ANALYSIS 7.3.1 General scheme

Seliger and Shohamy (1989, p. 205)FRPPHQWLQJRQUHVHDUFKHUV·IRFXVLQTXDOLWDWLYH UHVHDUFKVD\¶7\SLFDORIDOOTXDOLWDWLYHDQDO\VHVLVWKDWDWGLIIHUHQWVWDJHVRIWKH DQDO\VLVWKHUHVHDUFKHUV««ORRNfor commonalities, regularities or patterns across WKHYDULRXVGDWDWH[WV·0LOHVDQG+XEHUPDQ(1994, p. 58) note that data can be analysed either deductively, starting with a theory or hypothesis and seeing how closely the data fits it, or inductively, starting with the data and allowing a pattern to emerge, which may indicate a hypothesis as to what generates the pattern. Theories regarding the factors that affect reading habits, and especially what might make learners enjoy reading, outside of the work of Day and Bamford, do not abound in the literature, so my approach to case study data gathering and analysis has been what Seliger and Shohamy, and Miles and Huberman, would describe as inductive, teasing out categories and commonalities in the data from which tendencies emerge,

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rather than initially imposing preconceived notions. To create as full a picture of the world of the learner/ reader as possible, I did not want to discard any facet that emerged from the surveys and particularly from the interviews.

The inductive nature of my study is in tune with the definition of grounded theory methods, which Charmaz (2000, p. 509) describes as using systematic inductive guidelines to build theoretical frameworks that explain the data. Charmaz also DFNQRZOHGJHVWKHUROHRIWKHSDUWLFLSDQWREVHUYHUZKHQVKHVD\V¶7KURXJKVKDULQJ the worlds of our subjects, we come to conjure an image of their constructions and of RXURZQ·(Charmaz, 2000, p. 529). I was aware that as a teacher and an avid reader I was not a neutral element in the interviews I held with the case studies, and

although I tried to appear non-­judgmental, and played down my teacher status in the classroom, I have to admit that my involvement may have been one reason for the fact that the case study group completed more surveys than any other group in the cohort.

7.3.2 Rationale for the analysis

Because the interviews I conducted with the case studies were semi-­structured and sometimes unstructured, and because I wanted to make them as informal as possible, it was impossible for me as an interviewer not to take into account in current

interviews what had happened and what had been said in previous interviews. In other words, an informal analysis process was ongoing throughout the data

JDWKHULQJLQOLQHZLWK0HUULDP·VHYDOXDWLYH paradigm, cited in McDonough and McDonough (1997, p. 206) although I did not attempt to analyse the data from the interviews immediately after each interview, but waited until the end of the twenty month study period to formalise the results, in order to acquire a clear overview. The data coding for the interYLHZWUDQVFULSWVZDVLQIRUPHGE\%DUNKXL]HQ·VDQDO\VLV RIOHDUQHUV·SHUFHSWLRQVRI(6/OHDUQLQJLQD6RXWK$IULFDQKLJKVFKRROGHVFULEHGLQ Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005, pp. 261-­265). It was also informed by Miles and

+XEHUPDQ·V(1994, p. 56) VXFFLQFWDGYLFHRQFRGLQJ¶FRGLQJLVDQDO\VLV·H[SODLQLQJ WKDWFRGHVDUH¶WDJVRUODEHOVIRUDVVLJQLQJXQLWVRIPHDQLQJWRWKHGHVFULSWLYHRI LQIHUHQWLDOLQIRUPDWLRQFRPSLOHGGXULQJDVWXG\·7KH\VXJJHVWFRGLQJEHHIIHFWHGE\

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DVVLJQLQJD¶ODUJHVXPPDULVLQJQRWDWLRQWRD¶FKXQN··ZKLFK,XQGHUVWDQGWREHD unit of analysis. These can be further sub-­divided according to interpretation as in %DUNKXL]HQ·VVWXG\+LVUDZPDWHULDOZDVFRPSRVLWLRQVZULWWHQE\WKHOHDUQHUVEXW the focus, as in my study, is RQSHUFHSWLRQVDQGKHDSSHDUVWRKDYHWDNHQD¶ERWWRP-­ XS·LQGXFWLYHDSSURDFKWRWKHDQDO\VLVVLPLODUWRWKHRQHLQP\VWXG\%DUNKXL]HQ initially coded his material according to the types of classroom activity the students were responding to;; for example, oral presentations, drama in the classroom, reading DORXG7KHQH[WOHYHORIFRGLQJH[SODLQHGLQ%DUNKXL]HQ·VHDUOLHUUHSRUWRIWKHVWXG\ was according to how much the respondents enjoyed the activity, how much they felt they learned English from it, and how useful it would be to them when they had finished school. Although my study focuses on attitudes towards reading rather than classroom activities, his coding method is a useful model as both studies are GHDOLQJLQOHDUQHUV·DWWLWXGHVUDWKHUWKDQ learner levels and achievements.

In my study I have used short sentences or phrases, as did Barkhuizen, as my unit of analysis. Each unit represents an aspect or theme in reading, sometimes with an opinion or attitude as a sub-­category. To show how I approached the analysis I give DQH[DPSOHRIWKHDQDO\VLVRIVRPH¶FKXQNV·RIGDWDWDNHQIURPDQLQWHUYLHZ

transcription.

Steve: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The writer is Robert Louis Stevenson. I read his poetry (CH-­

32(7,·PMXVWEHJLQQLQJWKLVERRN,GRQ·WNQRZLIWKHUHLVDPRYLH&+-­MOVIE). I like his poetry: (CH-­POET). I like the rhymes (CRIT-­/,.,OLNHLWLQ)UHQFKEXWLQ(QJOLVKLW·V GLIIHUHQW««,17(57(;7WKHZRUGVDUHQLFH&5,7-­LIK).

+HUH,KDYHFDWHJRULVHGFKXQNVRI6WHYH·VFRPPHQWVXVLng broad categorisation sometimes sub-­divided. CH indicates choice, a reason for choosing a text, and the first example of a sub-­categorisation, POET, gives a reason for his choice. The movie remark suggested that if there was a movie, it might influence 6WHYH·VFKRLFHKHQFH the categorisation CH-­MOVIE. Where he gives a reason for liking poetry, I have labelled his response as CRIT, as it showed critical judgement, as does his later statement that he liked the words in English as compared to the words in French.

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INTERTEXT indicates an example of intertextuality: I used this lable to indicate that the response had been modified by comparison with another text, which would suggest a level of critical appreciation.

Patterns in the codes

After re-­reading the transcriptions and coding them three times, to check for consistency, I began to see patterns in the codes, and it became easier to ascribe the initial codings to more abstract categories (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 58). These abstract categories could be dispersed along a continuum which stretched from the emotional (EMOT) to the cognitive (COG), with an analytical appreciation of the emotional response (CRIT) being somewhere in between, as can be seen in TABLE 7.1, which shows the interview reading responses in Term One 2007 according to EMOT, CRIT or COG categories. The response types reflect those that appeared in the results of the reading surveys. As with the reading surveys, these results provide indications of trends, rather than statistically significant figures.

Interview Reading responses T107 ranked in order of total responses

0 20 40 60 80

Suzie Sally Alice Steve Tommy

Nam es re s p o n s e t o ta l EMOT CRIT COG TOTAL

Figure 7.1 Interview reading responses in Term One 2007 according to EMOT, CRIT or COG categories.

7.4 THE CASE STUDIES

The cohort of 71 students in my study, described in Chapter Three, were divided into seven groups according to language level. I approached Group Three, because JD, the teacher, was interested in extensive reading and was prepared to

administrate, with my help, the extensive reading programme that I was proposing during Term One 2007. All eleven members of the class were invited to be case

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studies, and, understanding that this would mean extra conversation on a one to one basis with a native speaker of English, each individual expressed a willingness to help me. One of the case studies left the college after the first year. I continued to interview the remaining ten, but as the aim of this study was primarily to focus on a few subjects in depth, rather than doing a general study of a large population, having gathered the data, I decided to use the data from the five learners who had contributed most to the interviews, because they had read the most, and had made the most comments on what they had read. The consent forms they had signed when they did the first survey covered the research process that was involved. The table below introduces the case studies, ranked according to the number of books they each read in the first term. The names they appear under are not their real names.

NAME Age Nationality Books read in

Term One Suzie 18 Japanese 11 Sally 18 Japanese 9 Alice 18 Japanese 8 Steve 18 New Caledonian 6 Tommy 18 Japanese 5

Table 7.1 Case Studies showing age, nationality and the number of books each one read in Term One

7.4.1 The case study accounts

Yin and others agree that an overriding principle in data collection for case studies (and qualitative studies in general) is the use of multiple sources of evidence (Yin, 1994, p. 78), (Richardson, 2000, p. 934), (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 5). In my study, the data from the case studies have been collected in part from the surveys,

comments and library records described in Chapter Six, and in part from the

interviews with the case studies. These interviews were conducted generally during the class time otherwise dedicated to silent reading or autonomous learning, relying on the cooperation of teachers. As explained in the methodology, I tried to make the

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interviews as unstructured as possible, although especially at first, it was hard to DYRLGDVNLQJTXHVWLRQVEHFDXVHWKHUHVSRQGHQWV·UHODWLYHO\ORZOHYHORIODQJXDJH made it difficult for them to initiate conversation. Interviews were recorded,

transcribed and coded. My account of each case study includes the data from their surveys and library records, plus an account of the interviews with each one. I look at their similarities and differences in the discussion which follows.

7.4.2 Suzie SUZIE Reading in own language/ 24 Reading in English/24 Reading in College/24 TOTAL/72 Survey 1 15 19 17 51 Survey 2 16 20 17 53 Survey 3 22 23 24 69

Table 7.2 SUZIE: Survey Results showing Likert Scale totals SUZIE _Initial choice Reasons for enjoying Reasons for NOT enjoying