Complication

The main element of a narrative is the complication which describes a series of events

ending with a result or the resolution. The complication follows the orientation, and is often

told in the simple past, but also sometimes a speaker may use the historical present (Wolfson,

1976, 1982; Labov, 2013).

The conversational historical present (CHP), as Wolfson (1982) terms it, is always

seen in alternation with past tense forms and occurs only in performed narratives (see section

5.2.2.4 for a description of performativity in narratives) because direct speech is employed.

The storyteller decides (1) whether to use the CHP alternation or not, and (2) if using it, at

which point in the story to switch between the CHP and past. The function of the CHP

alternation is not only to act as a dramatic device, but to also organize the story into episodes

(Wolfson, ibid.). Use of the CHP alternation may aid students in following the storyline more

easily because the story episodes are clearly separated.

Returning to the role of the complication, Cortazzi (1993) claims that a complication

‘shows a turning point, a crisis or problem, or a series of these. At the very least, it must present an event of interest’ (p 46). This ‘event of interest’ is often referred to as ‘the most reportable event’ (Labov, 1997, 2013) and is the reason why the story is being told.

The simplest narrative contains only a complication; however, in my dataset this type

of narrative was not found among the four teachers. The simplest narrative found is one with

a complication and an evaluation (M-sensei and Mr. H) or an orientation and a complication

(Ms. L). All 97 TPNs include a complication. As mentioned in section 5.2, the complication

is a typical component of a TPN, and must always be present to be considered a narrative.

There are myriad examples of the complication to present from the database,

however, I have chosen two particular examples to discuss because they demonstrate how the

length of the complication may be related to student understanding. The first complication is

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5.2.4.1 Longer Complication, Lower-level Class

A fine example of a lengthy complication comes from J-sensei’s class. This TPN (see

appendix P for full transcript) takes place after the extensive reading activity and is told to the

whole class (see section 5.2.2.3 for Extract 5.5 (abstract) and section 5.2.3.1 for Extract 5.9

(orientation) of The Shinkansen).

Extract 5.12 (Complication 1: The Shinkansen, J-C-100212-2-2)

COM T so I went. (-) to Osaka. (-)

12

COM and (-) typhoon was there, (-) ((laughing))

13

COM the typhoon ((laughing)), (-) near Osaka

14

COM and ((laughing)) (-) I was going towa:rd the typhoon

15

COM but it was OK, it wasn't bad, (-)

16

COM >you know,< it was, (-) do::wn south (-)

17

COM like (-) ahh south of ahh (-) Kii Peninsula? (-)

18

COM Kii Hanto Kii Peninsula

19

COM so >it was< (-) quite far. (-)

20

COM so, (-) it wasn't, (-) too bad, (-)

21

COM but I went (-) and I gave a lecture? (-)

22

COM  .hh can you guess what kind of things

23

COM  I (-) talked about? (-) 24

COM  can you guess:? (-)

25

COM  what did I talk about. (-) 26

COM  to the teachers. (-) 27

COM  can you guess? (-) ((laughing)) (-) yes 28

COM S  ((makes a guess)) 29

COM T  .hhh it is important (-) then to 30

COM  read in English exactly 31

COM how did you guess? ((laughing)) (-)

32

COM .hhh I wonder how you guessed. (-)

33

COM .hhh OK so (-) I talked about extensive reading. (-)

34

COM yes:: (-) again, (-) ((laughing)) (-)

35

COM  so I go, (-) anywhere, (-)

36

COM  to promote extensive reading yeah (-)

37

COM  please come here (–)

38

COM  yes::

39

COM  I go, (-) $and I explain about$ extensive reading? (-)

40

COM  I do anywh- (-) I- I (-) I would go anywhere, (-)

41

COM  to do that. (-)

42

COM so I went to Osaka. (-)

43

COM a:nd? (-) a::hh (-) on the way ba::ck, (-)

44

COM I took >the shinkansen [bullet train],

45

COM the typhoon was,< (-) ahh

46

COM going toward the a (-) ea:st? (-)

47

COM >I think it was< (-) going toward (-) Nagoya, (-)

48

COM $area,$ ((laughing)) ok? (-)

49

COM but I had to, (-) go home. (-)

50

COM a::nd I took the shinka:nsen, (-)

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COM and a::h (-) it was moving, (-) ok? (-)

52

COM it wasn't bad (-)

53

COM and, (-) by the time we got to

54

COM ahh ahh a::hh (-) Maibara, (-)

55

COM ((laughing)) ah shinkansen stopped (-)

56

COM because, (-) the typhoon was, (-)

57

COM ahh now near ah Toyohashi? (-)

58

COM around that time? (-)

59

COM and then, (-) ahh between Kakegawa? (-)

60

COM and a::h (-) a:h what (-) a::h (-)

61

COM what was the n- name of the station, (-)

62

COM ah Mikaanjo ((laughing)) (-)

63

COM between Kakeyo and Mikaanjo, (-)

64

COM ahh the wind (-) was like 30 meters. (-) 30 meters. (-) 65

COM >you know< very strong wind, (-) very strong wind, (-) 66

COM so shinkansen stopped there. (-)

67

COM so that me:ans, (-) shinkansen

68

COM >all the< shinkansens (-) stopped (-)

69

COM in, (-) a:t station so (-) a- at Nagoya station

70

COM there were too: many (-) shinkansen (-)

71

COM that were staying there. (-)

72

COM so (-) no platforms. (-) ((laughing))

73

COM for new shinkansen to come in, (-)

74

COM yeah fo- no lines, (-) no lines. (-)

75

COM OK, so: (-) my shinkansen, (-) had to sta:y, (-)

76

COM at, (-) Maibara? (-) for two and a half hours. (-)

77

COM ((laughing)) two and a half hours I was, (-)

78

COM on the train, (-) shinkansen. (-)

79

In the complication, J-sensei is telling the story of her trip to Osaka to give a lecture on

extensive reading for in-service teachers. On the way back home, a typhoon hit Japan and

delayed her shinkansen [bullet train]. J-sensei has re-created her typhoon adventure and has

done so using mostly the simple past tense. It is suggested that in lines 38-39 J-sensei

employs the CHP when she says ‘Please come here’ and ‘Yes’ with an interesting use of the

simple present in lines 36-37 and 40-42 surrounding the dialogue. Before line 36 and after

line 42, the simple past was used which creates the CHP alternation feature of narratives.

The Shinkansen is one of the few TPNs in which a teacher attempts to involve students in the storytelling. This may be a multi-purpose teaching strategy: (1) to confirm

student comprehension of past knowledge, that is, to see if students remember J-sensei’s

teaching passion, which is to spread the importance of reading and (2) to break up a lengthy

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to involve students in her TPN. She asks them three times in lines 23, 25, and 28 ‘can you

guess’ as to why she was in Osaka. In line 28, her request is said in a dramatic whispered voice perhaps to make a plea to students. Finally, in line 29, a student (Takashi, one of the

student participants) makes a correct guess as seen in J-sensei’s approval in lines 30-31 with

confirmation in the word ‘exactly’.

In this TPN, the most reportable event is the fact that J-sensei is stuck on a

shinkansen for a long time; it is an unusual event in Japan as Japan’s shinkansen system is

known for being highly reliable in terms of time; therefore, it may come as a surprise for

students to hear that not only was J-sensei stuck in a typhoon, but that the shinkansen stopped

moving as well. That this is the most reportable event as opposed to the typhoon can be seen

because J-sensei mentions the shinkansen in several lines, 45, 51, 56, 67-69, 71, 74, 76, and

79. Her frequent repetition of ‘shinkansen’ and the fact that J-sensei does not substitute the

noun ‘shinkansen(s)’ for its personal pronoun ‘it’ or ‘them’ may suggest she is teaching a lower-level English class.

J-sensei’s use of repetition in this TPN is worth mentioning because she employs self-

repetition numerous times throughout the TPN. Repetition is seen in the following lines: 14

(typhoon, Osaka), 18 (south), 19 (Kii Hanto [Kii Peninsula], Kii Peninsula), 21 (it wasn’t too

bad), 25 and 28 (can you guess?), 33 (I wonder how you guessed), 65 (30 meters), 66 (very

strong wind), 75 (no lines), and 78 (two and a half hours). Most of these repetitions are key

facts about the story development and are perhaps said to dramatize the event. Other reasons

for using repetition were discussed in section 5.2.2.1.

5.2.4.2 Shorter Complication, Higher-level Class

The shorter example of a complication comes from Ms. L’s TPN, Buckeye State (see

appendix W for full transcript). This takes place during a class activity in which students are

learning facts about the different U.S. states. In this activity, Ms. L had a number of 25-cent

coins with different U.S. states represented on them. Students then chose a coin and based on

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in class using their smartphones or borrowed iPads from Ms. L to search for more information

about that U.S. state. As students report back to the whole class on their findings, this TPN is

shared. A student is talking about Ohio and its nickname being the Buckeye State. Ms. L asks

the student if she knows what a buckeye is. She replies negatively and this TPN begins, which

is said to the whole class.

Extract 5.13 (Complication 2: Buckeye State, L-C-100312-1-1)

COM T and my grandma- my grandfather used to carry one

14

COM in his pocket

15

COM and I said

16

COM grandpa what's that? (-)

17

COM wo:::w it's a buckeye (-)

18

COM what's that?

19

COM w- w::ell it's a nut from the tree:: in Ohio

20

Ms. L is recounting the moment in time when she learned what a buckeye was; for her, this is

the most reportable event. Lines 17-20 show the conversation between Ms. L and her

grandfather and is presented using the CHP alternation. Line 16 is said in the simple past,

whereas the dialogue is said in the historical present using direct speech which is a feature of

a performed narrative. By using ‘grandpa’ in line 17 instead of ‘grandfather’, Ms. L may be

implying that this conversation took place when she was a young girl since ‘grandpa’ is a title

more likely used by a young person than a grown adult. The use of ‘grandpa’ also makes the

story more immediate and personal. Also, Ms. L’s intonation rises significantly in line 17

when she says ‘grandpa’; she is attempting to sound like a young girl.

In contrast to J-sensei’s lengthy complication above, Ms. L’s complication is much

shorter possibly because her students are one year further along in their English studies, and

therefore, continual repetitions of the reportable event are unnecessary.

5.2.4.3 Summary

Summative observations of the complication are: (1) they are always present in a

TPN, (2) they contain the most reportable event, (3) they may vary in length suggesting

teachers consider the level of student comprehension (see section 8.6.2.1), and (4) the use of

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In document Teacher use of personal narratives in the Japanese university english language classroom (Page 130-135)