Curricular Challenges in Greece
Development of Expository Texts in Modern Greek: Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Vicky Kantzou, Evangelia Thomadaki
Expository discourse, i.e. the use of language to convey information, is of enormous importance in education, given its role in the transmission of knowledge. Students’ ability to produce this type of discourse is inextricably related to academic success. However, research examining the developing ability of students to produce expository texts is relatively recent, and for Modern Greek quite limited. Aiming at shedding more light on the issue, samples of two written expository texts by children and adolescents aged 10, 13 and 16, as well as young adults aged 22-25 years were collected. A written narrative was also elicited from each participant. Data analysis focuses on word (e.g. word length), sentence (e.g. average sentence length clause density) and text level (e.g. text length) characteristics. In this presentation, results that indicate developmental patterns will be discussed. Age and text type-related differences are observed, highlighting the fact that language development is complex and continues well through adolescence.
Teaching Basic Grammar Structures of Greek Sign Language: Intervention Program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Pre-school and School Age Students
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Spyridoula Karipi, Vassilis Kourbetis, Anastasia Alevriadou
The main aim of the present field study is to present an intervention of teaching grammatical structures of the GSL with explicit instruction to Deaf and Hard of Hearing -DHH- pre- school and early school pupils. According to theoretical and field research findings, exposing children early to GSL, proper teaching tools, gradual maturation of the language and corresponding developmental milestones of DHH are achieved . The knowledge of a visual, accessible language, such as GSL, is directly related to the degree of knowledge and understanding of written language by deaf children and consequently their literacy. In bilingual education, GSL is the first and dominant language that DHH students should learn in the same way hearing students learn spoken and written languages , aiming at language proficiency in the first language and the acquisition of meta-linguistic skills. GSL should not be used only as a communication medium but rather as a school subject teaching its linguistic and grammatical-syntactic structures. Teaching interventions were videotaped on a weekly basis so we can evaluate them and improve them when and where necessary. Assessments of students’ language skills were done by carefully observation of videos with students' sign language productions that are included in each student’s portfolio. The aim is to find out whether the systematic teaching of grammatical structures contributes to the linguistic development of the GSL and furthermore the written and spoken language.
Attitudes towards Reading for Pleasure and Reading Achievement in Greece
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Karolina Retali, Vassilia Hatzinikita, Polyxeni Manoli
Research has indicated that students with more positive attitudes towards reading for pleasure tend to read more often, leading to higher reading achievement. As Greece is a country with below-average reading achievement in all PISA assessment cycles and with very limited related nationally representative research available, it is deemed important to examine factors related to attitudes towards reading for pleasure in Greece and explore any relation to reading achievement. Therefore, the present study, with the use of multilevel modelling analysis of the most recent relevant PISA database, examined factors related to 15-year-old students’ attitudes towards reading for pleasure in Greece, focusing on reading achievement, gender and socio-economic status (SES). Findings indicated that there is a positive relation between students’ reading for pleasure attitudes and their reading achievement as well as a weak but positive relation between reading for pleasure attitudes and SES. In addition, boys were found with more negative attitudes towards reading than girls, even after controlling for reading achievement. The present study offers valuable insights for policy and practice and suggests that the promotion of reading as a meaningful recreational activity should constitute a major focus on behalf of parents, teachers, schools and government.
