High School Students Responding to Characters Languaging Actions for Reflecting on Enacting Trusting Relations

• In Event: Responding to Literature: Strategies to Raise Critical Consciousness

Abstract

People and characters employ different types of languaging actions (Bertau, 2014; Linell, 2009) to enact trusting relations with others (Linell & Markova, 2014). This study examined 12th grade students’ responses to prompts for reflecting on characters’ languaging actions for enacting trusting relations in Lord of the Flies and 1984. Students responses were coded based on six types of languaging actions: making truthful statements, being consistent in their actions, sharing alternative perspectives, labeling or excluding others, supporting or including others, and voicing emotions constituting trust. This report includes examples of students inferring connections between characters’ and their own languaging actions. These results suggests the value of students reflecting on connections between characters and their languaging actions for enacting trusting relations

Author

• Richard W. Beach, University of Minnesota