Lesson progress
Discourse on Instructions presents overt directions for the students in preparation for a specific lesson activity. This is mainly realised through language and often as the teacher positions himself in the authoritative spaces in the classroom. Lee devotes almost 6 minutes (5.74%) and Mei spends almost 7 minutes (7.20%) on the Discourse on Instructions. Longer time spent on the Discourse on Instructions suggests more sign-postings and scaffolds provided to structure the lesson activities. Examples of Discourse on Instructions are when Mei issues the command, ‘You got your compilation. I want you to turn to page 71.’ In doing that, she signals that the passage is the main text for her lesson. Lee, when introducing the template to organise their Application Question response, articulates a more procedural instruction and interjects with the rationale for his directives. He explains,
First, what we will do is that we will take out a piece of paper. Shall we? And we will draw this template on that piece of paper... Draw it down so that you have some ideas what you are doing.
Coupling instructions with explanations, instead of using a direct command, tempers the authority that Lee asserts as a teacher. The explanation allows for the students to understand the pedagogic intent behind his instruction.
Discourse ou Philosophy is related to the teaching of the disciplinary knowledge of the subject. Discourse on Philosophy involves the discussion of ideas and concepts through questions that promote critical reflection. They are usually open-ended questions that provoke thought and challenge understanding rather than seek a ‘correct’ response. For instance, Mei asks, ‘What does being successful mean?’ Through that, she elucidates from her students the varied and competing definitions of success. Lee also uses the Discourse on Philosophy in his lesson. An instance is in his response to a student’s criticism of the school’s effort to monitor the Swine Flu epidemic. He explains, ‘Whenever crisis or situations like these happen, we try to do our best. That’s what we can do. We can’t do more than our best. Can we?’
Discourse ou General Knowledge is also related to the teaching of the disciplinary knowledge of the subject. It involves discussions and close-ended questions on general knowledge and current affairs. Usually, an ideal answer is already in the mind of the teacher. Examples of Discourse on General Knowledge are in Lee’s question, ‘What is the positive aspect of hydroponic technology?’ and in Mei’s question, ‘Can anybody tell me what is Olympus?’While useful to deliver content knowledge to the students, an over-use of Discourse on General Knowledge can possibly alienate those who do not have the ‘right’ answer. These can be students from less privileged socio-economic background that may not have the extent of exposure and experience that their more privileged peers may possess (see, e.g. Christie, 2002; O’Halloran, 2004). On the other hand. Discourse on Philosophy promotes engagement and builds higher order thinking skills. Hence, a good complementary use of Discourse on General Knowledge with Discourse on Philosophy can possibly empower weaker students with the necessary knowledge and ways of critical thinking to close the gap. Mei spends about 16 minutes (17.09%) as compared to only 33 seconds (0.55%) by Lee on the Discourse on Philosophy. Lee spends about 21 minutes (20.93%) as compared to under 3 minutes (3.00%) by Mei on the Discourse on General Knowledge.
Discourse on Language is the explicit teaching or discussion on the metalanguage, by drawing attention to the use of language, for example on grammar and the meaning of specific words. Discourse on Language contributes to the development of students’ meta-linguistic awareness. Examples of Discourse on Language occur when Lee says,‘Now, if it is French we don’t say theT’ as well as when Mei asks, ‘What’s anxiety?’ and explains ‘An anxious person is a worried person.’ Mei spends almost 6 minutes (6.06%) on Discourse on Language, which contrasts with Lee’s 5 seconds (0.08%).
Discourse on Skills is the explicit teaching of skills as part of students’ learning of the disciplinary skills of the subject. An instance is when Lee clarifies, ‘Now, remember for AQ (Application Question), we don’t have to write a thesis on the passage.Just two or three or four good points.That’s it.’ Likewise, Mei reminds,‘The other thing I want to highlight is when you refer to the main ideas selected; always make it a point to make line references.’ Mei’s focus on the Discourse on Skills is indicated by the almost 24 minutes (24.84%) spent as compared to Lee’s 10 minutes (9.91%).
Discourse on Content is discussion specific to the subject content of the course materials, in the case, the comprehension passage. Lee exemplifies this when he says,‘So we are to explore the idea... about hunger or displacement. So did we find them in the text?’ Similarly, Mei notes, ‘Point one. If anyone today can attract young people’s attention: Celebrity.’ Discourse on Content differs from Discourse on General Knowledge because in Discourse on Content, the focus is on the course materials, in this case, the passage in the text. Lee’s focus on Discourse on Content is indicated by the 14 minutes (14.10%) as compared to Mei’s under 7 minutes (6.93%) spent on this microgenre.
Discourse on Reading is when an extended part of the passage is read aloud by the teacher or students.This is sometimes performed by a student who is asked to stand up from his seat to read. Both Lee and Mei spend very little time on Discourse on Reading. Lee spends under 34 seconds (0.56%) and Mei spends under 17 seconds (0.30%) on Discourse on Reading. Discourse on Reading may feature more in the English classes at the Primary and Secondary Level as choral reading. Having students read passages aloud is a pedagogical strategy employed to help them develop fluency and prepare them for the oral component of the examinations. Since the subject General Paper is examined only in the written mode, it is unsurprising that Discourse on Reading is given lower emphasis in both lessons.
Discourse on Examinations occurs when there is explicit reference, typically verbally, made to the examinations. Interestingly, despite the lesson in the casestudy being the final class before the Preliminary Examinations, Discourse on Examinations is used only about 20 seconds (0.33%) by Lee and none at all for Mei. An example is given in Lee’s admonition, ‘During your A-Levels test, you won’t have 15 minutes to think’. Even here, the Discourse on Examinations is somewhat enmeshed in the Discourse on Discipline as he reminds the students to stay focused on the task and work on it quickly. The lack of reference to the examinations might be due to the Preliminary Examinations being perceived not to be as important as the ultimate Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) Examinations, which students will sit for later.
Video-Screening is the use of multimedia in the lesson to bring in additional information on the subject content. Video-Screening takes up almost 16 minutes (15.62%) and is ranked second highest amongst all the lesson microgenres in Lee’s class. Lee shows three videos consecutively. The purpose of the Video-Screening is explained later. He states,‘I think that will help you with the solutions and ideas... during exams situations you have to tap your content knowledge’. For Lee,VideoScreening contributes to broadening the students’ subject content knowledge.
Student Work occurs when the teacher sets a task for the students to perform either individually or collaboratively in groups. Multimodally, this is often accompanied by the teacher’s pacing around the classroom or positioning himself in the surveillance space to monitor the students. Tasks in Student Work include answering the comprehension questions or working on exercises based on their preceding discussion. Mei spends almost 15 minutes (14.61%) whereas Lee spends less time at under 3 minutes (2.82%) on Student Work. Technically, for the purpose of simplifying the analysis, the time in Student Work is coded when Discourse on Personal Consultation is not takng place.
Discourse on Personal Consultation occurs when a student asks a question to the teacher during Student Work. The teacher usually moves next to the student, and may stand, bend, or sit next to the student to address his question as the rest of the class continues with their work. Examples of how the Discourse on Personal Consultation is expressed verbally can be observed when in Lee’s class, a student expressed his uncertainty with what is expected of him and Lee attempts to coach him through asking him a series of questions, ‘You don’t know what to write. So what are you supposed to assess? What did the writer say?’ Mei spends under 2 minutes (2.01%) and Lee spends more than 9 minutes (9.21%) in on Discourse on Personal Consultation. This may be because he has introduced new knowledge — the use of a template to answer AQ - in the lesson. As such, the total time where students engage in a practice activity in both lessons is about 17 minutes (16.62%) for Mei and less at about 12 minutes (12.03%) for Lee.
