This study investigates the role of visualisation in language education to explore a visual strategy for learning that is driven by the goal of deeper learning for all learners, built on theoretical principles of pluriliteracies development learner agency and multimodality. The integration of these concepts has significantly impacted the rationale of the research foci and therefore lies at the heart of this pioneering study that connects pluriliteracies with English language teaching and learning in a primary school in China.
In order to investigate the potential role of visuals in English language learning classrooms, this study was conducted by designing and teaching visual-related thematic content to three small groups of English younger learners in China and interviewing them using their own preferred online platform. Participants were encouraged to create visuals, for example, drawings to demonstrate their thinking of abstract conceptual knowledge and scaffold their communication with peers and the teacher-researcher. Such integration of visual creation with language learning is facilitated by learner-teacher Learning Conversations constructing a shared learning space owned and led by learners, which may offer a clear steer in the direction of promoting learner agency and achieving the quality of learning, thereby complementing traditional ways of teaching in China and beyond.
Emphasised by research and studies regarding pedagogies for ‘quality’ and ‘successful’ learning (Coyle & Meyer, 2017), the long-established means of measuring learning using tests and examinations may not be sufficient for building learners’ sense of achievement and agentic mindset to direct their own learning. Given the importance attached to PISA league tables on a global basis, the quality of education is at the core of socio-political concerns, offering alternative pedagogic thinking to education systems that define passing examinations as the main criterion of academic success.
Note from the editor: The PowerPoint presentation in the appendix had to be edited due to copyright concerns.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 The international positioning of English
1.2 Overview of English language developments in China
1.2.1 From Chinese historical perspectives
1.2.2 The Shift of Focus on English Language Learning in China
1.3 The Study
1.3.1 Integrating current pedagogic thinking in language classrooms
1.3.2 Personal experiences
1.4 Research gaps and value
1.5 Thesis outline
2 Literature review
2.1 Positioning language
2.1.1 Language interpretation- from linguistic systems to social practice
2.1.2 The roles of language in content and language learning classrooms
2.2 Linguistic demands for meaning-making
2.2.1 Languaging learning
2.2.2 Cognitive discourse functions
2.3 Scaffolding languaging
2.3.1 Learning Conversations as formative feedback
2.3.2 Visualisation
2.3.3 Visual languaging in additional language classrooms
2.4 Translanguaging
2.4.1 A translanguaging theory and practice
2.4.2 Translanguaging as a pedagogy
2.4.3 Aligning translanguaging with this study
2.5 Ecological shifts
2.5.1 Fundamentals of literacies
2.5.2 Pluriliteracies momentum
2.6 Deeper learning
2.6.1 Conceptualising deeper learning
2.6.2 The pluriliteracies model for deeper learning – PTDL
2.7 Aligning the pluriliteracies model with visual languaging
2.8 Research questions
3 Methodology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Philosophical Stance
3.2.1 Ontology
3.2.2 Epistemology
3.3 Research design-case studies
3.3.1 Review of mainstream design approaches
3.3.2 The nature of case studies
3.3.3 The instrumental case study
3.4 Research context
3.5 Purposeful sampling
3.6 Methods
3.6.1 Data collection
3.6.2 Data analysis
3.7 Research timetable
3.8 Ethical considerations
3.8.1 Researcher as teacher
3.8.2 Bias and trustworthiness
3.8.3 Participant consent
3.8.4 Self-reflections
3.9 Overview
4 The Pilot Study
4.1 The Pilot Study English lesson plans
4.2 The Pilot Study data
4.3 The Pilot Study data analysis
4.3.1 Concept and language development
4.3.1.1 Describing and explaining emotions
4.3.1.2 Language scaffolding in the lessons
4.3.1.3 Language scaffolding in the interviews
4.3.2 Languaging with visuals
4.3.2.1 Describing, explaining, evaluating visuals
4.3.2.2 Describing learning with visuals
4.3.3 Student feedback
4.3.3.1 Feedback for teaching with visuals
4.3.3.2 Feedback for learning with visuals
4.4 Pilot Study implications for the Main Study
4.4.1 Concerns about using L1
4.4.2 The importance of individual-based Learning Conversations
4.4.3 Learners’ visual output
4.4.3.1 Learners’ ownership
4.4.3.2 Drawing
4.5 Chapter summary
5 The Main Study
5.1 Chapter introduction
5.2 The Main Study design
5.2.1 The Main Study methods
5.2.2 The Main Study data collection plan
5.2.3 The Main Study lesson plans
5.3 The Main Study data - themes and categories
5.4 Concept Description
5.4.1 Concept description
5.4.2 Concept review
5.4.3 Deepening understanding
5.5 Concept Enhancement
5.5.1 Pictural representations
5.5.2 Mindmaps
5.6 Language learning
5.6.1 Building linguistic forms
5.6.2 Applying thematic language in another context
5.6.3 Language strategies
5.7 Visualisation
5.7.1 Visual understanding
5.7.2 Visual languaging
5.7.3 Prior visual experiences
5.8 Student feedback on tasks
5.8.1 Facilitating concept understanding
5.8.2 Visual approach
5.8.3 Other learning resources
5.9 Student course evaluation
5.9.1 Conceptual development
5.9.2 Language progression
5.9.3 Peer Scaffolding
5.9.4 Mentoring learning
5.10 Student future learning plans
5.10.1 Deeper learning
5.10.2 Language practice
5.11 Visual Narrative with Creativity
5.11.1 Learner affective and cognitive representations
5.11.2 Connectivity of life experiences
5.12 Chapter Summary
6 Discussion of the research findings
6.1 Chapter introduction
6.2 Discussing research question one
6.3 Discussing research question two
6.4 Discussing research question three
6.5 Chapter summary
6.5.1 Visual languaging with conceptualising and communicating dimensions
6.5.2 Visual languaging with mentoring dimension
6.5.3 Visual languaging with learner agency
6.5.4 Illustrating visual languaging
7 Conclusion
7.1 Summary and implications of findings
7.1.1 Designing visual creation and articulation tasks
7.1.2 Supporting students via Learning Conversations
7.1.3 Fostering learner agency
7.2 Limitations
7.2.1 Researcher identity
7.2.2 Research time
7.2.3 Sample size
7.3 Future recommendations
Research Objectives and Themes
This study aims to explore the potential of learner-created visualisations to support conceptual knowledge and English language learning in an online primary school classroom in China, ultimately fostering learner agency and deeper learning through an integrated pedagogical approach.
- Investigating the efficacy of visual languaging in facilitating conceptual and linguistic development.
- Exploring the role of Learning Conversations as a dialogic scaffold for student meaning-making.
- Analyzing learner agency and growth mindsets within the context of pluriliteracies.
- Developing context-sensitive teaching strategies for online environments to address traditional educational gaps.
- Assessing the benefits of combining visual creation with verbal articulation for scaffolding complex learning.
Excerpt from the Book
1.3 The Study
Having discussed English in the international and Chinese contexts, this study is driven by three key factors –
• the need to investigate the impact of emergent pedagogies on younger learners’ learning.
• personal experiences which have influenced the researcher’s thinking.
• identified gaps a) in current teaching practices in China that are inadequate to build learners’ agentic mindset for learning and b) in researching how learner-created visuals might support learning.
1.3.1 Integrating Current Pedagogic Thinking in Language Classrooms
Given the historical background of English learning in China, this study investigates the application of alternative approaches to language learning that are in line with contemporary shifts in pedagogic trends. Such developments go beyond the more traditional interpretation of language teaching that focuses on the enhancement of linguistic systems (de Saussure, 1959; Chomsky, 2009). As Llinares, Morton, and Whittaker (2012) suggest, repositioning languages as fundamental tools for complex meaning-making processes in and beyond schooling that value both the importance of language forms/structures and language meaning is necessary for meeting current global and societal demands. Building on their perspectives, interpreting language as both linguistic systems and social practice (e.g., Van Lier & Walqui, 2012; García, 2014) may offer new thinking for language teaching practices. This stance on the nature of language will be further discussed in chapter two.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter contextualizes English language learning in China, highlighting the shift toward learner-centered pedagogies and the potential role of visualisation in deeper learning.
2 Literature review: This chapter constructs the theoretical framework by interweaving linguistic and pedagogical strands, specifically focusing on languaging, translanguaging, and the pluriliteracies model.
3 Methodology: This chapter outlines the ontological and epistemological stances, justifying the use of an instrumental case study involving a Pilot and Main Study.
4 The Pilot Study: This chapter reports on the initial implementation of the study, providing insights into lesson design, data collection, and preliminary analysis which informed the main research.
5 The Main Study: This chapter presents the comprehensive analysis of findings from the main research phase, emerging themes and categories regarding learner conceptual and linguistic progress.
6 Discussion of the research findings: This chapter synthesises the findings to demonstrate how visual languaging acts as a heuristic tool, integrated with mentoring and cognitive discourse functions, to enhance learning.
7 Conclusion: This chapter summarises the pedagogical implications, limitations of the research, and recommendations for future academic and practical applications.
Keywords
Visual languaging, Pluriliteracies, Deeper learning, English language teaching, Scaffolding, Cognitive discourse functions, Learner agency, Online learning, Multimodality, Translanguaging, Mentoring, Educational reform, Primary education, Visualisation, Content and language integrated learning (CLIL).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this doctoral thesis?
The thesis investigates how learner-created visuals can be used as a scaffolding tool to support conceptual understanding and English language development in online primary classrooms in China.
What are the central thematic fields?
The core themes include literacy development, pluriliteracies, cognitive discourse functions, learner agency, and the ecological integration of visualisation into language classroom pedagogy.
What is the primary research goal?
The main objective is to identify whether visual languaging—where students create and discuss their own visuals—can effectively foster agency and enhance deeper learning in an English as a second/foreign language context.
What methodology does the author adopt?
The author uses a qualitative approach, employing an instrumental case study design that includes both a Pilot and a Main Study involving English learners in China.
Which strategies are addressed in the main content?
The main content focuses on integrating Learning Conversations, cognitive discourse functions, and visualisation strategies to help students articulate complex concepts, particularly when their linguistic capacity is limited.
What key terminology defines the study?
Key terms include visual languaging, pluriliteracies, deeper learning, scaffolding, translanguaging, and cognitive discourse functions, all used to position the study within current pedagogical research.
How does the author define 'visual languaging'?
The author defines it as a strategic combination of creating self-generated visuals and verbally articulating understanding, effectively serving as an alternative support mechanism during early-stage second language acquisition.
Does the thesis deal with the cultural context of China?
Yes, the thesis explicitly analyzes the impact of the Chinese educational system, the current exam-oriented climate, and the potential for integrating alternative, supportive pedagogies like those explored in the study.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Dandan Chen (Autor:in), 2023, Visualisation and Languaging for English Language Teaching and Learning in an Online Primary School Classroom in China, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1366776
