Classroom Interaction Introduction

The most common type of classroom interaction is that known as IRF Initiation Response Feedback: the teacher initiates an exchange, usually in the form of a question, (one of) the students answer(s), the teacher gives feedback under the form of correction / comment, s/he initiates the next question, and so on. There are, however, patterns alternative to the one described above: the initiative does not always have to be in the hands of the teacher, and interaction may be between SS, or between a student and the material. ..

?! Activity 1. Classifying forms of interaction

Using the following code, describe the various patterns of interaction given in the box1 below: TT = T very active, SS only receptive T = T active, SS mainly receptive TS = T and SS fairly equally active S = SS active, T mainly receptive SS = SS very active, T only receptive Interaction Patterns
Group work Students work in small groups on tasks that entail interaction: conveying information, for example, or group decision-making. The teacher walks around listening, intervenes little if at all. Closed-ended teacher questioning (IRF) Only one right response gets approved. Sometimes cynically called the Guess what the teacher wants you to say game. Individual work The teacher gives a task or set of tasks, and students work on them independently; the teacher walks around monitoring and assisting where necessary. Choral responses The teacher gives a model which is repeated by all the class in chorus; or gives a cue which is responded to in chorus. Collaboration Students do the same sort of tasks as in individual work, but work together, usually in pairs, to try to achieve the best results they can. The teacher may or may not intervene. (Note that this is different from Group work, where the task itself necessitates interaction.)
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This is Box 16.1 (Interaction Patterns) taken from Penny Ur, 1997, A Course in Language Teaching, C.U.P., p.228.

Student initiates, teacher answers For example, in a questioning game: the students think of questions and the teacher responds; but the teacher decides who answers. Full-class interactions The students debate a topic or do a language task as a class; the teacher may intervene occasionally, to stimulate participation or to monitor. Teacher talk This may involve some kind of silent student response, such as writing from dictation, but there is no initiative on the part of the student. Self-access Students choose their own learning tasks and work autonomously. Open-ended teacher questioning There are a number of right answers, so the more students answer each cue.

.. Student(s) Groupings: lockstep, pair-work, group-work, individual study. The success of an activity depends to a great extent on the way the T organises the class (in groups / pairs), on whether s/he lets the SS do individual work, or allows them to use their mother tongue. Each type of student grouping may be of real help if well chosen and appropriately handled by the T. a). Lockstep is the class grouping where all the SS are working with the T where all the SS are locked into the same rhythm and pace, and the same activity. Lockstep is the traditional teaching situation (i.e. where a teacher-controlled session is taking place).

?! Activity 2. Think of some advantages and some disadvantages that the lockstep work may involve.
.. Some conclusions: Lockstep has certain advantages: all the class are concentrating; the T can usually be sure that everyone can hear what is being said; the SS are usually getting a good language model from the T; the SS may find the lockstep stage very comforting.

Nevertheless, there are also reasons why the use of lockstep alone is less satisfactory.

Disadvantages: the SS get little chance to practise or to talk at all; lockstep always goes at the wrong speed (either the T is too slow for the good / fast working SS or the lesson is too fast for the weak / slow working ones); the good SS may get bored and the weaker ones may panic and not learn what is being taught; shy and nervous SS find lockstep work extremely bad for the nerves since they are likely to be exposed in front of the whole class when they give answers to the Ts questions. Lockstep cannot be the ideal grouping for communicative work as it involves too much teaching and too little learning. This is not to say that lockstep work should be avoided. Where FB is taking place after a reading or a listening task it will be advantageous to have the whole class involved at the same time. Where pair and group-work are to be set up, the whole class has to listen to the Ts instructions. When the T is explaining something new or shares with the class some important / interesting / useful information, everybody would understand more quickly and better what is being explained / told, etc. b). Pair-work / jointlearning Organising the SS in pairs / in twos is good for activities such as: doing drills; asking and answering questions using language that has just been presented (grammar / vocabulary exercises); practising a learnt dialogue or improvising one on a given topic / using certain given structures / vocabulary items; working together to agree on the answers to a reading exercise; other speaking, reading, or writing activities. it increases the amount of student practice; it allows the SS to use language; it encourages student cooperation and increases communicative efficiency; the T is no longer aggressively present, therefore the SS get more relaxed and use their language more freely. Disadvantages: incorrectness may occur without the T being able to intervene; the SS may use their mother tongue when in difficulty; noise and indiscipline may occur (but the T may move about the classroom so that s/he can keep these under controlSometimes the activity has to be stopped in order to get silence, to get the SS use the target language, or to make them stick to the topic / task).

Advantages:

Pair-work should not be carried out for too long, otherwise SS will lose interest in it and start talking about / doing something else. A very important question for the T to give some thought to in advance is: How are SS put in pairs? Although there is no ideal combination for pairs, there are several ways in which pairs can be formed, depending on the activity to be carried out in pairs: - one strong S + one weak S; - deskmates (this is time-saving); - friends (good communication between the members of a pair); - at random: for instance, the T asks SS to say a number from 1 to 25 (when there are 25 SS in a class), and then asks them to find a partner so that the sum of their numbers is 26 and to go next to him / her, etc. c). Group-work Organising the SS in groups2 for communicative activities is an extremely attractive idea. Groupwork can be used for oral work, tasks where decisions have to be taken, arguing a case for / against ( i.e. giving pros and cons), joint-reading tasks, listening tasks, co-operative writing, etc. As with lockstep and pair-work group-work has certain undeniable advantages: STT increases; SS have the opportunity to use language to communicate with each other, not only to understand what the T explains to them or to answer his / her questions; co-operation, communication, and self-confidence in using the target language increase; it is very dynamic (it generates a lot of discussion between its members); sometimes more than one solution can be found to a problem; there is a greater chance that at least one member of the group will be able to solve a problem when it arises; it is more relaxing than pairwork and lockstep; SS of different levels / interests may form different groups and can perform different tasks, etc. Disadvantages: 2

noise; indiscipline; the use of the SS mother tongue; incorrectness may occur (the T cannot monitor every Ss language); passive members of the group, etc.

For more details about the process of organising the SS in groups, see the box at the end of this section of the course (pp. 67).

How do we select the members of a group? Again, there is no ideal combination; a lot depends on the nature of the activity. Here are some possible suggestions: using sociograms (sometimes this is inoperable); weak SS + strong SS together; weak SS together and strong SS together, each kind of group being given a different task according to their level; commonly agreed upon rules: star-sign combinations, grouping together the SS that have the same hobby / preferred pet / the same eye colour / girls together / boys together, etc. Another question, also difficult to answer, that arises when organising the SS in groups is: How large should a group be / how many SS should there be in a group? Teachers who have experienced group-work for a long time suggest that there should not be more than 7 SS in a group, otherwise there are little chances for everybody to participate properly, not to mention the Ts inability to control them. However, there are situations when we may want to split the class in two and ask the two groups to disagree on a certain topic, or to compete against each other. When a decision-making task is being carried out, it is better for the group to contain an odd number of participants, so that a split-decision is impossible. The idea of flexible groups sounds very attractive to many teachers: the SS start in set groups, and as the activity progresses the initial groups split up and re-form other groups; or they join together until the class is fully re-formed. Irrespective of the group size, a group leader may be chosen, especially in mixed-ability groups. The leader is a sort of mini-teacher whose job is to make sure that everybody participates and the discussion progresses. S/he may also notify the T whenever a problem arises (a language problem, or an organizational one). In practice, though, even where the groups are leaderless, SS tend to take on definite roles as they usually have different personalities. The use of mother tongue One of the biggest problems in the use of pairwork and groupwork is the use of mother tongue. The question which arises is whether it should be discouraged or not. The answer is definitely Yes for oral communicative activities (where SS are supposed to practise, as much as possible, the target language). The answer is No, or not entirely, if it is accidental or occasional ( e.g. when the SS are comparing their understanding of a word or their answers to reading comprehension questions), or if the learners are beginners and do not know enough English to understand what they are explained without resorting to their mother tongue (even here, however, the T

should make use of various alternative explaining techniques: miming, body language, pictures, various objects, etc. Once a certain word / structure has been introduced, it is better for the T not to use the mother tongue counterpart any longer, or else the SS will never assimilate it fully and use it themselves). It is important that the SS realise that the Ts attitude to their language depends on the activity in question. If they do not know this, they will not know why and when the T is insisting on English only. What can the T do about the use of the SS mother tongue? 1. 2. 3. Talk to the class. Explain to the SS when English is essential to be used and when the use of mother tongue is allowed. During the activity, encourage the SS to use English. Go round the classroom helping the SS / prompting them / making yourself available as a walking resource centre. Back to basics. When the SS who work in groups do not use English / cannot use it despite your explanations and promptings, stop the activity and go back to pair-work until you are confident that they will take part properly. Gradually, move towards the use of freer activities in groups. d). Individual study Sometimes teachers must let SS work on their own at their own pace. Individual study is a good idea because the SS can relax from outside pressure and because they can rely on themselves, rather than on other people. Moreover, it is quiet. Individual study is good for some writing and some reading activities. A reasonable time limit (according to the SS speed) has to be set by the T every time SS are supposed to work independently. GROUP-WORK ORGANISATION3 1. Presentation The instructions that are given at the beginning are crucial: if the SS do not understand exactly what they have to do, there will be time-wasting, confusion, lack of effective practice, possible loss of control. Select tasks that are simple enough to describe easily; and in monolingual classes you may find it costeffective to explain some or all in the SS mother tongue. It is advisable to give the instructions before giving out materials or dividing the class into groups; and a preliminary rehearsal or dry run of a sample of the activity with the full class can help to clarify things. Note, however, that if your SS have already done similar activities, you will be able to shorten the process, giving only brief guidelines; it is mainly the first time of doing something with a class that such care needs to be invested in instructing. Try to foresee what language will be needed, and have a preliminary quick review of appropriate grammar or vocabulary. Finally, before giving the sign to start, tell the class what the arrangements are for stopping: if there is a time limit, or a set signal for stopping, say what it is; if the groups simply stop when they have finished, then tell them what they will have to do next. It is wise to have a reserve task
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Box 16.5, idem. p. 234.

planned to occupy members of groups who finish earlier than expected. 2. Process Your job during the activity is to go from group to group, monitor, and either contribute or keep out of the way whichever is likely to be more helpful. If you do decide to intervene, your contribution may take the form of: - providing general approval and support; - helping SS who are having difficulty; - keeping the SS using the target language (in many cases your mere presence will ensure this); - tactfully regulating participation in a discussion where you find some SS are over-dominant and others silent. 3. Ending If you have set a time limit, then this will help you draw the activity to a close at a certain point. In principle, try to finish the activity while the SS are still enjoying it and interested, or only just beginning to flag. 4. Feedback A feedback session usually takes place in the context of full-class interaction after the end of the group work. Feedback on the task may take many forms: giving the right solution, if there is one; listening to and evaluating suggestions; pooling ideas on the board; displaying materials the groups have produced; and so on. Your main objective here is to express appreciation of the effort that has been invested and its results. Feedback on language may be integrated into this discussion of the task, or provide the focus of a separate class session later.