Discourse Patterns in First Language Use at Hcme and Second Language Learning at School: an Ethnographic Approach

Literature I 36

. active role to Ъе played by the reader∕listener in relating the
writer/speaker's background knowledge to the text in order to make
sense of it (Simon and Xurphy ,1986)

. activation of cognitive schemas for comprehension (Velis,1985,
Cole,1981);

- the tendency to equate oral communication with conversation should not
obscure the fact that certain types of oral discourse are as little
dependent on the immediate context, depersonalized, acquired in special
institutions, permanent and reproducible as written texts, an example
being ritual communication in поп-literate societies (Aklnnaso,1982a
and b);

- the model of literacy is to a large extent defined by discourse
properties, and therefore it is in the discourse patterns that one
finds the mismatch (Scollon and Scollon,1981);

- neither schooling nor literacy are responsible for logical thought but
only contribute to the range of problems than can be solved logically
(Orasanu and Scribner, 1982).

Street (1984) offers the most comprehensive exposition and critique of
the 'great divide theory' and one of its main proponents, Goody:

He would explicitly replace the theory of a 'great divide' between
'primitive' and 'modern' culture, which had been employed in
earlier anthropological theory and which is now discredited, with
the distinction betweeen 'literate' and 'non-literate'. He believes
that the distinction is similar to, but more useful than, that
traditionally made between 'logical' and 'pre-logical'. This, he
claims, is because of the Inherent qualities of the written word
... . Vriting ... 'enforces' the development of 'logic', ... the
emergence of scientific thought ... . (Street,1984:5)

Street then sets out effectively to refute Goody's claims and the
consequent 'autonomous model of literacy', that is Olson's position with
its related educational consequences stressing the intrinsic qualities of
literacy, believed to foster cognitive flexibility, abstract thought and
decontextualization. An alternative 'ideological model of literacy' is
proposed: while proving the Orality-Iiteracy continuum, it stresses that
writing is only the medium through which an ideologically-loaded social
knowledge Is acquired (page 221), that social practices and conceptions

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