Blog #12 Research Essay (Final)

Topic: How reading influences foreign and native born children?

“There is no frigate like a book”.

                                  Emily Dickinson

            The process of preparing young children to read has to start from early years. 

It takes time, patience and skill. Through reading children learn to listen to become 

aware of words, and to develop vocabulary through explicit training of an alphabetic 

language and writing. Marilyn Adams states in her book Beginning To Read “ Faced 

with an alphabetic script, children’s levels of phonemic awareness on entering school 

may be the single most powerful determinant of their success-or failure-in learning 

to read” (p.54). Beginning to read to one’s own child states as I mentioned in the 

early years in a gradual way. “ Your child will be upset by work that seems to 

him/her to be too difficult, and he feels threatened with failure. He feels help-

lessness, despair and resentment toward you for demanding more than he can give” 

Ruth Edgington states in her book  Helping Children With Reading  (p.9). 

I did my research in two different heritage families one of them American and the 

other Russian. The purpose of my research was to find out differences and 

similarities between foreign and native born children in being read to and in reading.

 My research was based on evidence obtained from transcripts of two recorded

interviews. The interviews were held on different dates and times. I found this an 

interesting, useful and challenging project. Also I was glad to use my skills that I 

learned in the class. For example I passed a test and got a certificate from the 

National Institutes of Health (NIH). Without this test I would not have been able to 

do this research. It gave me a key for the role of an interviewer and a better 

understanding of the interviewees. The methods I used for the interview were 

discourse analysis and oral analysis. I observed and wrote from my point of view 

using my own techniques. The research answered the questions: “ How does 

reading influence two different heritage children? What values, roles and decisions 

have both families made in choosing literature for their children?”

             The two families I interviewed had some similar features: The parents 

in both families were college graduates. Each child had no other siblings. Both 

children were involved in higher education. Differences included American 

born parents and child, Russian born parents and child, as well as the sex of the 

children - Russian born girl and American born boy. I did the interview at my 

house on different dates. I knew these families well and I welcome them to 

make them feel comfortable. I used the same questions in the same order. 

The only difference was that I interviewed the Russian parent in her native 

language, since it was easier for her. I translated the Russian interview into 

English. Both interviews were clear and on topic I allowed the interviewees 

to speak without interrupting when they went a little bit off topic.

             In transcript I the parents are American. I knew that they were former 

teachers but during the interview I discovered that the father has a Masters 

degree. When I asked a question, the mother talked more about her back-

ground and her family. Her parents were not educated but her father was an 

intelligent person and wanted both girls to get a college education. This means 

that she deeply values the importance of education, and her experience as a 

teacher. She also said that despite her decision to have a career as a teacher, 

she “still wanted to be a mother”. Doing her work responsibly as a teacher, she 

spent all of her free time with her son while her husband was getting his 

Master’s degree and working during the weekend. She decided what to read to

her son and where to take him to stimulate his interest in reading and writing, 

“But it was only when he was ready”. She read for him whatever he wanted. 

She took him to the library where he picked the books. Once “ I was 

embarrassed, but then I was like wait a minute”. The embarrassing moment 

had happened while the librarian read a book to twenty children. He left the 

group and went to the shelves to choose a book.

          Her efforts to expose her son to sounds and words paid off. He 

became a “good writer” in  4^th grade. His favorite subject was history. She and 

her husband continued to stimulate his interest in history by visiting museums. 

“We used to take him to museums in Washington DC”. He struggled in math, 

“But he got fine”. Despite his weakness in math, he attended Rutgers, got

 his Bachelor’s degree and became a police officer.

            In transcript II where the parents are Russian, both parents have degrees 

in higher education. This mother grew up in a family where the parents did not 

pay much attention to her education. She learned to read on her own, “Nobody 

read for me but when I got older I liked to read adult books”. As soon as she 

became a mother, her husband decided what books to read to their daughter 

based on the books that were read to him. But when their daughter was little she

taught her poems. Also she states: “When she was 2 years old. she had so many 

books - basically children’s books, but she tore them”. Then “She easily took a 

book and would throw it”. I think it had happened because the books were not 

age appropriate, because the mother tried to teach her the alphabet too early. 

Ruth Edgington states: “ Your child will be upset by work that seems to

him/her to be too difficult, and he feels threatened with failure” (p. 9) . That 

maybe why she lost her interest in learning the alphabet. She also began to read 

from right to left, and had problems in recognizing letters in both languages. 

The girl brought books from the library and returned them without reading them. 

Then she had difficulties in school. Her problems were described by her mother

in these words: “It was boring”. Her efforts to get her daughter interested in 

reading seemed to produce few positive results.

 When she read to her preschool daughter, the daughter liked to draw. 

This is good because it is the first step in writing and it came naturally. This 

habit continued until elementary school, when her mother “forbade her to draw” 

because she had not started her homework. The mother admitted that was a 

mistake to prevent her from drawing. Perhaps the mother said this was a mistake 

because she was suppressing some artistic talent that her daughter was 

developing. Sometimes parents prevent children from expressing themselves 

and try to impose their will upon their children, watch them grow hold on but 

never to tight. This mother appears to have made three errors in trying to get her 

daughter interested in books: 1) not choosing age appropriate books; 2) pointing 

to letters when she wasn’t ready; 3) forbidding to draw while reading to her.

But in spite of all these mistakes she became a good reader, a good student and 

an adult who enjoys reading today.

            These two families had different ways guide their children to become 

good readers. The girl in the Russian family resisted her mother’s attempts but 

in the end she became a reader nevertheless. The boy in the American family 

responded positively to his mother’s efforts to get him to read and write. As 

his mother said, he became a good writer. I give her the credit because she had 

teaching responsibilities as well as parental and household responsibilities. 

In the Russian family I found that the mother, who was never read to as a child, 

was raised in an oppression and unpleasant political system found a way to get 

her daughter to become interested in books. That way was finally to bring books 

home and let her daughter explore them herself. In the end despite different 

ways to these children were exposed to books and despite the differences in 

how they responded they became readers who continued this habit into adulthood.

Appendix

The questions that I asked my interviewees were next:

1.      Did you read to your child?

2.      What were the values, roles and decisions you made about what to read to your child?

3.      What language did you use at home?

4.      In what language did you prefer to read to your child? Why?

5.      How old was your child when you read to him/her?

6.      What kind of books, stories did you read to your child?

7.      When did you read to your child? (morning, during the day or evening)

8.      Did the child prefer to be read to in a group or alone?

9.      How old was the child when you stopped reading for him/her?

10.  Did you notice reading ability in the child?

11.  Did he/she recognize any letters, words in the story?

12.  Was the child able to answer questions about the story?

13.  How did parental reading help the child to develop his/ her own reading skills and writing skills?

14.  Did he/she copy words from the book? When? While being read to or after?

15.  Was the child able to retell the story?

16.  What books or stories does your child recall that were read to him/her?

17.  Did reading to your child in your native language, help him/her to become proficient in English?    

Blog # 11 Research Project Essay (draft)

Topic: How reading influences foreign and native born children?

            Emily Dickinson stated: “ There is no frigate like a book”.

There is no nation without language. Language provides human uniqueness, 

priceless literature works - memoirs, romances, stories, science discoveries, 

historical succession and  save their culture. Use of the language will able to 

deepen our knowledge by reading different books and it is an invaluable treasure 

of particular nationality. Happy is that person who recognized, educated and

 admired language during all of his/ her life.

             My research paper focuses on interviews with two families of different 

heritage one of them American and the other Russian. It was an interesting project, 

because I was able to use skills that I learned in class. For example I passed a test 

and got a certificate from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).Without this test 

I wouldn’t be able to do this research. It gave me a key for interviewer and

better understanding of the interviewee. The methods I shall use the interview, 

discourse analysis and oral analysis. I observed and wrote from my point of view 

using my own techniques. This research is going to answer the questions: “ How 

does reading influence two different heritage children? What values, roles and 

decisions both families have made in choosing literature for their children?”

The two families I interviewed had some similar features: The parents in 

both families were college graduates. Each child had no other siblings. Both 

children have been involved in higher education. Differences include American 

born parents and child, Russian born parents and child, as well as the sex of the 

children. An American born boy and Russian born girl. I did the interviews at my

house on different dates. Even I know these families well, I welcome them to make 

them feel comfortable. I used the same questions in the same order. The only 

difference was that I interviewed the Russian parent in her native language, since 

it was easier for her. I translated the Russian interview into English. Both interviews 

were recorded to that I would not skip anything important. During each interview I 

asked questions that were clear and on topic and allowed the interviewees to speak 

without interrupting when they went a little bit off topic.

          The questions that I asked my interviewees were “ Did you read to your child? 

What were the values, roles and decisions you made about what to read to your
child? What language did you use at home? In what language did you prefer to read
to your child? Why? How old was your child when you read to him/her? What kind
of books, stories did you read to your child? When did you read to your child?
(morning, during the day or evening) Did the child prefer to be read to in a group or
alone? How old was the child when you stopped reading for him/her? Did you notice
reading ability in the child? Did he/she recognize any letters, words in the story?
Was the child able to answer questions about the story? How did parental reading
help the child to develop his/ her own reading skills and writing skills? Did he/she
copy words from the book? When? While being read to or after? Was the child able
to retell the story? What books or stories does your child recall that were read to
him/her? Did reading to your child in your native language, help him/her to become
proficient in English? These questions helped me to evaluate and reading readiness
in basically two different families and get valuable information about children’s
literacy. I was able to get relevant information on cultural influences, values and roles.

             In transcript I  the parents are American. I know that they are teachers. I
discovered during an interview that the father has a Masters degree. When I asked a
question, she talked more about her background and her family.  Her parents weren’t
educated but her father was intelligent person and wanted both girls to get a high
education. This means that she deeply values the importance of education, and her
experience as a teacher. She also said that despite her decision to education, she
“still wanted to be a mother”. Doing her work responsibly  she spent all of her free
time with her son because her husband was getting his Master’s degree and working
even during the “weekend”. She decided what to read to her son and where to
take him to stimulate his interest in reading and writing  “But it was only when he
was ready”. She read for him whatever he wanted, she took him to the library where
he picked the books and once “I was embarrassed, but then I was like wait a minute”.
It had happened while the librarian read a book for twenty children. He left the group
and went to the shelves to choose a book. Her efforts to expose her son to sounds
and words paid off. He became a “good writer” in elementary school. His favorite
subject was history. She and her husband continued to stimulate his interest in his-
tory by visiting museums “we used to take him to museums in Washington DC ”.
He struggled in math “But he got fine”. Despite his weakness, he attended Rutgers,
got his Bachelor’s degree and became a police officer.

In Transcript II where the parents are Russian, both parents have degrees
in higher education. Compared to the interviewer this mother grew up in a
family where the parents did not pay as much attention to her education. She
learned to read on her own “ Nobody read for me but when I got older I liked
to read adult books”. As soon as she became a mother, her husband decided 
what book to read to their daughter. But when their daughter was little she
taught her poems. When the daughter got older her husband remembered a
lot of books from his youth and he helped  his daughter and gave direction
on what to read. They immigrated to the United States of America nineteen
years ago. Their daughter was seven years old. When they immigrated the
struggles and frustration that she had in school in the beginning didn’t stop
her from getting to associates degree and continuing to work on her bachelor’s
degree in medicine. It was interesting that her mother attributed her difficulties
not to second language learning, but to her personality. 

             Analyzing these two families each of them had their own way to guide their
children to become a good readers. The girl in the Russian family resisted her
mother’s attempts but in the end became a reader never the less. The boy in the
American family responded positively to his mother efforts to get him to read and
write. As his mother said he became a good writer. In Russian family I founded that
mother from her background who was never read to as a child but find a way get her
daughter get interested in books. Despite the difficulties and getting her daughter to
read that her daughter is now enjoys reading.                   

   

               

  

Blog #10 Research Project Transcripts

Research paper

Topic: How reading influences foreign and native born children?

Transcript  1 ( interview with an American family)

S:  It was a pleasure to hear your family news and I want to congratulate both of you with on the birth of your first grandchild.

K: My son is Daniel-Michael and my grandson is Matthew. I like them both. My husband’s name Daniel too. He was Danny, now I call my husband Dan or honey it is most of the time, most of the time (laugh). It has to be that way.

S: . The same like in our family. The children have to see it. They do what they have to do and they liked  to copy like little sponges. They learned  manners, they said everything and hopefully in a good way. We worked hard.

K: The children are children. They do what they want to do. You can’t force them, when they’re ready for it they are ready. I taught  the 3 years olds. at the church. It was a preschool on Sunday. I taught the 4 years olds. I enjoyed the 4 years olds because of the words they said. We were moving back and forth, we celebrated their birthdays. We met at the church library, and there were books on the shelf staffed animals and some things on it, you know it we are human nature we can’t to be peculiar up to the full.

S:   They will investigate everything, all even the little things, they have to look at, they have to check what is it.

K: They look all the time, they think you are a text book.

S: So tell me please how your family were looking through education  and your child in it?

K: A typical long time to continue a child  that only we had him. I was working at that time I was a school teacher not retired because I volunteer with children, and I was associate that having a child, also we both were college graduates we had both own a house. My husband was junior and I was in the college. He was a history major and I went to Kean University and it was certainly for teaching they have you don’t have to declare a major or a minor  whatever you know. I was in the college of education, and graduated  Kean University in 1970.

S: It is interesting

K: Of course you know courses in college you do read a lot of books but being a general of elementary major it was an amazing.

S: How did you support your son to get into education?

K: I think he always knew that we wanted him to go to college. He really did want go. He felt that because we were college graduates and he was pursue it and fortunately that was a good thing. Now he got his job.

S: So he is a police officer, right? How he decided to be a police officer?

K: When he graduated from college in 2005. He finished at Rutgers University but they wouldn’t accept his math that was and that was the most difficult subject, but he got fine. When he got to college he really transferred  there because he said it was political science major and they didn’t have that at Rowan. His professor said that he will probably get more out from there. When he got to Rutgers they fit all. He had a good time. He worked also in the library and he wanted to work and got extra money.

S: It was nice story about your family. Now I would like to ask you next question: Did you read to your son?

K: Definitely

S: What were your values, role in deciding to read to your child?

K: I took him to the library, he was a young boy. He was interested in books and picked children books by himself. At home I had a big library and a lot of children’s books, but at that time for older children. Also I bought books for him when we went shopping.

S: Who read the books for him- you or your husband?

K: I basically read for him. I’d get a book for him put a note in it especially caring thing “Sesame Street” was popular then and he was watching. He was watching and he sounded. Disney stories were his favorite. He was very visual, he did enjoy television once in the week. He really as a young child loved history. We used to take him to museums in Washington DC. He liked it there. It is why when he got older that’s why he … he did well in history compared to math, science.

S: Did your son have a favorite topic that he wanted to read about?

K: He got what he liked. He read what he liked and my husband is that way. I was very of high major oriented I had a college education and still wanted to be a mother. I think from my background I know my mother shouldn’t be harm with that in that working, my father had a good job and unfortunately he dropped it, and she was forced to work at this time. We lived with my grandparents. My father actually was stay at home dad.

S: So your grandparents lived together with your family?

K: They had to wait until I was 5 y.o. and they were from my father’s side.

S: What language did you speak at home?

K: My parents spoke Slavish or Polish, my father was of Polish background, 

my mother was Slavonic, though both of them spoke only English. In our family 

definitely we spoke only English.

S: Did you read to your son in other languages beside English, for example in Spanish?

K:  I did prefer to read in English, although I took three years Spanish in high school, I could read and understand everything.

S: How old was your son when you began to read for him?

K: Probably he was a baby, it was tiny books. It was cotton books with a picture in it.

S: How often did you read to your child?

K: We read every night stories, also I did a lot with his prayers too. My husband worked sometime on the weekend. Later he went to get his masters. He was busy most of the time. Sometimes I took him to the library. It had a program for children, timer 2, timer 3. I took him when he was three years old and there were different children in it probably 20 children. The librarian was reading a book to them. I loved to read to my son as he looked at the words. When he was ready then you know reading readiness but it didn’t bother him like I won’t read this book. Some children are very curious it was preparation for reading. While the librarian was reading a book for the children he wouldn’t sit there, he got up and started looking through books and wouldn’t pay attention to her and I was embarrassed, but then I was like wait a minute.

S: What kind of books did you read for Daniel?

K: I read everything, the nursery rhymes, poetry, music books. It was records in the book and you turned the pages but it was record play.

S: What time did you prefer to read to your son in the morning, evening or during the day?

K: When he was little I read for him during the day, like a story time.

S: Did your child prefer to be read in a group or alone?

K: Well when he was very young he wouldn’t sit but when he got older he was able to sit and listen but I sent him to the preschool that we didn’t have with the group like what had happened in the library. He didn’t have difficult time.

S: How old was your son when he began read a books on his own?

K: In first grade. He was six years old. The larger images and of course words in the book. That’s how he learned. He sounded and they were in alphabetical order. He paid attention there. He picked up words very quickly. But he could compare one with the other. When we went to the church and there were books and he looked one after another and it was too helpful and you valued, comfort from that you know.

S: Did he recognize words in the story?

K: When we read a book he looked at the pictures in the book and recognized letters in the book. At a very young age just reading the book and we had a picture of the little boy in the rocking chair and it had a girl too to match it.We didn’t buy a girl we only bought a boy and he sees it and watching the book he began reading probably he was 4 y.o. We were in my mom’s house during Christmas. All he did by himself. The only thing he knows only alphabet and knows the sounds that could be.

S: Was the child able to answer a question about the story?

K: Yes he was good at that.

S: How did parental reading help the child to develop his/her own reading skills and writing skills?

K: Well I think he was an average to the row below on reading respect and we were thinking and Danny we looked at each other oh my God how it could be, this child should be he was mature it just like second grade. We never had problems with homework. He did it on his own. I could explain things to him you know.

S: Did he copy words from the book?

K: Yes, he was ready and we went to a Kindergarten and I was trying to push him like little earlier some writing or whatever. Then in a while he told me “Mommy I can write my name”. But it was only when he was ready. I think when somebody screams at one’s own child and he is not ready, it is not good.

S: Was the child able to retell the story?

K: He liked the stories and yes he was able to retell the story and used to go back to his construction building the farm with the legos.

S: What books does he remember from his childhood until today?

K: “Are you my mother?”; Eric Carl “ Very Hungry Caterpillar ”; “ Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?” and Disney stories. My son liked magnetic books like the classic he was able to create  stories. Actually when he was in elementary school he was a good writer. He did on history of English type, he liked to write stories. They had program in Woodbridge, the program how to teach your child to write and we had paper with “Humpty Dumpty” and he associated with soccer.

S: Did reading to your child help him to become literate?

K: Looking through his life and who is he today definitely he reached his goal and we are very happy  and proud parents.  

 

Research paper

Topic: How reading influences foreign and native born children?

Transcript  2( interview with Russian family)

L: OK Did you read for your child, when she was little?

O: Yes, my husband read, when he wasn’t at home I did. When we read a book for our daughter she couldn’t  sit for too long.

L: Did you take the books at the library or buy them at the store?

O: At home we had our own library but sometime we bought them at the store. I liked to say to my daughter, ” When you will not read children books in childhood you will not have time to read them later.”

Now she likes to read, I can offer a book for her to read or give advice.

L:  In what language?

O:  English. In Russian she is able to express herself, but in reading she can read very little, probably only a title. When she is watching Russian movies, she understands everything. Since she is working at the medical office, where most employees Russian her Russian colloquial language is better. 

L: What parental values, roles did you follow in deciding to read to your daughter?

O: Father decided what to read, because he read a lot of books in his youth.

L: Who read books for you when you were a child?

O: Nobody read for me, but when I got older I liked to read adult books. Such as children literature I didn’t know. Particularly I liked books about the war and partisan. I couldn’t stop reading until I finished that book. I read all books about partisan. When I was little I told my mom when I will be grown up I will be a partisan. Then she asked me “ You will be partisan during the war, who are you going to be when war ends?” Then I was thinking. At school I liked to read books and read all books that were given by the program.

L: What books did you read at school?

O: “ War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy, but really I didn’t like it. The best I liked A.P. Chehov , he wrote very funny stories, then F. Dostoyevsky “Crime and Punishment”, “Brothers Karamazov”. Our daughter watched movies in Russian version but if its in English she could understand more. Now I like to read religious literature, like Protestant and Orthodox, then I meditate them on religious base.

L: How about partisan books? Do you like to read them today or did that chang?

O: Yes it changed. When I came to the USA  I  xeroxed a Russian autor, Dariya Dontsova and read all of it. Later I read in English the author G. Malo “Without Family”, then short stories by  O Henry.  I can’t live without books we grow when we read and our spiritual side increases. When somebody suggested to me to read a book and that book didn’t satisfy me spiritually I just stopped reading it. I like to read philosophical books because they are useful.

L: What language do you speak at home?

O: When we came to the United States of America we spoke in Russian, but then when our daughter went to school we began to talk in English.

L: Did your daughter have friends?

O: Yes she had a lot  and they were American and Russian friends. They  talk to each other in English. She is very friendly.

L: In what language did you prefer to read to your daughter in Russian or in English? 

O: First we read in Russian, because we wanted her to use right diction, build phonetics and use right speech. If she knows two languages it is two languages. Why does she do have to lose what she has. Everything is useful. Good skills of one language, it is skills of two, then three languages.

L: How old was your daughter when you began to read to her?

O: She was 3 y.o. Before that we showed her only pictures and told her about the pictures. When she was 2 y.o. she had so many books - basically children’s books, but she tore them. This problem we solved together by fixing them because I wanted her to forget about this habit. She easily took a book and would throw it.

L: When did you read the books for your daughter - during the day, evening, one time, 

two times in the week?

O: We read to her every day.

L: What kind of books did you read? For example like you mentioned before poems by A. Barto, S.Marshak

O: When she was little we read these poems, fairytales and books about animals. When she got older we read  more serious books but not  fairytales. I read  fairytales but not that often. Books we read for her could have 50-60 pages, I read everyday just several pages and it was during the evening.

L: Did your child prefer to be read to in a group or alone?

O: Our daughter had a hard time when we came to the USA and she didn’t like school.

L: Maybe because of her English language?

O: No, it was her personality. She finished second grade, and her learning skills were a little bit 

higher than other children and she lost interest. It was boring.

L: How old was your daughter when you stopped reading to her?

O: Independently she began to read books when she turned 18 y.o.. Before she didn’t like to read

L: She didn’t like taking out books from the library?

O: Yes she did, she brought them home and then took them back to the library. She never read them.

L: How did you notice reading ability in your child?

O: She didn’t like to read. Then I gave advice what books to read, and she always asked me what the book is about? I gave her short summaries, maybe I wasn’t right but … I gave her direction because books were different. They were about detective, classic and comedy. I was trying to help her but sometime it didn’t work. Later I just brought books to read at home and when my daughter asked me what the books were about, I didn’t answer then she just looked at the books and she began to read them. Now she reads a lot of books- romance, foreign literature for example A. Chechov or F. Dostoyevsky. There is a great contrast between her past and present readings.

L: Did she recognize letters or words in the story?

O: No she didn’t, because she was only listening. When I asked her something about the book right away she lost her interest. Then in a while when she was at school we had a problem. She began to read  words from right side to the left, and mess up with the letters ( б-д; х-ф;(b-d; h-ph) ) in English language (g-d).

L: Was your child able to answer questions about the story?

O: At the end of reading I could ask her ”Did you like this story?” And while reading if she didn’t understand something or just because of her curiosity she could ask ” Why?” Definitely when I asked her questions about the story she was able to answer them because she had a good memory.

L: How did your reading to your daughter helped her in her future reading and writing?

O: I think it did help her. When she is buying presents for children of her friends it is always books. I think  it will stay forever. Family reading will always associate with “Quality time”. Not only this factor influenced her future reading and writing but also responsibility to the family. For example if she had her own business in her daily life she was able to leave everything just because we had family dinner. For me it was very important and I was glad.

L: Did she write or copy letters from the book?

O: No, but she was able to draw a picture after reading. I made a mistake then, when she was little and began drawing but didn’t like to do her homework. I forbade her to draw until her homework was done. Later she stopped drawing.

L: Was she able to retell the story?

O: Yes she could. Poems she memorized since she was 3 y.o.

L: What books she can recall from her childhood?

O: Oh, honestly I can’t say anything about children’s literature, because it was in Russian and then we moved to the US and to the English language…

L: Does she remember any books in English?

O: When we came to the USA she was 7 y.o. Since then she is able to recite all poems, and she did write her own poems.

L: It means that she got something from your readings, which is valuable and priceless.

O: She likes more technical than the humanities subjects, for example math is her favorite subject.

L: Did reading in Russian help her in the college then in university?

O: Yes it did help her. We were able to give her more in Russian than in English. In the college sometime she argue with the professor and she is the best student in the class. We like a lot to argue with her in Russian but then she automatically interprets in English and she understand correct English and Russian and it is very important. If she doesn’t understand some phrase in Russian she will repeat one’s question in English and I’m able to do this. In English she does understand everything. She likes to argue with the professor. For example the professor said that women are less competent than men. She replied that  she disagrees with it and it is not all women are less competent then a men and the same way for the men. The professor agreed with her. I told her, “Don’t do this anymore because you will get a low grade if you will argue with the professor”, and she answered “No mom he is a good professor, I had another professor. I would not argue because I was afraid “. I told her not always to say your point of view even if you don’t like it, just don’t argue. She is very friendly and has many friends. When we are in the store she meets them, when we are outside the same. She is respectful to all her friends and that is her personality. We have to devote our time to our friends too.

L: I am very grateful for your time, and wish all the best for your daughter and family.

       

Discourse Analysis Essay Final

   Svitlana Chaykivska

   Dr. S. Chandler

   English 3029

   04/18/2012

Discourse Analysis Essay “Chat Room”

            One of the method of research analysis is the discourse analysis method 

which gives an opportunity to evaluate dialogue in a meaningful way. Everyone 

who analyzes a transcript will reach conclusions based on his/her own perspec-

tive. By analyzing an interview one can learn much about the interviewee and 

something about the interviewer. I found that “Chat Room” is an interesting, 

challenging and funny transcript. An interviewee talks about her life experien-

ces using technology. Person A  the interviewee tells person S the interviewer 

that her technology experiences began in 5^th grade when she and her friends 

would “ go in chat rooms and chat…, exchange pictures with people that lived 

in our area that was our age…” This type of activity continued through high 

school.

           I shall discuss in my Discourse Analysis essay the question: How does 

person A grow through her experiences, positive and negative, by using tech-

nology, language and her social life skills? The conversation between person 

S and person A goes from one topic to another, from the unfamiliar and “scary” 

to the unusual and funny in excerpt two. Person A shows that she is humorous, 

friendly, curious, more knowledgeable about computer use, protective of sib-

lings, trusting, yet afraid in excerpt one. Also I found that person S, had a good 

strategy, using questions, comments and humor made Person A feel comfort-

able and confident “ we’ll be careful if we publish this(laughing)”, “oh you did 

(laughing)you did”.

           In the transcript “ Chat Room” person A tells the interviewer about her 

first experience with technology called “web tv”. This statement shows it was 

long time ago probably in nineties. Also as I mentioned it began in 5^th grade 

and continued to high school. During these years person A developed her tech-

nology skills. In the family nobody but she was able to understand “web tv”. The 

interviewee was able to “check email and also chat strangers’, which shows that 

person A was brave enough to explore, yet it “was dangerous cause I think I talk-

ed to a pedophile”. The absence of parental controls gave her more freedom 

“ My parents didn’t know how to put restrictions, they weren’t too familiar with 

it”. Yet she was scared. In 5^th grade she gave a stranger her “phone number” while 

chatting. Then when he called she “hung up”. What made her to do this? It shows

that person A was curious and she wanted to find out what is going to happen. 

But, “… as soon as I heard a deep voice I was like, that is not a kid…, I’m wearing

pajamas – bye”. She was frightened because she said that “ Oh my gosh, he’s going 

to find where I live, my mom’s going to kill me, so I didn’t go on WebTv for a long 

time”. However, looking through her experiences nobody and nothing could stop 

her from exploring technology further in both excerpts. This shows that she was 

courageous. Her negative experience partially changed the way she used  in life. 

She became more knowledgeable, less frightened at the end of excerpt one. She 

was “careful” and able to control her siblings. Person A said “… when my sister

started going online I would check up on who she’s talking to, I would look over, 

I would check the history, see what websites she went on”.

           Person A continued growing in her use of technology in middle school and 

high school “by that time I was able to email who ever I wanted, and research, very 

familiar with the internet”.

           In excerpt two person A shows her big improvement in continuing to develop 

her computer use skills and social skills by going into chat rooms to “chat with our 

friends, exchange pictures with people that lived in our area that was our age.” But 

did she remember her old story that caused her to see the danger in chat rooms? 

Her “adventure with technology” in excerpt two, shows that she did not consider this

to be as dangerous as she did in excerpt one. She willingly sent pictures to her friends. 

Then she sent a picture to a stranger. If this had not happened to be her pastor’s son 

who recognized the photo, this could have been very dangerous. In the end of excerpt 

two person A admitted that it “…was a weird story” which both she  and interviewer

turned humorous. Her chat room experiences show that she developed from a naïve 

to a more knowledgeable participant. She could handle danger lurking in cyberspace 

more easily.   

Blog #9 DA Draft

Svitlana Chaykivska

Dr. S. Chandler

Eng. 3029

03/28/2012

           

Discourse Analysis Essay  “ Chat Room “

I understand Discourse Analysis to be one of the methods of research analysis,

built on true stories or events. Everybody has the same opportunity to examine the 

same discourse and reach his or her own conclusion on its meaning. The Chat Room 

is a very interesting transcript, composed of two excerpts in which a conversation is 

developed between two people with different points of view and age. It takes place in 

a chat room where person A tells about her childhood experiences using the computer.

           I shall discuss in my Discourse Analysis essay the question: How does person A 

grow through her experiences, positive and negative, by using technology, language 

and her social life skills? The conversation between person S and person A goes from 

one topic to another, from the unfamiliar and “scary” to the unusual and funny in 

excerpt two. Person A shows that she is humorous, friendly, curious, more know-

ledgeable about computer use, protective of siblings, trusting, yet afraid in excerpt 1.

           Person A shows her enthusiasm as a child with what she could do with techno-

logy, when she says “ I loved it – I loved it because when I discovered what AOL 

was…” She also recognizes now the dangers that technology can present. She also 

tells the interviewer that she realized how dangerous misuse of technology by a 

child could be. As a fifth grade student she was able to check e-mail and chat with 

strangers. These statements prove that person A was curious but afraid. Person A 

was brave enough to talk to strangers and even gave telephone number to a possible

pedophile. When the person called, fear struck her and she “hung up”. The realization 

that what was so dangerous that she kept this incident to herself for many years. She 

didn’t tell parents what had happened and she “didn’t go on WebTv for a long time”. 

During her interview person A mentioned four times the word “dangerous” and three 

times the word “scary”. This underlines that a person A is the fear that she had and 

realization that one must be must be careful in the use of technology.         

           At the end of excerpt one person A admitted how frightened she was. This 

caused her to become strict with her younger sister and brothers. Her awareness of 

the danger that she faced and that her siblings could face resulted in her becoming 

more knowledgeable in the use of technology. Her story show a development from 

the naïve to the more knowledgeable. Person A continued growing in high school.   

She became more literate than she was before “ I was able to email who ever I 

wanted, and research, very familiar with the internet.”

           In excerpt two person A shows her big improvement in continuing to develop 

her computer use skills and social skills by going into chat rooms to “chat with our 

friends, exchange pictures with people that  lived in our area that was our age.” But 

did she remember her old story that caused her to see the danger in chat rooms? Her 

“adventure with technology” in excerpt two, shows that she did not remember. She 

willingly sent a pictures to her friends. Then she sent a picture to a stranger. If this 

had not happened to be her pastor’s son  will not recognized the photo, this could 

have been very dangerous.

 The two excerpts show that person A made progress in computer skills. 

She did not learn to use the computer responsibly. No matter how great your 

computer skills are, you need to use the computer responsibly, because of the danger 

lurk in cyberspace.

Blog 8 Visual analysis

What methodology do Farrell, Azipe and McAdam use in their study? What methods? How did their assumptions shape their research finddings? Why is or isn't this a valid study?

     Using the book "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan researchers Farrell, Arizpe and McAdam observed, collected data and analysed how immigrant and non-immigrant children construct meaning from visual images. Thus immigrant children had difficulties in expressing themselves in writing. For example, when pictures from
"The Arrival" book were shown to both an immigrant and non-immigrant child the immigrant child showed his ability to respond to them based on his/her own life experience, where as the non-immgrant child did not.
     By doing this experiment researchers used annotated spreads as a method to decode strategies of visual analysis used by both immigrant and no-immagrant children. the researchers concluded that the differences between these children is that the immigrant child was able to respond because of his/her own life experiences. Annotated spreads were composed of four categories: experiential, interpersonal, compositional and interpretive.
     I think researchers did a valid study even though they recognized that their research is a work in progress and needs to be fine tuned. Their approach gave valuable explanations, answers, clues to how children constract meaning from visual image. It will help them to develop critical literacy skills.    

Blog 7 Discourse Analysis project

Svitlana Chaykivska

Dr. S. Chandler

Eng. 3029

03/28/2012

           

Discourse Analysis Essay  “ Chat Room “

I understand Discourse Analysis to be one of the methods of research analysis, 

built on true stories or events. Everybody has the same opportunity to examine the same discourse and reach his or her own conclusion on its meaning. The Chat Room is a very interesting transcript, composed of two excerpts in which a conversation is developed between two people with different points of view and age. It takes place in a chat room where person A tells about her childhood experiences using the computer.

            I shall discuss in my Discourse Analysis essay the question: How does person 

A grow through her experiences, positive and negative, by using technology, 

language and her social life skills? The conversation between person S and person 

A goes from one topic to another, from the unfamiliar and “scary” to the unusual 

and funny in excerpt two. Person A shows that she is humorous, friendly, curious, 

more knowledgeable about computer use, protective of siblings, trusting, yet afraid 

in excerpt 1.

            Person A shows her enthusiasm as a child with what she could do with 

technology, when she says “ I loved it – I loved it because when I discovered 

what AOL was…” She also recognizes now the dangers that technology can 

present. She also tells the interviewer that she realized how dangerous misuse 

of technology by a child could be. As a fifth grade student she was able to 

check e-mail and chat with strangers. These statements prove that person A 

was curious but afraid. Person A was brave enough to talk to strangers and 

even gave telephone number to a possible pedophile. When the person called, 

fear struck her and she “hung up”. The realization that what was so dangerous 

that she kept this incident to herself for many years. She didn’t tell parents 

what had happened and she “didn’t go on WebTv for a long time”. During 

her interview person A mentioned four times the word “dangerous” and three 

times the word “scary”. This underlines that a person A is the fear that she 

had and realization that one must be must be careful in the use of technology.         

            At the end of excerpt one person A admitted how frightened she was. 

This caused her to become strict with her younger sister and brothers. Her 

awareness of the danger that she faced and that her siblings could face resulted 

in her becoming more knowledgeable in the use of technology. Her story show 

a development from the naïve to the more knowledgeable. Person A continued 

growing in high school.  She became more literate than she was before “ I was 

able to email who ever I wanted, and research, very familiar with the internet.”

            In excerpt two person A shows her big improvement in continuing to 

develop her computer use skills and social skills by going into chat rooms to 

“chat with our friends, exchange pictures with people that  lived in our area that 

was our age.” But did she remember her old story that caused her to see the 

danger in chat rooms? Her “adventure with technology” in excerpt two, shows 

that she did not remember. She willingly sent a pictures to her friends. Then 

she sent a picture to a stranger. If this had not happened to be her pastor’s son   

will not recognized the photo, this could have been very dangerous.

The two excerpts show that person A made progress in computer skills.

She did not learn to use the computer responsibly. No matter how great your 

computer skills are, you need to use the computer responsibly, because of the 

danger lurk in cyberspace.