English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
330 JOAN SWANNWhile transcripts allow a relatively detailed exam<strong>in</strong>ation of spoken language, they onlyprovide a partial record: thcy cannot faithfully reproduce evcry aspect of talk. Transcriberswill tend to pay attention to different aspects depend<strong>in</strong>g upon their <strong>in</strong>terests, which meansthat a transcript is already an <strong>in</strong>terpretation of the event it seeks to record. El<strong>in</strong>or Ochs, <strong>in</strong>a now classic account of ‘Transcription as theory’, suggests that ‘transcription is a selectiveprocess reflect<strong>in</strong>g theoretical goals and def<strong>in</strong>itions’ (1 979, p. 44). This po<strong>in</strong>t is illustratedby the sample layouts and transcription conventions discussed below.Transcription conventionsMany published transcripts, such as those cited elsewhere <strong>in</strong> this volume, use conventionsof written language such as punctuation <strong>in</strong> represent<strong>in</strong>g speech. But because written downspeech is not the same as writ<strong>in</strong>g it can be quite hard to punctuate.If you do wish to punctuate a transcript bear <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d that <strong>in</strong> so do<strong>in</strong>g you are giv<strong>in</strong>gthe speech a particular <strong>in</strong>terpretation. Compare the follow<strong>in</strong>g two methods of punctuat<strong>in</strong>ga teacher’s question(s):Now, th<strong>in</strong>k very carefully. What would happen if we cut one of those hollow balls <strong>in</strong>half? What would we f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong>side?Now, th<strong>in</strong>k very carefully what would happen if we cut one of those hollow balls <strong>in</strong>half. What would we f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong>side?Use of punctuation represents a trade-off between legibility and accessibility of the transcriptand what might be a premature and impressionistic analysis of the data. It is probably bestat least <strong>in</strong>itially to use as little conventional punctuation as possible. Several sets oftranscription conventions are available to <strong>in</strong>dicate features of spoken language. Some ofthese are highly detailed, allow<strong>in</strong>g transcribers to record <strong>in</strong>takes of breath, <strong>in</strong>creased volume,stress, syllable lengthen<strong>in</strong>g etc. (see, for <strong>in</strong>stance, Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson, 1974;Ochs, 1979). Such conventions are designed to produce accurate transcriptions, but thereis a danger that they will lend a mislead<strong>in</strong>g sense of scientific objectivity to the exercise.Rather than be<strong>in</strong>g ‘objectively identified’ such features of speech are likely to correspondto the transcriber’s <strong>in</strong>itial <strong>in</strong>terpretations of their data.Bear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d this caveat, Figure 20.2 illustrates a simple set of conventions fortranscrib<strong>in</strong>g spoken language.Further transcription conventions may be added if need be. Alternatively, as <strong>in</strong> Figure20.2, you can leave a wide marg<strong>in</strong> to comment on features such as loudness, whisper<strong>in</strong>g,or other noises that add to the mean<strong>in</strong>g of the talk (as with other aspects of transcriptionthese will necessarily be selective).In Figure 20.2 I have used an extract from field-notes to contextualise the transcript.In the transcript <strong>its</strong>elf, I have followed the frequently-uscd convention of referr<strong>in</strong>g to thespeakers simply as teacher and students. An alternative is to give speakers pseudonyms (seethe discussion of confidentiality under ‘Adopt<strong>in</strong>g a researcher stance’ above).The sequence<strong>in</strong> Figure 20.2 comes from an <strong>English</strong> lesson carried out with seven-year-old students <strong>in</strong> aschool <strong>in</strong> Moscow, <strong>in</strong> Russia. The students are be<strong>in</strong>g encouraged to rehearse certa<strong>in</strong>vocabulary and structures. The teacher addresses each student directly to ensure theycontribute and uses features such as humour (‘I’m like a tiger’) to further encourage thestudents. In this extract Student 2 seems unsure of how to respond to the teacher’s question(as <strong>in</strong>dicated by his hesitation). In an attempt to help, the teacher offers him suggestions for