Ampliación de horizontes en estilística: El laboratorio multimedia como una estimulante herramienta para el análisis de textos en el contexto de inglés lengua extranjera

BROADENING HORIZONS IN STYLISTICS: THE MULTIMEDIA LAB AS A CHALLENGING TOOL FOR TEXT ANALYSIS IN EFL CONTEXTS ALCINA SOUSA* AND DOMINIQUE COSTA** Uni e si y o Madei a, Madei a, Po ugal ABSTRACT Making use o he Mul imedia Lab as a po en ial ool o ex analysis, i.e., a way o explo ing s ylis ic ea u es in, o ins ance, li e a y ex s, is he main pu pose o ou pape . This is he ou come o a join ac ion esea ch ca ied ou in an EFL se ing, namely a uppe -in e media e and/o ad anced language le els (4 h unde g adua e yea ) o he English Deg ee a he Uni e si y o Madei a. Hence i is ou aim o ocus on he possibili ies o b oadening ho izons in S ylis ics Analysis, ia new echniques and echnologies. Ou app oach gi es special a en ion o di e en laye s o meaning al eady amilia o ou s uden s, no ably g aphology, lexis, syn ax, cohesion, seman ics, egis e and unc ion. These a e pa icula ly s iking in he wo passages and/o poin s o en y selec - ed om an English con empo a y no el o be analysed wi hou s uden s’ p i- o knowledge o au ho , pe iod, and English language a ie y. All in all, we wish o inc ease s uden s’ mo i a ion, p omo e hei li e a y/cul u al/language awa eness, and enhance hei e lec i e skills in an inno a i e en i onmen – he Mul imedia Lab– which eplaces he adi ional Language Lab, p e ious- ly exclusi e o o eign language eaching/lea ning. CAUCE, Re is a de Filología y su Didác ica, nº 24, 2001 / págs. 175-183 175 * Alcina Pe ei a Sousa –In i ed Lec u e a he Uni e si y o Madei a. Teaches ESL/EFL o Humani ies Unde g adua es (li e a u e-based app oach), ESP; supe ises p e- and in-se ice aining. Specialised in applied linguis ics (didac ics, cu iculum inno- a ion, c ea i e eading). P esen ly inishing w i ing he PhD disse a ion in (majo ield o pedagogical s ylis ics) c ea i e eading and he dia y no el. Au ho o nine schola - ly a icles in jou nals. NEAG (s ylis ics special esea ch g oup in Madei a) ounding membe along wi h John McRae. ** Dominique Cos a is an Auxilia y P o esso in he English/Ge man Depa men a he Uni e si y o Madei a (Po ugal). She was awa ded a Mas e s Deg ee in S ylis- ics by he Uni e si y o Abe deen (UK) and a PhD on B i ish Pos mode nis Fic ion by he Uni e si y o Madei a. He main ields o in e es a e: English Language/Li e a- u e; B i ish Pos mode nis Fic ion; Na a ology; and S ylis ics. She has been lec u ing cou ses on hese subjec s a unde g adua e and pos g adua e le els a he Uni e si y o Madei a. ALCINA SOUSA Y DOMINIQUE COSTA 176 KEY WORDS In e ac i e eading; laye s o meaning; li e a y/cul u al/language awa e- ness; mul imedia lab; na a i e oice; eading in educa ion; s ylis ic ea u es; echnological ools. RESUMEN El p incipal obje i o de es e abajo es el uso del Labo a o io Mul imedia como he amien a po encial pa a el análisis de ex os, es deci , un modo de explo a asgos es ilís icos en, po ejemplo, ex os li e a ios. Es el esul ado de una in es igación acción conjun a lle ada a cabo en un con ex o de Inglés como Lengua Ex anje a, conc e amen e en los ni eles uppe -in e media e y/o ad anced (cua o año de ca e a) en la Ti ulación de Inglés de la Uni e sidad de Madei a. Po an o nues o obje i o es cen a nos en las posibilidades de ab i nue os ho izon es en el Análisis de Tex os po medio de nue as écni- cas y ecnologías. Nues o en oque p es a una especial a ención a los di e en- es es a os de signi icado con los que los alumnos ya es án amilia izados, en pa icula g a ología, léxico, sin axis, cohesión, semán ica, egis o y unción. Son especialmen e no ables en los dos pasajes y/o pun os de en ada de una no ela inglesa con empo ánea seleccionados pa a se analizados, sin que los alumnos conozcan p e iamen e au o , pe íodo o a iedad lingüís ica. En con- jun o, p e endemos inc emen a la mo i ación de los alumnos, omen a su conciencia li e a ia/cul u al/lingüís ica, y mejo a sus des ezas de e lexión en un en o no inno ado –el Labo a o io Mul imedia– que sus i uye al Labo a o- io de Idiomas adicional, que has a aho a e a u ilizado exclusi amen e pa a la enseñanza/ap endizaje de la lengua ex anje a. PALABRAS CLAVE Lec u a in e ac i a, es a os de signi icado, conciencia li e a ia/cul u al/lin- güís ica, labo a o io mul imedia, oz na a i a, lec u a en educación, asgos es ilís icos, he amien as ecnológicas. RÉSUMÉ L’u ilisa ion du Labo a oi e de Mul imedia se an d’ou il pou l’analyse de ex es, au emen di , comme moyen d’explo e les cha ac é is iques s ylis iques des ex es li é ai es, el es l’objec de no e a icle. Celui-ci es le ésul a d’une ac ion de eche che conjoin e, menée dans le cad e de l’enseignemen de l’ anglais comme langue é angè e, no ammen aux ni eaux in e médiai e-a ancé e /ou a ancé (4ème année d’é udes) de la Maî ise d’anglais à l’Uni e si é de Madè e. Nous p oposons donc de cen e no e é ude su les possibili és d’éla gi les ho izons de l’analyse s ylis ique pa le moyen des nou elles echniques e echnologies. No e abo dage me , en pa iculie , l’accen su les di é en s ni eaux de signi ica ion du ex e, déjà amilie s pou nos é udian s, no ammen la g aphologie, le lexis, la syn axe, la cohésion, la séman ique, le egis e e la BROADENING HORIZONS IN STYLISTICS: THE MULTIMEDIA LAB… 177 onc ion. Ceux-ci son bien é iden s dans les deux ex ai s e /ou poin s d’en- ée choisis dans un oman anglais con empo ain a in d’ê e analysés sans que les é udian s aien connaissance p éalable de l’au eu , de l’époque, e des pa - icula i és de la langue. No e bu a é é d’augmen e la mo i a ion de nos é udian s, de p omou- oi leu pe cep ion li é ai e/cul u elle/e de la langue, e de me e en é i- dence leu capaci é de é lexion dans un en i onemen inno a eu –le Labo- a oi e de Mul imedia– qui emplace le Labo a oi e de Langues adi ionnel dédié, aupa a an , exclusi emen à l’enseignemen /app en issage des langues é angè es. MOTS-CLÉ Lec u e in e ac i e; ni eaux de signi ica ion; pe cep ion li é ai e/cul u elle/e de la langue; labo a oi e de mul imedia; oix na a i e; l’ins uc ion pa la lec- u e; cha ac é is iques s ylis iques; ou ils echnologiques. INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS B oadening ho izons in s ylis ics seems o u mos impo ance in ou con empo a y in o ma ion e a. S ylis ics migh be used in a wide con- ex , namely in he eaching/lea ning o a o eign language, d awing bene i s om echnological b eak h oughs wha e e he se ing, ia new echniques and echnologies. Also, we wish o inc ease s uden s’ mo i- a ion, p omo e hei li e a y/cul u al/language awa eness, and enhance hei e lec i e skills in an inno a i e en i onmen – he mul imedia lab– which eplaces he adi ional language lab, p e iously exclusi e o o - eign language eaching/lea ning. As a as ools a e conce ned, we used hose a ailable in ou mul imedia lab and b oadly amilia o ou s u- den s: a compu e main ame/se e connec ed o 20 PCs a anged in U-shape in he lab, iles o be accessed indi idually by s uden s, Con- cise Ox o d Dic iona y CD ROM, 9 h edi ion wi h sound / Windows ’95 compa ible, Web / In e ne , Video ape (headphones), Sma Boa d, wi hou excluding he mo e adi ional OHP. Acco dingly, and ei e a ing Donald Leu and Cha les Kinze ’s lib- e a ing and empowe ing li e acy conce ns in educa ion, a p oblem-se - ing/p oblem-sol ing me hodology backed up by he e e -g owing numbe o echnical gadge s will “p o ide powe ul p epa a ion in de eloping he skills cen al o success in an in o ma ion economy: accessing he bes in o ma ion, doing so in he sho es ime, using his in o ma ion o iden i y and sol e he mos impo an p oblems, and hen communica ing hese solu ions o o he s” (2000, p. 114). Thus s u- den s should be p epa ed “ o he e ec i e use o new in o ma ion ALCINA SOUSA Y DOMINIQUE COSTA 178 echnologies ha will become inc easingly a ailable as we con inue o change om an indus ial o an in o ma ion socie y” (2000, p. 113). In his espec , he eading o li e a y ex s canno be dissocia ed om li e acy educa ion as a powe ul esou ce o language, li e a y, and cul u e awa eness, o ollow he heo e ical li e a u e published o e he las wo decades in s ylis ics, li e a u e eaching and discou se analysis (Halliday, Widdowson, Leech, Fowle , Sinclai , Ca e , McRae, Du an and Simpson, o name bu a ew). AIMS AND METHODOLOGY I is ou pu pose, in his pape , o p esen some o he possibili- ies o c iss-c ossing he a o emen ioned heo ies wi h eading in edu- ca ion in an English as o eign language class, ha is a uppe -in e - media e and/o ad anced language le els (4 h unde g adua e yea ) o he English Deg ee a he Uni e si y o Madei a. In so doing, a join ac ion esea ch was ca ied ou comp ising h ee di e en s ages, he i s o which dese es he e a special a en ion as a easible way-in o a li e a y ex in an EFL se ing, ia new in o ma ion echnologies (See Uni Plan, Appendix, pp. i- i): •Fi s , analysing a li e a y ex , s ill a con o e sial ype o ex in an EFL eaching/lea ning si ua ion (and Po ugal is one among se e al ins ances), pa icula ly ele an in his case as we pu o wa d he use o he a ious esou ces o e ed in a mul imedia lab, especially “i we wish o p epa e … [indi iduals] o hei u u es in a wo kplace whe e collabo a ion and communica ion skills a e so impo an ” (Leu and Kinz- e , 2000, p. 113). Fo he a ainmen o his end, a Uni Plan was ca e- ully designed, bea ing in mind a whole language app oach o li e a y ex wi h a ocus on s ylis ic ea u es, wi h pa icula a en ion o a s u- den -cen ed, ac i i y-based and ask-o ien ed ins uc ion (See Appendix). •Second, lesson implemen a ion and class obse a ion. •Thi d, eedback on he join ac ion esea ch bo h by s uden s, h ough he explo a o y analysis o s uden s’ open-ended ques ionnai es comple ed in hei compu e ile a he end o he second session, oge he wi h ou own indings. One o he main goals o he lesson consis s o making s uden s awa e o s yles/ oices ( equen ly mislabelled as “ he au ho ’s s yle”) in he wo lds o discou se o he wo ex ac s –Tex A and Tex B– BROADENING HORIZONS IN STYLISTICS: THE MULTIMEDIA LAB… 179 (Appendix, pp. - i), in en ionally chosen om he same ic ional wo k. Thei ackling p esupposes s uden s’ amilia i y wi h s ylis ic concep s, ex ea u es and ex awa eness. The o me a e pa icula ly s iking in he wo passages and/o poin s o en y selec ed om an English con- empo a y no el, The Collec o (1963) by John Fowles, o be analysed wi hou s uden s’ p io knowledge o au ho , pe iod, and English lan- guage a ie y. Ye , he close eading o ex ac A was ollowed by di e en ac i - i ies, included in Task A on exce p A (Uni Plan, S ages 1 and 2, Appendix, pp. i-iii), so as o a oid mechanical eading comp ehension p ocedu es, on he one hand, and, on he o he , o p omo e in e ac- i e eading and pee and/o in e -g oup discussion. S uden s ended up ealising ha each laye o meaning, on which hey we e asked o con- cen a e, migh be ways-in o he ex ac , consequen ly o pa amoun impo ance o he p ocess o meaning-making. Tex A (Appendix, p. ), Mi anda’s dia y en y hough inse ed u - he on in he no el (The Collec o , p. 117) was p esen ed i s o i s eade - iendly di ec and amilia one, as well as simple sen ence s uc- u e, highly con as ing wi h Clegg’s opening pa ag aphs in he no el, Tex B (Appendix, p. i). His con essional one challenges he eade wi h ambiguous lexical choice, i egula sen ence s uc u e, pa adoxical apologe ic discou se, seeing ha he has a dominan ole in Mi anda’s ou come. The e o e his speech was only o be in oduced in S ages 3 and 4 (Uni Plan, pp. iii-i ), co esponding o he second wo-hou ses- sion. D awing on s ylis ic aspec s, i was up o he eade s/s uden s o in e abou bo h he unusual si ua ion in which he cha ac e s/na a o s ind hemsel es in, along wi h he odd ela ionship be ween hem, and hei psychological/emo ional dilemmas. PROCEDURE A i s , s uden s we e asked o access Tex A ollowed by di e - en ac i i ies (each o he i e g oups was assigned one and only ac i - i y) shown on hei moni o s: Ac i i y 1.– G aphology; Ac i i y 2.– Seman- ics; Ac i i y 3.– Lexis; Ac i i y 4.– Cohesion; Ac i i y 5.– Func ion (See Uni Plan, S age 1, Task A, Appendix, pp. i-ii). Reading he ex should be en isaged by he eade s as a p oblem-se ing/p oblem-sol ing –a meaning ul aes he ic guessing game– as s uden s had o discuss wi h- in he g oup (3/4 s uden s pe g oup) so as o come wi h plausible ALCINA SOUSA Y DOMINIQUE COSTA 180 answe s o ge o a comp omise. This was ollowed by a o um dis- cussion on he a ious in e p e a ions b ough abou he eading be ween he lines and concen a ing on di e en laye s o meaning, hus a oid- ing no only plo -cen ed eading bu also a ansmissionis ins uc ion on ex comp ehension, “ ocused la gely on s uden s’ mas e y in com- p ehending ex s”, as ex ensi ely discussed in Susan Hynds’ On he B ink (1997, p. 57). Likewise, dissimila s a egies unde lie he selec ion o wo ds/ph as- es o be omi ed o analysed in each ex . In sho , we aimed a a con- s an eshu ling o a i udes, me hodology, s uden s’ aking no es, g ound hei choice and pe sonal sha ing, o be coupled by an engaging high- ly mo i a ing s uden s’ and lec u e ’s eading aloud o bo h ex ac s. Also, issues ela ed o mood se ing and oice we e inally disclosed by p osodic ea u es, such as in ona ion, s ess and hy hm. Simila ly, ex eadabili y and accessibili y depended on he selec ion o ways-in, key wo ds o ex in e p e a ion, d awing mos ly on seman ics, mo - pho-syn ax and g amma - ansla ion (See S ages 2-3, Tasks B and C, Appendix, pp. iii-i ). The choice o bo h Tex A and Tex B, i.e., he con on a ion o wo dis inc wo lds o discou se, p o ed o aise s uden s’ cu iosi y, no only conce ning he unde s anding o e en s bu also o he singula ela ionship be ween he “I” (Clegg) and “ he o he ” (Mi anda) and ice e sa. S uden s had he oppo uni y o expand hei eading as es owa ds con empo a y ic ion as hey we e keen o become in ol ed, he e o e specula ing on he eelings, mo i a ions and gende o he cha ac- e s/na a o s. Reade s played a ole in he wo lds o discou se, mos - ly g ounded on ex ual ea u es: balancing be ween a ellow eade and a ex ual au ho i y, ha is be ween a pa icipan and an obse e (c . Hynds, 1997, p. 57). In he same line, seeing h ough he language and i s ideology con ibu ed la gely o s uden s’ be e unde s anding o he ex s and os e ed hei c i ical eading o he wo ld. IMPACT AND FEASIBILITY: SOME REMARKS No wi hs anding ha he sessions we e mean o become ac i i y- o ien ed and s uden s ook and sha ed hei pe sonal no es in hei iles, he lec u e adop ed a adi ional app oach up o he i s pa o he o um discussion in S age 1 (Uni Plan, p. iii), doing he ques ioning, eading ou he ins uc ions and eshaping/p oo - eading s uden s’ BROADENING HORIZONS IN STYLISTICS: THE MULTIMEDIA LAB… 181 no es. S uden s we e guided in hei u n- aking, ye coupled by a sup- po i e posi i e ein o cemen and building on hei knowledge. Soon s uden s’ open/ ecep i e and a en i e a i ude solely depic - ed hose who we e p esen ing hei in e p e a ion o he class. Some s uden s go los in he way, showed less concen a ion skills and pa - allel alk also came up. In addi ion, a couple o s uden s exp essed some di icul ies in iden i ying he laye s o meaning equi ed in Ac i - i ies 1 o 3.– G aphology, Seman ics and Lexis. As a consequence, he lec u e had o e e b ie ly o some de ini ions on s ylis ic concep s. A his poin , she go awa e o di e ing le els o concen a ion, pa ici- pa ion, among s uden s and changed he s a egy. Ins ead o a spokespe - son pe g oup, all he s uden s we e in i ed o ake pa in he dis- cussion so as o ge commi ed o ex unde s anding and app ecia ion. Hence, lec u e -gene a ed ques ions we e eplaced by a c i ical peda- gogy o li e a y eading enhanced by s uden s’ eading aloud and com- men ing on classma es’ esponses o he ex ega ding: gende issues, gen e, oice, hema ic link, pe iod and unc ion. A he ime, hei ead- ing o pleasu e made i easie o change he sequence o ac i i ies and s uden s we e immedia ely in oduced o exce p B (Uni Plan, S age 3 - Tex B, pp. iii-i ). Once again he lec u e eshu led he sequence o ac i i ies pa - ly d i en by s uden s’/ eade s’ cu iosi y, eage ness o unco e he ocalise ’s/Clegg’s singula na a i e, as well as hei e e -g owing in ol e- men wi h he wo lds o discou se and in e ac ion wi h he li e a y ex o a meaning ul pu pose. S uden s e idenced an abili y o make in e - ex ual connec ions d awing on backg ound knowledge, pe sonal expe- ience and ex ual ea u es. The mul imedia lab made i possible o build on he dynamic un olding o ac i i ies, pa icula ly a wo dis inc imes: lis ening/wa ch- ing some s uden s’ ideo aped eading aloud and accessing he CD ROM o look o key/un amilia wo ds o e ed in bo h exce p s. Con- cu en ly, lis ening and speaking could no be excluded om li e acy p ac ices in he class oom, namely a ocus be ween “o dina y con e - sa ional lis ening and li e a e lis ening”, o bo ow om James Cun- ningham’s ecen c i icism on he inc ease o he a ailabili y o books eco ded o lis ening, “ei he on ape o CD, including many mo e unab idged e sions” (2000, p. 64). Wi h ega ds o signi icance o lexical choice and g amma in con- ex , language lea ning and expanding lexis in con ex came up in a mo e na u al way in he sense ha he mul imedia se ing was no used ALCINA SOUSA Y DOMINIQUE COSTA 182 as a adi ional language lab in which phone ics and phonology a e p ac ised in a echnical way. S uden s had he chance o b oaden hei ho izons wi h espec s o un amilia se ings men ioned in bo h Tex s A and B while accessing o emo e places ( ia he Web), such as he Na u al His o y Museum (London), e e ed in Tex B. In he same line, “boa ding school” o e ed an ins ance o p omo e s uden s’ language/ cul u e in e ace o hey lea n lexis in con ex bea ing in mind lan- guage a bi a iness. The e e ence o “Pale Clouded Yellow”, an e ymological scien i - ic- ela ed ph ase, up o ha momen unknown o all s uden s, unex- pec edly led o o he con ex ual associa ed meanings in s uden s’ speak- ing and sha ing o hei indings. A e e ie ing and isualising he pic u e o his bu e ly on he In e ne , i s yellow colou became, in hei opinion, immedia ely associa ed wi h Mi anda’s hai –blond– also ela ed wi h Clegg’s desc ip ion o i –“pale, silky, like bu ne cocoons”. Wi h ega ds o his hobby, “obse a ions dia y” [i.e., his e ymological dia y] o e ed ano he associa ion wi h cocoon and bu e ly. Clegg’s idiosync a ic use o language p opelled he s uden s in o a whi lpool o associa ions, schema a and o me eadings in he same cou se (A Maggo had been s udied du ing he same semes e ). In he p ocess, s uden s came up wi h he possibili y o Tex s A and B belonging o Fowles’ The Collec o . CONCLUSION In his cou se, he English language was no seen as “ he o he ”, he o eign wi h uni e sal ca ego ies, o use he Foucauldian e minol- ogy, bu explained by i s simila i ies and di e ences om he s uden s’ mo he ongue. New dimensions came up in hese EFL sessions: s u- den s’ commi men o he asks, spi i o co-ope a ion, esponsibili y and ep esen a i i y, sha ed eading/lis ening imp o ed discou se compe ence while espec ing he o he ’s u n- aking. As a ma e o ac , esea ch skills/in e ne skills become, in his con ex , complemen a y o a whole language app oach, i no o ead- ing as an in eg a ed skill as we ha e shown in he cu en case s udy, o ollow Cunningham’s claim ha “in he u u e one is expec ed o ad oca e o pe o mance assessmen s o s uden and employee abili- ies o loca e and compile in o ma ion o a ious kinds om he in e - ne ” (2000, p. 64). BROADENING HORIZONS IN STYLISTICS: THE MULTIMEDIA LAB… 183 S uden s claimed, o ins ance, ha ia he In e ne hey “can ge aid quicke ”; “can access mo e in o ma ion in a sho e pe iod o ime… consul o he lib a ies and si es whe e… o he in o ma ion” can be ob ained. And hey igh ly concluded ha i is “mo e impo an o ou day li e… e y use ul o wo k wi h i in he cou ses” and, a e all, “no in a so bo ing con en ional manne ”. Consequen ly, he majo i y o s uden s could cope qui e well wi h he ac i i ies and asks ca ied ou in class and s a ed ha hey “only had o ollow he ins uc ions gi en by he eache ”. In ano he case i was s a ed ha i was e y easy o wo k in he mul imedia lab because o hei “ o me knowledge o he compu e ” as a wo king ool as well as being al eady “ amilia ised wi h in e ne and CD Rom sea ch”, con- side ed “essen ial [skills] o any s uden ”. So in case o di icul y o inaccessibili y he eache ’s ins uc ion, immedia e p omp ing igu e as an e e -p esen mo i a ing and humanising issue. 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