The Use of Contrastive Analysis in Code-Switching from Appalachian English Dialect to Standard ...

221 Pages·2016·13.77 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and
Curriculum and Instruction
Instruction
2015
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Shayla D. Mettille
University of Kentucky, [email protected]
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Mettille, Shayla D., "The Use of Contrastive Analysis in Code-Switching from Appalachian English Dialect
to Standard English Dialect" (2015). Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction. 13.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edc_etds/13
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The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on
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Shayla D. Mettille, Student
Dr. Mary C. Shake, Major Professor
Dr. Mary C. Shake, Director of Graduate Studies
THE USE OF CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS IN CODE-SWITCHING FROM
APPALACHIAN ENGLISH DIALECT TO STANDARD ENGLISH DIALECT

_______________________________
DISSERTATION
_______________________________

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
The degree of Doctor of Education in the
College of Education
at the University of Kentucky

By
Shayla Damron Mettille

Lexington, Kentucky

Director: Dr. Mary C. Shake, Professor of Literacy Education

Lexington, Kentucky

2015

Copyright © Shayla Damron Mettille 2015
ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION

THE USE OF CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS IN CODE-SWITCHING FROM
APPALACHIAN ENGLISH DIALECT TO STANDARD ENGLISH DIALECT

This study examined the use of an intervention, Contrastive Analysis (CA), with
fourth-graders’ writing in a Central Appalachian elementary school. The purpose was to
improve the use of Standard English in students’ writing in Appalachia by decreasing the
number of vernacular features typically used in the writing. The researcher collected data
through Consent and Assent Forms, interviews with the fourth-grade teacher, classroom
observations and an accompanying CA observation evaluation rubric, pre- and post-
writing prompts, selected writings and Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS), as well as
communication data. Data analysis was accomplished for both the prompts, writing
pieces and the WSPS scores.
The primary results of the study indicated that the students’ use of vernacular
features did in fact decrease after the implementation of CA. An approach that takes into
account the vernacular or nonstandard dialect from the home speech of children, CA is
utilized to help them perform better in writing in school. The CA approach has been used
successfully with African American students primarily in large urban areas. The research
results indicate that lessons from CA may be “customized” and used successfully with
students who are speakers of Appalachian English. During the eleven-week study, the
fourth-grade teacher implemented the intervention and a fifth-grade teacher also led a
non-intervention group. A comparative analysis was done to determine whether
membership in the fourth grade intervention group was a significant factor in lowering
non-standard features in writing.
This was a descriptive case study. At the beginning and end of the study, teachers
of the fourth- and fifth-grade groups administered pre- and post-tests to their respective
groups in the form of writing prompts. The researcher and a second reader did vernacular
counts of the writings of both groups. A comparative analysis of the frequency of
vernacular features (VFs) in the writing of the fourth-grade group showed decreases
greater than the fifth-grade group in three of four categories of vernacular features in
writing. The categories were: regularization of past-tense verbs, multiple negation,
subject/verb agreement, and pronominal difference. There was only a 1% greater
decrease of VFs for the fifth grade in the fourth category. A scale of self-efficacy in
writing, the Writer’s Self-Perception Scale (WSPS), was also administered by the
teachers pre- and post-study to both groups of students. The difference between the
fourth- and fifth-grade pre- and post-WSPS scores was not statistically significant.
The findings of the study are important because they show that the use of the CA
approach, when used with students from the Appalachian subculture who are speakers of
Appalachian English, does make a difference in their rate of usage of Standard English in
writing.

KEYWORDS: Contrastive Analysis, Code-switching, Dialect, Appalachian English,
Standard English

Author’s Signature: Shayla Damron Mettille

Date: ___________________________July 7, 2015
THE USE OF CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS IN CODE-SWITCHING FROM
APPALACHIAN ENGLISH DIALECT TO STANDARD ENGLISH DIALECT

By

Shayla Damron Mettille

Director of Dissertation: Dr. Mary C. Shake
Director of Graduate Studies: Dr. Mary C. Shake
Date: July 7, 2015
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, the late Jesse James Damron and Ernestine
Stewart Damron, who instilled in my siblings and me a love for learning.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of the following dissertation would not have been possible had it
not been for the assistance and insightfulness of several people. First, I would like to
express my appreciation to Dr. Mary C. Shake, the Chair of my Dissertation Committee.
Throughout the dissertation process, she has inspired me to continue in the quest of this
scholarly work. Next, I would like to thank the Dissertation Committee and outside
reader, respectively: Dr. Mary Shake, Dr. Susan Cantrell, Dr. Sharon Brennan, Dr. Alan
DeYoung, Dr. Rusty Barrett, and Dr. Amy Gaffney. Each person in the committee has
been very supportive of me and my endeavor as they shared information from their
respective areas of expertise.
In addition, I wish to thank the administrative staff in the Department of
Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, for their invaluable assistance, as well
as those of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky.
Completing a task such as the dissertation would not have been possible without
generous assistance from family, friends, and colleagues, as well. My husband, John L.
Mettille, Jr., sustained an interest and supportive influence on this long-term effort. Jesse
Edward Mettille, John L. Mettille, III, and Joseph Peter Mettille, our three sons, provided
ongoing encouragement and support during my graduate work. Jesse Mettille, a teacher
and intervention specialist, was an excellent resource; John III, a doctoral candidate, was
a source of academic support; Joseph, too, was encouraging. Also, I would like to thank
Rachel Bailey Mettille, my daughter-in-law, for her patient and erudite assistance with
the writing assessment segment. My sister, Dr. Julia Damron Porter, and her husband, Dr.
Roy M. Porter, Jr., who completed their doctoral degrees several years previously, were a
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constant source of support—ever on the positive bent. Finally, I wish to thank Susan
Waggener for her excellent editorial assistance.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................iii

List of Tables .........................................................................................................................viii

List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ix

Chapter One: Introduction .....................................................................................................1
Background ......................................................................................................................3
Locating the Appalachian English Dialect Region ....................................................4
Linguistic Basis of the Stigmatized Dialect ...............................................................5
Rationale and Educational Implications ..........................................................................8
Cultural Relevant Pedagogy ............................................................................................9
Linguistically Informed Teaching Methods.....................................................................10
Research Problem ............................................................................................................14
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................15
Research Questions ..........................................................................................................15
Research Design...............................................................................................................15
Intervention Resources.....................................................................................................16
Contrastive Analysis ........................................................................................................16
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................17
Definition of Terms..........................................................................................................18

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature .................................................................................21
Language Variation, Multicultural Education, and Sociolinguistics ...............................21
Significance of Code-switching .......................................................................................24
African American English ...............................................................................................28
Southern Appalachian Dialect .........................................................................................37
Writing and Sociolinguistic Diversity .............................................................................45
Summary ..........................................................................................................................47

Chapter Three: Methodology .................................................................................................52
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................52
Research Problem and Questions.....................................................................................52
Assertion ....................................................................................................................53
Research Design...............................................................................................................54
Researcher Role ...............................................................................................................55
Gaining Access ..........................................................................................................55
Research Site ....................................................................................................................57
Participants .......................................................................................................................58
Data Sources ....................................................................................................................60
Formal Writing Samples ............................................................................................61
Writing Documents ....................................................................................................62
Contrastive Analysis Intervention Observation Protocol ..........................................62
Teacher Interview Protocol ........................................................................................63

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