Module 6: Culture as Communication

In this module we explore the dynamics of classroom life. How students and teachers participate and perform in routine interactional classroom activities are studied. I take the position, as did the Civil Rights Commission in 1974, that the "heart" of teaching and learning, of the education of all students, lies on the quality of interaction between teachers and students, and between students with other students.

Therefore, to study the dynamics of classroom life requires an underlying theory of communication. Edward T. Hall (author of The Hidden Dimension, The Silent Language, the Dance of life) proposes that "culture is related to communication" (1959). So if we are to study the dynamics of the classroom, then Hall's perspective on culture seems very appropriate. Culture is viewed essentially as communication, communication between people and their social and physical environment. Such communication is tempered with learned and shared, explicit and implicit rules for perceiving, believing, evaluating, and acting" (Carrasco, 1984, 1994; Carrasco et al, 1992)."

With this definition we can obtain a conception of cultural or communicative competence as the requisite skills, abilities, and knowledge necessary for effective participation in a given community, school, and classroom.

Therefore, the questions the culture researcher asks are based on "what participants must know and do in order to act acceptably and appropriately with each other in school and community contexts."

What are the rules for participation in the classroom? How do students get the teacher's attention? How is reading conducted? How are the rules for participation learned and acquired? What are the social expectations or the etiquette of the classroom? How is language used in bilingual classrooms? What languages are used? How do teachers communicate with parents? What are the sociolinguistic patterns of discourse between teachers and students?

Interaction is more than just "talk, discourse, speech;" it also includes nonverbal communication. Many researchers have claimed that perhaps 90% of face-to-face interaction relies on non-verbal cues, e.g., backchanneling, gesticulations, eye gazes, paralinguistics, postural configurations (for example, how you are expected to sit during a reading lesson), and body and verbal rhythms. Non-verbal communication includes the physical use of space and territoriality, our senses such as olfactory (smelling), thermal (touching/tactile), seeing and not seeing, hearing/listening, tasting, and others.

In this module we begin with an overview of some theories of communication and then we explore the dynamics of classroom life using these theories. It is important to note that you will only be introduced to a few areas of communication theory. For further study I would recommend a courses in the "ethnography of communication" and/or "sociolinguistics in the classroom or classroom discourse."

Objectives:
To become familiar with communication theory
To explore "culture as communication" in the classroom
To learn about classroom interaction theory
To explore the dynamics of classroom life in multicultural contexts
To explore ways of communicating with parents

Topics

This module is divided into 4 topics. To complete this Module successfully, please complete the topics in the order shown below:

1. General Communication Theory
2. Communication in Educational Settings
3. Carrasco's Case Studies in BL/ESL Classroom
4. Communication with Parents and Parental Involvement

Go on to Module 7: Youth Gangs in the Schools
or
Go back to Cultural Component of Bilingual and ESL Instruction