Classroom Discourse: Approaches and Perspectives
- PDF / 104,010 Bytes
- 12 Pages / 439.37 x 663.307 pts Page_size
- 44 Downloads / 299 Views
CLASSROOM DISCOURSE: APPROACHES AND PERSPECTIVES
INTRODUCTION
The term “classroom discourse,” as used in this review, refers to all forms of discourse that take place in the classroom. It encompasses the linguistic as well as the nonlinguistic elements of discourse. The former includes the language used by the teacher and the learners, as well as teacher–learner and learner–learner interactions. The latter includes paralinguistic gestures, prosody, and silence—all of which are integral parts of the discourse. The linguistic and nonlinguistic elements constitute the observable dimension of classroom discourse. Studies of classroom discourse have explored factors that play a critical role in shaping classroom discourse. These factors pertain to the sociocultural contexts in which the discourse is generated, including the physical environment, the socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds of participants, as well as the psychological dimensions such as their perceptions, emotions, beliefs, and orientations. They constitute the unobservable dimension of classroom discourse. Because of the limit of space, this review focuses on SL/FL classrooms, and makes reference to L1 classroom discourse research only when it impacts on SL/FL classroom research. E A R LY D E V E L O P M E N T S
Research on classroom interaction and classroom events originated in the field of general education in the 1950s for teacher education purposes. It was motivated by the search for “objective” assessments of student–teachers’ performance in the classroom and the identification of “effective teaching”. The first major attempt was made by Flanders who proposed a systematic analysis of classroom interaction with an instruction referred to as Flander’s Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) (Flanders, 1960, see also Janks and Locke, Discourse Awareness in Education: A Critical Perspective, Volume 6). Studies of interaction in SL (second language) and FL (foreign language) classrooms began in the 1960s and were largely influenced by Flanders’ work. There is a plethora of classroom discourse instruments based on FIAC for language teacher training (see Allwright 1988 for a review of ESL/EFL classroom observation instruments). Early studies of SL/FL classroom J. Cenoz and N. H. Hornberger (eds), Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 2nd Edition, Volume 6: Knowledge about Language, 261–272. #2008 Springer Science+Business Media LLC.
262
AMY B.M. TSUI
interaction were also driven by the need to evaluate the effectiveness of the various FL teaching methodologies in the hope that the “best” method would be identified. The inconclusive findings, however, pointed to the problematic nature of the basic tenets of these studies. It was generally agreed that classroom processes were extremely complex and little understood. The aim of classroom-centered research, it was argued, should be descriptive rather than prescriptive. There was also a consensus that research should focus on not only the teacher’s language and behavior, but also the learners’ behavior. Para
Data Loading...
