TEACHING PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT ESSAY WRITING TO ADOLESCENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS THROUGH THE READING TO LEARN APPROACH by Kathleen Ann Ramos B.A. Spanish, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 1985 M.A.T. Foreign Language Teaching, University of Pittsburgh, 1990 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2012 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF EDUCATION This dissertation was presented by Kathleen Ann Ramos It was defended on November 9, 2012 and approved by Dr. Richard Donato, Associate Professor, Department of Instruction and Learning Dr. Lindsay Matsumura, Associate Professor, Department of Instruction and Learning Dr. Mariana Achugar, Associate Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Modern Languages Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Linda Kucan, Associate Professor, Department of Instruction and Learning ii Copyright © by Kathleen Ann Ramos 2012 iii TEACHING PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT ESSAY WRITING TO ADOLESCENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS THROUGH THE READING TO LEARN APPROACH Kathleen Ann Ramos, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2012 A persistent achievement gap exists between the steadily growing population of adolescent English language learners (ELLs) in K-12 public schools and their native English-speaking peers. Unsurprisingly, the underachievement of this population of students is linked to an excessively high dropout rate among adolescent ELLs across the nation. Current research University of Pittsburgh, 2012 highlights the critical need for instructional approaches that support these learners in developing academic English and advanced literacy practices. Through research-based effective instructional practices that support the attainment of advanced literacy practices, these culturally and linguistically diverse learners are afforded access to post-secondary educational and career opportunities from which they are otherwise excluded. A growing body of research suggests that genre-based pedagogy is an effective instructional approach for apprenticing adolescent ELLs into academically-valued writing practices across school-based genres. Drawing on this research, this study employed a pretest/posttest design to investigate the effect of the genre-based Reading to Learn approach, grounded in systemic functional linguistics, on adolescent ELLs’ competency in writing academically successful persuasive argument essays. Following an ethnographic approach, this study also investigated the way that the participants perceived the effects of the Reading to Learn approach on their development as a second language writers. Finally, this study aimed to richly iv describe the challenges of designing and implementing an instructional intervention using the Reading to Learn approach in an urban public high school English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Findings indicate that the Reading to Learn approach had a significant effect on the participants’ competency for writing academically-valued persuasive argument essays. Despite challenges in designing and implementing an instructional intervention using the Reading to Learn approach, these findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that suggests that this genre-based instructional framework may support adolescent ELLs’ progress toward the development of advanced literacy practices. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . .………………………..………..……………………….…1 1.1 A MATTER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ……………....……………………….....3 1.2 THE READING TO LEARN FRAMEWORK ………………………………5 1.2.1 The central purpose ………………………………………………………..5 1.2.2 Central tenents of the reading to learn methodology …………………….6 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………..………….…......….…10 2.1 SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS…………….........…………….11 2.2 EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AND EDUCATIONAL LINGUISTICS ……..16 2.3 GENRE PEDAGOGY ………………………………………………………..20 2.3.1 The language and social power phase of the Sydney school …….……..20 2.3.2 The write it right phase of the Sydney school …………………….…….23 2.3.3 The reading to learn phase of the Sydney school ………………………27 2.4 THE LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ADVANCED LITERACY PRACTICES IN SUBJECT ENGLISH …………………………………....…………….......30 2.4.1 Grammatical metaphor …………………………………………………33 2.4.2 Related research about the linguistic features of advanced literacy practices ……………………………………………………...…35 2.5 GENRE PEDAGOGY: STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES ……...….39 2.5.1 The potential of genre pedagogy …………………………………...…..39 vi 2.5.2 The challenges of implementation ………………………………………44 3.0 METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………………….52 3.1 PROCEDURES ……………………………………………………………..…52 3.1.1 The preparing to read stage ………………………………………......54 3.1.2 The detailed reading stage ……………………………………....…….55 3.1.3 The joint construction stage …………………………………………..56 3.1.4 The individual construction stage ……………………………………56 3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL INTERVENTION ………...57 3.3 PARTICIPANTS ……………………………………………………………....66 3.3.1 Focal students ………………………………………………………….68 3.3.1.1 Asha …………………………………………………………….69 3.3.1.2 Htoo …………………………………………………………….70 3.3.1.3 Roshan ………………………………………………………….70 3.3.1.4 Soe ……………………………………………………………...71 3.3.1.5 Tika …………………………………………………………….71 3.3.1.6 Pilar …………………………………………………………….72 3.4 INSTRUCTIONAL CONTEXT ……………………………………………...73 3.4.1 Curricular materials …………………………………………………..75 3.4.1.1 Learning in unit 6 ……………………………………………...75 3.4.1.2 Introduction to the genre of persuasive nonfiction …………..77 3.4.1.3 Reading a persuasive nonfiction text ………………………….79 3.4.2 Key differences between curricular materials and genre-based pedagogy ………………………………………………………………….81 vii 3.5 DATA SOURCES ………………………………………………………….....84 3.5.1 Pretest …………………………………………………………………85 3.5.2 Post-instructional unit survey ………………………………………..87 3.5.3 Posttest ………………………………………………………………...88 3.5.4 Performance criteria and assessment tool …………………………..90 3.5.4.1 Realizing ideational meanings ………………………………..92 3.5.4.2 Realizing interpersonal meanings ……………………………92 3.5.4.3 Realizing textual meanings …………………………………...93 3.5.4.4 Designing the performance criteria and assessment tool ………………………………………………………………..94 3.5.5 Follow-up interviews …………………………………………………95 3.5.6 Exemplars of focal students' work ………………………………….97 3.5.7 Teacher/researcher's reflections and videotape excerpts ………….98 3.5.8 Log of institutional activities affecting study implementation …….99 3.6 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION……………………………100 3.6.1 Quantitative data analyses ………………………………………….100 3.6.1.1 Pretest and posttest student essays …………………………100 3.6.1.2 Interrater reliability …………………………………………102 3.6.2 Qualitative data analyses ……………………………………………107 3.6.2.1 Post-instructional unit surveys ……………………………...107 3.6.2.2 Focal students' persuasive argument essays for or against amnesty ………………………………………………………107 3.6.2.3 Follow-up interviews with focal students …….......................108 viii 4.0 THE BUILDING FIELD STAGE …………………………………………………109 4.1 THE PURPOSE OF THE BUILDING FIELD STAGE ………………….109 4.2 THE BUILDING FIELD LESSONS ………………………………………111 4.2.1 Text selection for the building field lessons ………………………..111 4.2.2 What is immigration amnesty? ……………………………………..112 4.2.3 The advantages of amnesty ………………………………………....115 4.2.4 Roots of migration …………………………………………………..119 4.2.5 Cons for amnesty for illegal immigrants …………………………..121 4.2.6 Immigration amnesty pros and cons ……………………………….125 4.2.7 A news article text …………………………………………………...129 4.3 SUMMARY OF BUILDING FIELD LESSONS ………………………….131 5.0 THE PREPARING TO READ STAGE ………………………………………...….133 5.1 THE PURPOSE OF THE PREPARING TO READ STAGE ……………133 5.2 THE LESSONS IN THE PREPARING TO READ STAGE ……………..135 5.2.1 The first lesson in the preparing to read stage …………………….135 5.2.2 The second lesson in the preparing to read stage …………………143 5.3 SUMMARY OF PREPARING TO READ LESSONS ……………………151 6.0 THE DETAILED READING STAGE ………………………………………..........153 6.1 THE PURPOSE OF THE DETAILED READING STAGE ………...........153 6.2 THE LESSONS IN THE DETAILED READING STAGE ………………154 6.2.1 The first lesson in the detailed reading stage ……………………...156 6.2.2 The second lesson in the detailed reading stage …………………...166 6.2.3 The third lesson in the detailed reading stage ……………………..172 ix 6.2.4 The fourth lesson in the detailed reading stage ……………………177 6.2.5 The fifth lesson in the detailed reading stage ………………………183 6.2.6 The sixth lesson in the detailed reading stage ……………………...189 6.2.7 The final lesson in the detailed reading stage ………………………197 6.3 SUMMARY OF DETAILED READING LESSONS ……………………...200 7.0 THE JOINT CONSTRUCTION STAGE ……………………………………..……202 7.1 PURPOSE OF THE JOINT CONSTRUCTION STAGE …………………202 7.2 THE LESSONS IN THE JOINT CONSTRUCTION STAGE ……………203 7.2.1 The first lesson in the joint construction stage ………………..........203 7.2.2 The second lesson in the joint construction stage ………………….208 7.2.3 The third lesson in the joint construction stage ……………………214 7.3 FOCAL STUDENT EXEMPLARS FROM THE JOINT CONSTRUCTION STAGE………………………………………………………………………………………..223 7.4 SUMMARY OF JOINT CONSTRUCTION LESSONS ……………...…...224 8.0 REVISITING DETAILED READING AND COMPLETING INDIVIDUAL CONSTRUCTION ………………………………………………...………………….226 8.1 DECONSTRUCTING THE MODEL TEXT AGAINST AMNESTY THROUGH DETAILED READING………………………………………………………..227 8.1.1 The first lesson in deconstructing the second model text …………..227 8.1.2 The second lesson in deconstructing the second model text ……….235 8.1.3 The third lesson in deconstructing the second model text …………244 8.1.4 The final lesson before individual construction …………………….252 8.2 THE INDIVIDUAL CONSTRUCTION STAGE …………………………..255 x