| This study was a four-month ethnographic investigation of the learning processes of four practicing middle school teachers, three veterans and one novice, as they participated in a Study Group and associated experiences designed to teach a new approach to second language reading pedagogy based on aspects of functional linguistic text analysis. The approach is called Information Model Construction (IMC). The research question was How do teachers construct their understandings of discourse-based text analysis and apply them to second language reading instruction? Data included transcripts of Study Group Sessions and teacher interviews, teacher journals, and researcher journal and classroom observations.; The two-level data analysis focused on the non-obligatory teacher narratives told during Study Group Sessions. Narratives were identified according to William Labov's criteria and others specific to the study. Narrative analysis was accomplished using a framework combining (1) sociolinguist James Gee's concept of Discourses or systems of shared culture, (2) sociologist Erving Goffmann's concept of Principalship as a type of authorial stance, and (3) anthropologist James Spradley's technique of domain analysis. The aim was to establish whether or not the teachers learned IMC, with learning represented as the move to a new Discourse. "Principals," or Discourse identities, were determined using the techniques of Michael Halliday's systemic functional grammar. "Cultural Themes," or the cultural tools of Discourses, were established through domain analysis. Triangulation was carried out using researcher notes and the other categories of teacher discourse.; Study results show a developmental continuum among the four participants. One teacher was an Early Learner, one was a Late Learner, and two were Mixed Learners. Specific differences emerged in grasp of linguistic theory, understanding of second language reading processes, choice of classroom techniques for applying IMC, and success with IMC in the classroom.; The central implication of this study is twofold: (1) professional education and experience are powerful influences on a teacher's ability to accept and apply new information about language teaching and teach second language readers effectively; (2) teacher education in second language reading pedagogy would benefit from emphasis on the student's need for continuing language development at the level of lexicogrammar. |
