/ (eli)
/ [1] (three) /(right?)/
5) (cf-chk! /which one?/
/ + one?/ (UNINT)
(eli) (cf-chk) / + "she answers the door" + "looking a (str) bit angry" +. "as it's one i n the morning by then"/
/ + b y then + means what?/ (eli) / + by that + time/ (inf)
I I
(RKIl)) -[BE1/012] I I
R l ( I l ) / I s l -[BE2/012] I I
N/A 11
-[BE3/012]
R t l ( I l ) [BE4/012I
CODED LESSON SAMPLE 2 (NNS1 L e s s o n 1) FOR VAUDATTNC, ACTS T u r n s 007 0 3 1
( E x a m p l e s of g a p s for a c t s v a l i d a t e d b y r a t e r s 9 a n d 10)
007 T : / (1] S t e p h e n / 1) 11
1*61 (eli)
008 • Stl (Stephen): Isv.l (HES) R l f l l )
009 • T: /"as it's one In the morning by then" (eli) 11
010 S t l : lei:/ (HES) R l ( l l )
1 + four/ (irpll
011 • T: / [2] four [RISE]/ (cfchk) F1(R1)
011 • T /13] do you agree?/ (eli) 11 [ B I
012 St: /no/ (nrpl) R i a i )
013 T : /no/ 4) F1(R1)
013 • • T: / [1] why four (then)?/ (eli) 11
014 • ST1: /(UNINT) = N/A/016 (Rl(ID)
015 • T: /wait wait/ (dir) F1(R1)
016 CO (UNINT)/ 014/N/A (Rl(Il))
017 T: /(UNINT)/ N/A
/ + position?/ (eli) 11
/ + place?/ (eli)
/ + position?/ (eli)
018 Stl: / (11 (er:)/ (HES)
[009]
[0101-[01U
0 1 9 T :
020 St:
023 T:
023 T:
023 T:
024 S t l :
025 T
/or does it answer the question when?/ (eli)
/(UNINT)/ N/A 021 T: /(UNINT)/ N/A
/ + then + so |1] which is (the answer)?/ (eli)
022 S t l : / [ l ] (three) (i=rpl) /(right?)/ (cfchk) /which one?/
/ + one?/ (UNINT)
(eli) (cfchk) / + "she answers the door" + "looking a (str) bit angry"
"as it's one in the morning by then"/
/ + by then + means what?/ (eli) / + b y that + time/ (inf)
/ [3[ so is it one two three or four here?/ (eli) /three/
/THREE/ (crpl) I I
(Rl(Il)l
10121-[BE1/012] I I
Rl(Il)/Isl [BE2/012] I I
N/A I I [BE3/012]
Rtl(Il) [BE4/012] I I
Rl(H) F1(R1) I.A. Conbsolo (1999)