Abstract
Classrooms provide a context in which teachers and learners co-construct meaning in light of their sociocultural understandings and profiles. However, to date, few studies have scrutinized the way such profiles contribute to teachers’ classroom discourse. Informed by the methodological framework of conversation analysis and drawing upon a corpus of 20-h naturally-occurring classroom interactions, the present study examined variations in novice and experienced teachers’ classroom discourse in providing opportunities for learner interlanguage development. The study relied on Walsh’s (2006. Investigating classroom discourse. Routledge) conceptualization of classroom context mode in the data collection and analysis stages. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data revealed that the experienced teachers’ discourse was marked by greater simultaneity and immediacy characteristics targeted at learner engagement in comparison to novice teachers. The study findings highlight variations between the two groups across a range of discursive constructions and provide implications for enhancing novice teachers’ classroom discourse.
About the authors
Ali Derakhshan is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the English Language and Literature Department, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran. He gained his MA in TEFL from the University of Tehran and his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Allameh Tabataba’i University. He was selected as a distinguished researcher by the Teaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran in 2021. His name appeared in the list of the top 2 % scientists in the world in 2022. He has been a member of the Iranian Elites Foundation since 2015. He has published in both accredited international journals (Review of Educational Research, Computers and Education, Language Teaching Research, System, Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, ELT Journal, Current Psychology, Asia Pacific Education Researcher, Educational Studies, Porta Linguarum, Frontiers in Psychology, etc.) and various local journals. His research interests are positive psychology, teacher education, learner individual differences, cross-cultural interpersonal factors in educational psychology, interlanguage pragmatics, and intercultural communication.
Sedigheh Karimpour holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and is currently working as an assistant professor in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Her areas of interest include second language teacher education and English for academic purposes. Her papers have appeared in System, Computer Assistant Language Learning, The Journal of Asia TEFL, etc.
Mostafa Nazari is a PhD candidate of Applied Linguistics at Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran. His area of interest is second language teacher education and his publications have appeared in RELC Journal, System, European Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Teacher Education, etc.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the insightful comments suggested by the editor and the anonymous reviewers.
-
Data Availability Statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
-
Author contribution: All authors have materially participated in the research and article preparation. Additionally, all authors have approved the final article.
-
Conflict of interest statement The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Transcription Notation
Conversation analytic transcription conventions adapted from Jefferson (1983)
(.) untimed perceptible pause within a turn
underline stress
CAPS very emphatic stress
↑ high pitch on word
. sentence-final falling intonation
? yes/no question rising intonation
, phrase-final intonation (more to come)
: lengthened vowel sound (extra colons indicate greater lengthening)
= latch (direct onset or no space between two unites)
→ highlights point of analysis
[ ] overlapped talk; in order to reflect the simultaneous beginning and ending of the overlapped talk, sometimes extra spacing is used to spread out the utterance
˚soft˚ spoken softly/decreased volume
>< increased speed
( ) (empty parentheses) transcription impossible
(words) uncertain transcription
(3) silence; length given in tenth of a second
$words$ spoken in a smiley voice
References
An, Jiangshan, Ernesto Macaro & Ann Childs. 2019. Language focused episodes by Monolingual teachers in English Medium Instruction science lessons. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education 7(2). 166–191. https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.18019.an.Search in Google Scholar
Çimenli, Betül & Olcay Sert. 2017. Orientations to linguistic form in meaning and fluency contexts in Aturkishasa foreign language classroom. In Interaktion im Fremdsprachenunterricht: Beiträge aus der empirischen Forschung, Vol. 11, 17–27. Münster: LIT Verlag Münster.Search in Google Scholar
Creswell, John. 2014. A concise introduction to mixed methods research. California: SAGE publications.Search in Google Scholar
Doehler, Pekarek & Evelyne Berger. 2015. The development of L2 interactional competence: Evidence from turn-taking organization, sequence organization, repair organization and preference organization. In Usage-based perspectives on second language learning, Vol. 30, 233–245. Berlin: De Gruyter.10.1515/9783110378528-012Search in Google Scholar
Ellis, Rod. 1998. Discourse control and the acquisition-rich classroom. In Willy Renandya & George Jacobs (eds.), Learners and Language Learning, 115–128. New York City: SEAMO Regional Language Centre.Search in Google Scholar
Fagan, Drew. 2012. Dealing with’unexpected learner contributions in whole group activities: An examination of novice language teacher discursive practices. Classroom Discourse 3(2). 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2012.716621.Search in Google Scholar
Farrell, Thomas. 2012. Novice‐service language teacher development: Bridging the gap between preservice and in‐service education and development. TESOLl Quarterly 46(3). 435–449. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.36.Search in Google Scholar
Gatbonton, Elizabeth. 2008. Looking beyond teachers’ classroom behaviour: Novice and experienced ESL teachers’ pedagogical knowledge. Language Teaching Research 12(2). 161–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168807086286.Search in Google Scholar
Graham, Linda, Sonia White, Kathy Cologon & Robert Pianta. 2020. Do teachers’ years of experience make a difference in the quality of teaching? Teaching and Teacher Education 96(1). 178–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103190.Search in Google Scholar
Hellermann, John. 2012. Conversation analysis and language acquisition. The Encyclopedia of applied linguistics. New Jersey: Wiley.10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0205Search in Google Scholar
Heyd-Metzuyanim, Einat, Margaret Smith, Victoria Bill & Lauren Resnick. 2019. From ritual to explorative participation in discourse-rich instructional practices: A case study of teacher learning through professional development. Educational Studies in Mathematics 101(2). 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-018-9849-9.Search in Google Scholar
Holmes, Andrew. 2019. Constructivist learning in university undergraduate programmes. Has constructivism been fully embraced? Is there clear evidence that constructivist principles have been applied to all aspects of contemporary university undergraduate study? Shanlax International Journal of Education 8(1). 7–15.10.34293/education.v8i1.819Search in Google Scholar
Hutchby, Ian & Robin Wooffitt. 1998. Conversation analysis: Principles, practices and applications. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar
Jarvis, Jnnifer & Mark Robinson. 1997. Analysing educational discourse: An exploratory study of teacher response and support to pupils’ learning. Applied Linguistics 18(2). 212–228. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/18.2.212.Search in Google Scholar
Jefferson, Gail. 1983. Notes on some orderliness of overlap onset. Tilburg, Netherlands: TilburgPapers in Language and Literature No. 28.Search in Google Scholar
Johnson, Karen. 1995. Understanding communication in second language classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Karimpour, Sedigheh & Baqer Yaqubi. 2017. Teachers’ understanding-check practices and learners’ following orientations in EFL classroom interaction: A conversation analytic study. Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 20(3). 26–49. https://doi.org/10.5782/2223-2621.2017.20.3.26.Search in Google Scholar
Karimpour, Sedigheh, Zahra Zoleikani & Khadije Aghajani Delavar. 2020. Teachers’ discourse identities and learners’ participation opportunities in EFL classroom interaction: A conversation analytic study. Journal of Asia TEFL 17(4). 1178–1192. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2020.17.4.2.1178.Search in Google Scholar
Kasper, Gabriele. 2009. Categories, context, and comparison in conversation analysis. In Hanh thi Nguyen & Gabriele Kasper (eds.), Talk-in-interaction: Multilingual perspectives, 1–28. Manoa: National Foreign Language Resource Center.Search in Google Scholar
Kasper, Gabriele & Johannes Wagner. 2011. A conversation-analytic approach to second language acquisition. Alternative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition 117(1). 142–152.Search in Google Scholar
König, Charlotte & Johannes Kramer. 2016. Teacher professional knowledge and classroom management: On the relation of general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) and classroom management expertise (CME). ZDM 48(1-2). 139–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-015-0705-4.Search in Google Scholar
König, Johannes & Charlotte Kramer. 2016. Teacher professional knowledge and classroom management: On the relation of general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) and classroom management expertise. ZDM 48. 139–151.10.1007/s11858-015-0705-4Search in Google Scholar
Kumaravadivelu, Bernard. 1999. Critical classroom discourse analysis. Tesol Quarterly 33(3). 453–484. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587674.Search in Google Scholar
Lee, Yo-An & John Hellermann. 2014. Tracing developmental changes through conversation analysis: Cross‐sectional and longitudinal analysis. Tesol Quarterly 48(4). 763–788. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.149.Search in Google Scholar
Lier, Leo Van. 1998. The relationship between consciousness, interaction and language learning. Language Awareness 7(2-3). 128–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658419808667105.Search in Google Scholar
Lo, Yuen Yi & Ernesto Macaro. 2012. The medium of instruction and classroom interaction: Evidence from Hong Kong secondary schools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 15(1). 29–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2011.588307.Search in Google Scholar
Lo, Yuen Yi & Ernesto Macaro. 2015. Getting used to content and language integrated learning: What can classroom interaction reveal? The Language Learning Journal 43(3). 239–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2015.1053281.Search in Google Scholar
Long, Michael. 2007. Problems in second language acquisition. Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Long, Michael. 2009. Methodological principles for language teaching. California: Sage.10.1002/9781444315783.ch21Search in Google Scholar
Macaro, Ernesto. 2001. Analysing student teachers’ codeswitching in foreign language classrooms: Theories and decision making. The Modern Language Journal 85(4). 531–548. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00124.Search in Google Scholar
Macaro, Ernesto, Lili Tian & Lingmin Chu. 2020. First and second language use in English medium instruction contexts. Language Teaching Research 24(3). 382–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818783231.Search in Google Scholar
Markee, Numa & Silvia Kunitz. 2015. CA-for-SLA studies of classroom interaction: Quo vadis. The handbook of classroom discourse and interaction, 425–439. New Jersey: Wiley.10.1002/9781118531242.ch25Search in Google Scholar
Matsumoto, Yumi. 2018. “Because we are peers, we actually understand”: Third‐party participant assistance in English as a lingua franca classroom interactions. Tesol Quarterly 52(4). 845–876. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.430.Search in Google Scholar
Mori, Junko & Numa Markee. 2009. Language learning, cognition, and interactional practices: An introduction. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 47(1). 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.2009.001.Search in Google Scholar
Seedhouse, Paul. 2004. The interactional architecture of the language classroom: A conversation analysis perspective. Language Learning 54(1). 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2004.00268.x.Search in Google Scholar
Sert, Olcay. 2015. Social interaction and L2 classroom discourse. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.10.1515/9780748692651Search in Google Scholar
Sert, Olcay. 2017. Creating opportunities for L2 learning in a prediction activity. System 70. 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.08.008.Search in Google Scholar
Sidnell, Jack. 2012. Turn-continuation by self and by other. Discourse Processes 49(3-4). 314–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/0163853x.2012.654760.Search in Google Scholar
Slimani, Assia. 1992. Evaluation of classroom interaction. In Charles Alderson, Charles Alderson & Alan Beretta (eds.), Evaluating second language education, 197–221. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139524575.009Search in Google Scholar
Sturm, Jessica. 2012. Using film in the L2 classroom: A graduate course in film pedagogy. Foreign Language Annals 45(2). 246–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2012.01187.x.Search in Google Scholar
Swain, Merrill. 2005. The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In Eli Hinkel (ed.), Handbook on research in second language teaching and learning, 224–234. Oxford shire: Lawrence Erlbaum.Search in Google Scholar
Tai, Kevin & Li Wei. 2021. Constructing playful talk through translanguaging in English medium instruction mathematics classrooms. Applied Linguistics 42(4). 607–640. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amaa043.Search in Google Scholar
Tai, Kevin. 2022. A translanguaging perspective on teacher contingency in Hong Kong English medium instruction history classrooms. Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amac039.Search in Google Scholar
Ten Have, Paul. 2007. Doing conversation analysis. California: Sage.10.4135/9781849208895Search in Google Scholar
Teng, Bunthan & Kemtong Sinwongsuwat. 2015. Teaching and learning English in Thailand and the integration of conversation analysis (CA) into the classroom. English Language Teaching 8(3). 13–23. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n3p13.Search in Google Scholar
Tsui, Amy. 2009. Distinctive qualities of expert teachers. Teachers and Teaching 15(4). 421–439. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540600903057179.Search in Google Scholar
Wagner, Santoi & Innhwa Park. 2022. Whole‐class co‐construction in a high school Spanish classroom: A conversation analytic perspective. Language Learning 72(S1). 203–239.10.1111/lang.12472Search in Google Scholar
Walsh, Steve. 2006. Investigating classroom discourse. Oxford Shire: Routledge.10.4324/9780203015711Search in Google Scholar
Walsh, Steve. 2011. Exploring classroom discourse: Language in action. Oxford Shire: Taylor & Francis.10.4324/9780203827826Search in Google Scholar
Walsh, Steve & Li Li. 2013. Conversations as space for learning. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 23(2). 247–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12005.Search in Google Scholar
Walsh, Steve. 2002. Construction or obstruction: Teacher talk and learner involvement in the EFL classroom. Language teaching research 6(1). 3–23.10.1191/1362168802lr095oaSearch in Google Scholar
Waring, Hansun Zhang. 2008. Using explicit positive assessment in the language classroom: IRF, feedback, and learning opportunities. The Modern Language Journal 92(4). 577–594. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00788.x.Search in Google Scholar
Waring, Hansun Zhang. 2012. “Any questions?”: Investigating the nature of understanding‐checks in the language classroom. Tesol Quarterly 46(4). 722–752. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.48.Search in Google Scholar
Webb, Noreen M., Megan L. Franke, Marsha Ing, Chan Angela, Tondra De, Deanna Freund & Dan Battey. 2008. The role of teacher instructional practices in student collaboration. Contemporary Educational Psychology 33(3). 360–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2008.05.003.Search in Google Scholar
Wolff, Charlotte, Halszka Jarodzka, Niek van den Bogert & Henny Boshuizen. 2016. Teacher vision: Expert and novice teachers’ perception of problematic classroom management scenes. Instructional Science 44(3). 243–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-016-9367-z.Search in Google Scholar
Xie, Xiaoyan. 2011. Turn allocation patterns and learning opportunities. ELT Journal 65(3). 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccq064.Search in Google Scholar
Yaqubi, Baqer & Sedigheh Karimpour. 2013. A conversation analytic study on the teachers’ management of understanding-check question sequences in EFL classrooms. Two Quarterly Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning University of Tabriz 5(12). 109–134.Search in Google Scholar
Yaqubi, Baqer & Mostafa Pourhaji Rokni. 2013. Teachers’ limited wait-time practice and learners’ participation opportunities in EFL classroom interaction. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning 4(10). 127–161.Search in Google Scholar
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
