Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction Interaction has been central to theories of second language acquisition and pedagogy since the 1980s. Rivers explained the interactive perspective in language education: Students achieve facility in using a language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that is, messages that contain information of interest to both speaker and listener in a situation of importance to both). This is interaction (Rivers, 4). One of the first researchers to consider the importance of interaction was Hatch. She made a pivotal and indelible mark on the field of SLA through her publication of two seminal papers on language learning and interaction (Pica, 494). Hatch proposed that researchers should look towards interaction for insights into language learning development rather than the syntax of the language. In other words, she hypothesized that learners made progress as a result of real-life interaction rather than communicative competence arising out of the conti nuous practice of structures (Macaro, 172). In SLA classroom, the interactional input of the teacher is also part of the teacher talk which is considered as the main source of language input. Krashen proposed the Input Hypothesis to explain how learners interlanguage develops and grammatical features are acquired when learners are exposed to input that contains grammatical features a little beyond their current level of competence (Krashen and Terrell, 32). The Input Hypothesis is explained in detail through the i+1structure. i stands for the current level of language competence of learners while 1 stands for the item that they are going to acquire. Therefore, the i+1 structure indicates that learners are able to learn the language by being exposed to the input containing knowledge a little beyond their current level of competence. Extending Krashens Input Hypothesis, Long put forward the Interaction Hypothesis, which he held could make learners SLA development possible (Long, 420). The Interaction Hypothesis differs from the Input Hypothesis in that it puts more emphasis on how to make input comprehensible. Krashen believes that clues based on the situation and the context, extralinguistic information, and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible (Richards and Rogers, 182). He proposed the term premodification which means to make input comprehensible by simplifying or modifying the input before exposing it to learners by using common or familiar words, phrases and sentences. While admitting the role of premodification, Long lays more emphasis on the interactional modification. Through observing learners interacting with native speakers, Long concluded that what the former were doing was trying to improve the quality of the input they were receiving from the native speakers by giving them some verbal feedback or others to demonstrate that they had not understood. In this way, following Krashens earlier model, the native speakers input should become more fine-tuned to the immediate needs of learners thus allowing the latter to understand more easily. Therefore, the input will be made comprehensible as a result of interaction. Long proposed that interactionally modified input comes about as a result of the use of confirmation checks, clarification requests and comprehension checks by the two parties in a conversation (Macaro, 172). While the first two hypotheses concentrate on the teachers input, Swains Output Hypothesis advocates that learners should be provided with more opportunities of producing output. In order to acquire a new language, it is not sufficient to notice it and keep silent. In order for the acquisition to occur, learners must also use the language in verbal production. First, it increases the intensity of the noticing on the new item as input. Second, it forces learners to attend to the construction of the new language before and during output. Third, it encourages teacher confirmation that the output is correct and provides evidence for learners hypotheses about the target language. This has been known as the Output Hypothesis. To sum up, the Output Hypothesis claims that output can promote language acquisition under certain conditions by allowing learners to produce output. Moreover, Swain believed that in order for students to achieve native-like language competence, they need to be pushed more in their output by providing them with more opportunities to use the target language in the classroom (Swain, 429). In sum, the above three important theories of second language acquisition combine to reveal the effects of different types of classroom interaction on language learning from different angles. Therefore, in the field of second language acquisition, it is reasonable to state that classroom interaction plays a crucial role in promoting language learning. 2.1.2 General Classroom Interaction and Learning When students learn in a classroom setting, a primary source of knowledge comes from teacher talk and teacher-student interactions, as the processes and transactions involved in the construction of meanings are mediated through the use of verbal communication. Central to Vygotskys sociocultural theory of human learning is the idea that social interaction plays an essential role in the development of cognition. First, cultural development appears between people on an inter-psychological plane and then inside the learner on an intra-psychological plane. This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory and the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 57). In addition, through the role of mediation, students are able to transform skills that lie in the zone of proximal development (ZPD, a term formulated by Vygotsky to refer to the area of students potential development). Williams and Burden state that med iation is a term used by psychologists of the social interactionist school to refer to the part played by other significant people (the one usually with more knowledge, e.g. a teacher) in the learners lives, who enhance their learning by selecting and shaping the learning experiences presented to them (Williams and Burden, 67). That is to say, the notion of the teacher assisting student performance through the zone of proximal development suggests that teachers can adjust the discourse on the inter-psychological to support the students evolving understanding of knowledge or development of complex skills. Therefore, Vygotskys theory implicates that learners should be provided with socially rich environments so as to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students and teachers. 2.1.2.1 Interaction Pattern of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) The three-part exchange structure known as triadic dialogue has been found to be common in classroom discourse. This discourse format typically consists of three moves, i.e. initiation (usually via a teacher question), student response and teacher evaluation. It is more commonly referred to as IRE (Mehan, 64). Accordingly, the teacher poses a closed question that is basically information-seeking, that requires a predetermined short answer, and that is aimed at the recall or lower-order cognitive level. He or she then praises or confirms correct answers and corrects those that are wrong. Sometimes, the three-part exchange structure is also known as IRFinitiation, response and feedback or follow-up as the third move may not necessarily be an explicit evaluative remark (Sinclair and Coulthard, 54). For instance, Wells has discussed various ways in which the teacher can provide feedback by encouraging students to express ideas, generate hypotheses and test them (Wells, 1986: 50). The triadic dialogue, which is typical of traditional classroom teaching, is usually considered to restrict students thinking as students responses remain somewhat short and standardized, thus minimizing their role in the co-construction of meaning. Although such conventional teacher-questioning practices have thus been criticized, some researchers have pointed out that it is consistent with educational goals. For example, Newman, Griffin, and Cole argued that the three-part exchange has a built-in repair structure in the teachers last turn so that incorrect information can be replaced with the right answers (Newman et al, 127). Such an opinion is considered appropriate in that the responsibility of teachers is viewed as ensuring that students acquire the knowledge that is normative within a particular culture (Chin, 1316). In addition, Wells has argued that, when used effectively, it is in this third step in the co-construction of meaning that the next cycle of the learning-and-teac hing spiral has its point of departure (Wells, 1993: 35). Therefore, the triadic dialogue can prove to be beneficial to classroom teaching if the teacher is willing to interact with students further. An instance of this would be when the teacher asks a question that stimulates further productive thought, based on their evaluation of students previous responses. In such a case, the teacher would be guiding the development of students ideas by successively building on their contributions in a reciprocal manner (Chin, 1315). As for patterns of discourse, Mortimer and Scott expanded the IRE or IRF structure by identifying the IRFRF chain where the elaborative feedback from the teacher is followed by a further response from a student (Mortimer and Scott, 41). This form contributes to a dialogic interaction. As part of the feedback, the teacher could encourage a student by repeating his or her comment or asking for explanation. By establishing this pattern of discourse, the teacher is able to further explore students ideas. As Wells suggested that the third step of the IRF sequence might have potential for productive discourse (Wells, 1993: 10), Chin established an analytical framework based on questioning to explore the specific forms of feedback. Four aspects of classroom discourse (namely, content, type of utterance, thinking elicited, and interaction pattern) constitute the elements of the questioning-based discourse analytical framework (Chin, 1322). She studied several science lessons from Year 7 which were observed across a variety of lesson structures. In her study, Chin identified four different types of feedback. The follow-up or feedback given by the teacher in the IRF sequence usually takes the form of a comment or statement followed by either another question, or further statements that expound more subject-related knowledge. Therefore, the feedback of the triadic dialogue could consist of a comment-question (C-Q) or statement-question (S-Q) couplet in which the question in the couplets may be considered as overlapping with the initiation of the next IRF sequence. However, Chin points out that, if there are no more questions asked, it takes the form of a comment-statement (C-S) couplet. Sometimes, feedback comprises only comments or statements. Chins findings suggest that by changing the third move of an IRF questioning sequence from an explicit evaluation to one that includes responsive questioning, teachers can make their classroom discourse more thought-provoking and stimulate more elaborate and productive student responses (Chin, 1340). 2.1.2.2 Teacher Questioning and Student Participation As a prominent part of classroom discourse, teacher questioning plays an important role in classroom teaching and has been the focus of linguistic and pedagogical studies (Nunan, 192). There are several reasons why they are so commonly used in teaching. They stimulate and maintain students interest. They encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson. They enable a teacher to clarify what a student has said. They enable a teacher to elicit particular structures or vocabulary items. They enable teachers to check students understanding. They encourage student participation in a lesson. (Richards and Lockhart, 185). Second language researchers have proposed that teacher questions play a crucial role in language acquisition. They can be used to allow the learner to keep participating in the discourse and even modify it so that the language used becomes more comprehensible and personally relevant (Banbrook and Skehan, 142). In addition, many previous classroom-based studies have focused on the taxonomy of teacher questions. Barnes identified the closed-ended and open-ended questions (Barnes, 12). Moreover, a display question is a question to which the questioner already knows the answer while a referential question is a question where the teacher does know the answer and is genuinely interested in hearing the answers from students (Long and Sato, 268). And there are questions that either assist or assess (Tharp and Gallimore, 52). According to Brock, referential questions can increase students language output in class and thus promote language acquisition. An increased use by teachers of referential questions, which create a flow of information from students to teachers, may generate discourse which more nearly resembles the normal conversation learners experience outside of the classroom (Brock, 49). Although at a theoretical level, referential questions are likely to trigger more immediate output than display questions, the distinction is too simplistic to offer an in-depth understanding of teacher questioning as it focuses on the types of questions rather than the abilities elicited. The nature of questioning in constructivist-based teaching environment is different. In such an environment, the teachers intent is to elicit what students think, to encourage them to elaborate on their previous answers and ideas, and to help them construct conceptual knowledge. Therefore, questioning can diagnose and extend students ideas and the teacher can engage students in higher-level thinking including analysis, application, synthesis and evaluation as those questions are open-ended and requiring one-sentence or two-sentence answers (Brookhart, 5). Teaching questioning takes another form of a reflective toss in the feedback move of the IRF sequence (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997a: 216). A reflective question is posed to a student by engaging his or her previous response to a teacher question, thus extending the teacher-student interaction and further exploring students ideas. A reflective toss usually consists of three parts, i.e. a student statement, the reflective question and additional student statements (Chin, 1319). Furthermore, the teachers use of a reflective toss serves a series of subgoals. They include using questions to help students clarify their meanings, consider a variety of views and monitor the discussion and their own thinking (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997b: 266). While most studies centered on the role of teachers in classroom, student participation is directly related with the quality of teacher-student interaction. Student participation has become a hot issue in the field of SLA research. Tsui conducted a survey among 38 teachers on the elements of reticence in middle school classrooms in Hong Kong and discovered five influential factors: students low English proficiency, students fear of making mistakes and getting laughed at by others, lack of wait time for students to think due to teachers intolerance of reticence, uneven allocation of turns to students and teachers incomprehensible input (Tsui, 148-155). Karp and Yoels carried out a one-month observation program in the 10 classes at an American private university and identified the consolidation of responsibility (Karp and Yoels, 429). On one hand, teachers would only call on some specific students to answer their questions. On the other hand, some other students would remain silent in class as they were rarely called upon. Through the observation of fifteen classroom sessions and out-of-class interviews with two female and two male students, Morgenstern discovered that there were many opportunities for student speech, but a core of five to six students seemed to monopolize these opportunities. Student actions and attitudes, recorded by observation and interview, revealed four tacit rules for class participation: (1) do not ask stupid questions; (2) do not waste the teachers time; (3) do not waste class time; and (4) try to find the answer before asking the teacher. Some students function under the assumption that only those with the most knowledge should speak, thus assuming a hierarchy of knowledge (Action and Inaction: Student and Teacher Roles in Classroom Participation).

Make Death Penalty Legal Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"And thine eye shall not pity, But life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,† the Book of Deuteronomy 19:21. When the word â€Å"death penalty† or capital punishment is mentioned, so is morality. Others claim that there is no morality in such punishment. However, what is more moral than the Bible? The Bible encourages condemning sinners. The golden rule practically sums it all up: do unto others as you want done unto you. If you choose to kill, then you had better be ready to accept the consequences. California is a state built on a foundation of justice and equality. It is only fair that when an innocent life or lives are taken, some kind of compensation is given. In most cases, the death penalty is a matter of justice and equality. With most crimes, the purposes of the punishment are to rehabilitate the convict and to send a warning to others who would commit similar crimes. According to the U.S. Department of Justice statistics, 60 to 80 percent of all convicts will continue to commit more and generally worse crimes when released. Violent con...

Rushil Surapaneni

Computers eave led to space exploration, new designs of vehicles and other forms of transportation, increase in entertainment industry, and revolutionized medical and biological sciences to address healthcare issues. The Television ; Became commercially available in an experimental basis in the late sass, popularized greatly after World War II and has become commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. ; Serves in many instances as the primary vehicle for entertainment, advertising, and news. ; During the sass, television became the primary medium for molding public opinion and continues to do so today.The Telephone First patented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell and further developed by many others; the telephone was the first device in history that enabled people to talk directly with each other across large distances. ; Became indispensable to businesses, government, and households, today some the of most ; and Has are fostered whole-wheat indwell used small appliances. Inv entions as both the cellular phone and the internet are a result Of the telephone system. ; Telephone has changed our mindset to a more complex way of thinking and continues to impact us as we move into the 21st century. The Logic Behind theSelections Overall, it came down to what saw was most practical and necessary for society and the modern world to exist the way it does today. Believe that the inventions chose revolutionized the socioeconomic standing of society to the point that allowed for radical changes in thought and ideology to take place due to these inventions. See the inventions of this world allowing for society to not only grow in the present but also further advance into the future as they can be tinkered with to better optimize the potential of humankind in the long-run, whether it be technologically, socially, or economically.

Heroes Or Ignorant The United States - 1699 Words

Heroes or Ignorant How we are going to remember history is based mainly on the stories that are available to our society. In many stories the United States are presented as a heroic country that is involved in every international issue to help to the feeble nation. After, these stories are used as a pattern for books and movies, which are spread to the whole world, and afterwards people have general perception about the US as a brave country that stands behind oppressed nations. However, no one is paying attention how is described the oppressed nation. The good light is on the US and we do not usually know much about the stance of the â€Å"feeble† country. We do not know if they need a help or if they just became victims of more powerful†¦show more content†¦General public in the US had small access to the information about the outside world, so when the Vietnam war started lots of them did not know where the war was happening. Jo was just doing her job and the instruction did not tell her where is she going. â€Å"I was nineteen years old. I had no clue where Vietnam was or what I would find there. I mean I just thought I was going to Europe. Everything happened so fast I didn’t even have time to shop. This was December. I had no idea what to take with me. I just packed what I had in Oregon – wool skirts and sweaters. I didn’t realize how hot it was in Vietnam (28).† Even though Vietnam War is considered as a war with lots of media materials, we can see that people still did not pay attention to the information about the Vietnam. The main reason why they went to the war was because they were fighting for their country. American media created this perception, since they offered to the public just what they wanted or what the US government allowed to present. Also this war was fought in Vietnam, so we cannot be surprise that normal people did not know that there is some war in Asia. Deirdre English, ordinary American girl, found out abo ut the war in the museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. She did not have an opportunity to know about it – in school teachers did not talk about the Vietnam war, media did not highlight war issues, but once accidently she sawShow MoreRelatedThe Heroes Of The 1800 S1308 Words   |  6 Pageseach .Slavery was the most controversial topic and the greatest issue of the 1800’s. This spawned many fractious people, groups, and rebellions throughout the United States. Inevitably, when trouble arises there are also â€Å"heroes† who stand to face those challenges. To fight their oppressors and stand for what they believe is right. Heroes of the 1800’s include Fredrick Douglass and many others who found a way to prove their points with as little bloodshed as possible. However one man is known asRead MoreOnly One View in a Story641 Words   |  3 Pageslike Ngozi states â€Å"Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans, and not with the arrival of the British, and you have an entirely different story. Start the story with the failure of the African state, and not with the colonial creation of the African state, and you have an entirely different story.† Many history textbooks only tell a single story, often times they are cleaned up before being presented to American youth. Information that is suppressed has left the youth ignorant of muchRead More Stories of Scottsboro by James E. Goodman Essay810 Words   |  4 PagesScottsboro. By James E. Goodman. (New York: Vintage Books. c.1994. pp. 274. $16.00) Currently in the United States of America, there is a wave a patriotism sweeping across this great land: a feeling of pride in being an American and in being able to call this nation home. The United States is the land of the free and the home of the brave; however, for the African-American citizens of the United States, from the inception of this country to midway through the twentieth century, there was no such thingRead MoreBrown V Board of Education: 19541597 Words   |  7 Pagesdecision led to nationwide desegregation in educational and other institutions and gave impetus to the civil rights movement in America. Jim Crow laws kept the minorities (primarily African Americans) of this country in a very neglected and fearful state; this was the face of our country for decades. My family is primarily from the south, North Carolina and Virginia (During this time period in the 1950s, these were and still can be a very difficult place for blacks and many other minorities to liveRead MoreChristopher Columbus, Andrew Jackson, And President Van Buren1397 Words   |  6 Pagesthat the way the American government chose to gain territory was selfish and ignorant and led to the loss of many cultures and precious lives. Some of the ways this happened was by the removal of rights, battles, untruthful treaties, and confiscation of land. In many ways American history books and movies portray Christopher Columbus, Andrew Jackson, and President Van Buren to be American heroes, but these so-called â€Å"heroes† are actually murderers, thieves, and liars. Jackson and Van Buren believedRead MoreThe Best War Ever : America And World War II1362 Words   |  6 PagesIn his book The Best War Ever: America and World War II, Michael Adams tries to dissolve the many misconceptions of World War II. As the title of the book implies, The United States left the war with a great optimistic view of the these â€Å"glorious† five years. The United States as a population had been tricked into believing in the, at times, fabricated conditions of its history that had been presented to people as some beautiful stories and myths where nations are viewed as being first-rate in unionRead More Compare and contrast images of heroism in these two poems. Essay1421 Words   |  6 Pagesand society in which its context is being used. A person who shot someone to save the life of another may be viewed as a hero under the scrutiny of one culture, but in a different time or location the very opposite may be true. Nevertheless, heroes exist and posses these ever changing heroic qualities. Beowulf is clearly demonstrated to be a hero, and we can observe the qualities he possesses to enable him to have that title. While Sir Gawain’s heroic accomplishments are a little more debatableRead More The Invisible Native American Essay936 Words   |  4 Pageshalf-naked savages seen on the television movies. With more modern movies like Dances with Wolves and some of the documentaries like How the West was Lost, some of these attitudes have changed. But the American public as a whole is still very ignorant of what it means to be a Native American-today, or historically. Whose fault it this? The public school system is one problem. When I was in school, if I wanted to learn anything of my heritage, I had to search it out myself. Trying to findRead MoreThe Iraq Invasion Of Iraq1548 Words   |  7 PagesThe Iraq Invasion is definitely a subject of immense controversy regarding whether or not it was the appropriate action by the United States. Should the United States have interfered in Iraqi affairs? What was the real intention of accusing Iraq for having weapons of mass destruction and holding them accountable for the 9/11 terrorist attacks even though they were innocent of both allegations? Did the U.S. media cover all the truth in Iraq? Was the main purpose of the invasion the greed of oil Read MoreDeviance And Its Effect On Society1328 Words   |  6 PagesIn the United States of America, societal deviance changes nearly on a daily basis. Depending on the current culture, deviance is modified to make societal heroes like celebrities, political figures, and sport players look less deviant and more like role models for the public. The change in what is considered â€Å"normal† is customarily a result of society in general. By using a reference group of people, individuals tend to identify with those who are in the lime light. Then when that role model does