It strikes me also that studying language behaviors is a great opportunity to examine how language is seen both as a learned behavior as well as an innate ability (and a myriad of views in-between). The debate between Skinner and Chomsky is a good place to start. For a biology teacher, this may be great material to examine the fine line between biology and cognition. John On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Craig Hancock <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I have used Tannen in composition classes and students find her > "relevant" and accessible. If you google her, you can find short > articles on male/female uses of language and criticisms of our > "argument culture." I would also suggest Lakoff and Johnson, certainly > "Metaphors We Live By" as ways to talk about the relationship between > the way we use language and how we conceive the world and how that > affects our social interaction. In terms of how we see argument, this > overlaps with Tannen. > I don't think you can go wrong with Grice's maxims, probably available > from a number of sources. > They may find it interesting that many linguists see language as "a > complex adaptive system", using metaphors out of biology. Much of that > is happening at the scholarly level. Geoff Thompson has an > "Introduction to Functional Grammar" that is intended to be accessible, > as is David Lee's book on cognitive Linguistics. It seems to me that > prototype theory links cognition to language. I'm not sure what to > suggest for reading. Is it covered in contemporary psychology texts? > I'm not sure if any of that is what they are looking for. > > Craig> > > > My first impression is that they are doing discourse analysis of a sort. > > Perhaps they would benefit from a referral to the literature on speech > > acts? > > Or perhaps a general reference to the work of discourse analysts like > > Deborah Tannen would be helpful? > > > > I'll consider this more. I think providing direct help to school teachers > > is > > something this group should take as an important component of its > mission! > > > > John Alexander > > > > On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 8:44 AM, Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > >> I received the following request from a high school teacher. Can anyone > >> supply information she and her class would find useful? > >> > >> Hello, Professor Veit. > >> > >> I am teaching a unit on behavior in an IB Biology course. My students > >> want > >> to analyze and categorize topics of human conversation. Such as: > >> discussion > >> of subjective or objective ideas, discussion of others, relating stories > >> to > >> one's own experiences, etc. > >> > >> We are having difficulty finding literature sources. I am wondering if > >> you > >> know of any literature sources on this topic. > >> > >> Thanks for your time and consideration. Any help you could give would be > >> greatly appreciated. > >> > >> Stacey Skinner, Biology Teacher > >> St. Paul Central High School > >> [log in to unmask] > >> > >> Dick > >> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > >> interface > >> at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or > >> leave the list" > >> > >> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > >> > > > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > interface > > at: > > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > > and select "Join or leave the list" > > > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/