Written Communication Jul 1996

The Multivoiced Classroom

OLGA DYSTHE

Abstract

This article presents descriptions of and examples from qualitative case studies of 3 high school classrooms in Norway and the United States. The focus is on how classroom discourse and writing interact with each other and provide an important and unique instructional resource. The teachers in 2 of the classrooms consistently elicited, overtly valued, and helped develop student opinions and ideas. In this process, authentic questions and uptake were common, and a great diversity of voices was heard. Bakhtin's and Rommetveit's dialogical framework is used as the basis of analysis, as is Lotman's theory about the functional dualism of texts. The main argument is that the interaction of oral and written discourse increased dialogicality and multivoicedness and therefore provided more chances for students to learn than did talking or writing alone. In this way, the texts, both oral and written, were used to generate thoughts and opinions.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1996-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088396013003004
Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Karsten (2024)
    Voices in Dialogue: Taking Polyphony in Academic Writing Seriously
    Written Communication
  2. Higgs (2020)
    Digital Discourse in Classrooms: Language Arts Teachers’ Reported Perceptions a…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  3. Gilje (2010)
    Multimodal Redesign in Filmmaking Practices: An Inquiry of Young Filmmakers’ De…
    Written Communication
  4. Dysthe (2002)
    Professors as Mediators of Academic Text Cultures
    Written Communication
  5. Lunsford (2002)
    Contextualizing Toulmin's Model in the Writing Classroom
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (5)

  1. WITTE (1992)
    Context, Text, Intertext
    Written Communication
  2. Sweigart (1991)
    Classroom Talk, Knowledge Development, and Writing
    Research in the Teaching of English
  3. Nystrand et al. (1991)
    Instructional Discourse, Student Engagement, and Literature Achievement
    Research in the Teaching of English
  4. NEWELL et al. (1989)
    The Effects of Writing on Learning from Expository Text
    Written Communication
  5. Newell (1984)
    Learning from Writing in Two Content Areas: A Case Study/Protocol Analysis
    Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 4 works outside this index ↓
  1. Bakhtin, M. M.
    Formal method of literary scholarship
     ↗
  2. 10.3102/00346543064003463
     ↗
  3. 10.2753/RPO1061-0405260332
     ↗
  4. Mehan, H.
    Learning lessons
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 69 View in citation network →

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