Prior research showed that interleaved practice (studying multiple skills at once) is more effective than blocked practice (studying only one skill at a time). This study aims to replicate the benefits of interleaved practice on the proceduralization of second language (L2) syntax and further examines the role of working memory (WM) in different practice schedules. Sixty English learners studied five types of relative-clause constructions under either blocked- or interleaved-practice conditions. The blocked-practice group engaged in systematic form-focused speaking practice with exemplars blocked by syntactic category, while the interleaved-practice group received mixed exemplars from the different categories. The proceduralization of grammatical knowledge was measured by analysing the accuracy and speed indices from a picture description test, which was administered immediately and one week after the training session. Learners’ WM capacity was measured using a listening-span task. Results showed that interleaved practice led to more accurate performance on both immediate and delayed posttests than blocked practice. The advantage of interleaved practice was less pronounced for the speed dimension of performance. Furthermore, interleaved practice facilitated skill development regardless of learners’ WM capacity, whereas in the blocked-practice condition, learners with higher WM capacity benefited more than those with lower WM capacity in speeding up of relative clause use, which presumably reflects the proceduralization–automatization stage.
Since Monbukagakusho (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)) introduced its new course of study guidelines, most public elementary schools now offer English Activities classes, mostly classes teamtaught by the homeroom teacher (HRT) and an assistant language teacher (ALT). Although team teaching has received a lot of attention in Japan, there are few studies on team teaching at elementary schools. This observational study examines the interaction among HRT, ALT, and students, with a focus on HRTs' participation patterns in the interaction. The data come from six team-teaching English Activities classes in five randomly selected public elementary schools. The data revealed four observable ways HRTs participated: by being (a) a "bystander," (b) a "translator," (c) a "co-learner" of English, or (d) a "co-teacher." The various participation patterns exhibited by the HRTs affected the classroom interaction in distinct ways. Teaching implications for both experienced and novice teachers are discussed. 「総合的な学習の時間」が本格的に開始されて以来多くの公立小学校で英語活動が導入 されてきた。多くの学校では学級担任と外国人指導助手のティームティーチングによる 授業を行っている。日本ではティームティーチングという言葉をよく耳にするが、小学校
While the interactional conditions and timing of applause in audience response to public speeches has received attention in conversation analysis research, little research has been done on applause in educational contexts. The nature of applause, however, can vary depending on the context. This paper examines classroom-specific applause and focuses on where in classroom interaction the applause can occur, who initiates the applause, and what the applause accomplishes in the interaction. The data come from 14 audio and video-recorded Japanese primary school EFL class sessions. The analysis reveals that the applause in the data was a typically teacher-initiated action and it regularly occurred in sequence closing position as a positive assessment to the students’ success in carrying out the teachers’ oriented-to expectations.
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