Classroom Interaction and Second Language Acquisition: The More Interactions the Better?

Congmin ZHAO

Abstract


This paper attempts to describe the relationship between interaction and SLA in the classroom. Research findings tend to point to the conclusion that more involvement in interaction does not ensure better achievements. This conclusion points to the importance of looking at classroom interaction (CI) and second language acquisition (SLA) holistically. Learners learn by engaging in interactions per se but also by listening to interactions. The implication for classroom pedagogy is that the teacher should not encourage more interactions single-mindedly but base his decisions of varying the dimensions of CI on a host of factors.


Keywords


Interaction; Observable participation; Unobservable participation; Eavesdropping

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ellis, Rod (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Allwright, R. (1984). The importance of interaction in classroom language learning. Applied Linguistics, 5, 156– 171.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Williams, Marion, & Robert L. Burden (1997). Psychology for language teachers: A social constructivist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Long, M. H. (1985). Linguistic and conversational adjustments to non-native speakers. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 5, 177-193.

Allwright, Dick, & Bailey, Kathleen M. (1991). Focus on the language classroom: An introduction to classroom research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Krashen, Stephen D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Slimani, Assia (1992). Evaluation of classroom interaction. In J. Charles Alderson, & Alan Beretta (Eds.), Evaluating second language education (pp.197-221). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hall, Joan Kelly (2000). Classroom interaction and additional language learning: Implications for teaching and research. Joan Kelly Hall, & Lorrie Stoops Verplaetse Mahwah (Eds.), Second and Foreign Language Learning Through Classroom Interaction (pp.289-298). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Rivers, Wilga M. (Ed.). (1987). Interactive language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Foley, Joseph (1991). A psycholinguistic framework for task-based approaches to language teaching. Applied Linguistics, 12, 62-74.

Hall, Joan Kelly (1999). A prosaics of interaction: The development of interactional competence in another language. Eli Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning (pp.137-151). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/n

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c)



Share us to:   

 

Online Submission: http://cscanada.org/index.php/sll/submission/wizard


Reminder

How to do online submission to another Journal?

If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:

1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author

Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.

2. Submission

Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.


We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases: caooc@hotmail.com; sll@cscanada.net; sll@cscanada.org

 Articles published in Studies in Literature and Language are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).

 STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Editorial Office

Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138 
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org 
E-mail: office@cscanada.net; office@cscanada.org; caooc@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2010 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture