Speaking out of turn? Taking the initiative in teacher-fronted classroom interaction.

Abstract

Teacher-fronted interaction is generally seen to place limitations on the contributions that learners can make to classroom discourse and the conclusion is that learners are unable to experiment with, for example, turn-taking mechanisms. This article looks at teacher-fronted interaction in the language classroom from the perspective of learner talk by examining how learners might take the initiative during this apparently more rigid form of interaction. Detailed microanalysis of classroom episodes, using a conversation analysis institutional discourse approach, shows how learners orient to the institutional context to make sophisticated and effective use of turn-taking mechanisms to take the initiative and direct the interaction, even in the controlled environment of teacher-fronted talk. The article describes some of the functions of such learner initiative, examines how learners and teachers co-construct interaction and how learners can create learning opportunities for themselves. It also briefly looks at teacher reactions to such initiative. The article concludes that learner initiative in teacher-fronted interaction may constitute a significant opportunity for learning and that teachers should find ways of encouraging such interaction patterns.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2012.666022
Divisions: ?? 53981500Jl ??
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Centre for Language Research at Aston (CLaRA)
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities
Uncontrolled Keywords: learner initiative,teacher fronted interaction,institutional discourse,conversation analysis
Publication ISSN: 1946-3022
Last Modified: 25 Nov 2024 08:06
Date Deposited: 10 Jul 2012 13:38
Full Text Link: http://www.tand ... ssue=1&spage=29
Related URLs:
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2012
Published Online Date: 2012-04-05
Authors: Garton, Sue (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-7421-0858)

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