Engaging learners: conversation- or dialogic-driven pedagogy?

Abstract

Conversation-driven' ELT privileges classroom talk as a primary source of language learning, yet it is often unclear to what the term 'conversation' is referring. This article reports on an investigation responding to this problem in which a substantial database of language classroom recordings was analysed for the types of talk that were taking place. Activities in language lessons that were driven by conversation were analysed using classroom discourse techniques. Opportunities for language learning through the language emerging from these activities were identified, and a type of talk was specified in which learners were engaged more in exploring issues and possibilities, and less in transacting information and opinions. This study demonstrates the importance of teachers being aware of the types of talk occurring in their lessons, which they should be strategically managing. It provides teachers with a platform from which they can begin to analyse the talk in their own classrooms. This class is so different than my last one. In last term we talk and talk but never feel to learn much. In your class we talk and think. I mean you make us think and tell us how to talk and we talk and think and talk. (EFL student, author's data) Dogme ELT (Meddings and Thornbury 2009) is a movement that began at the turn of the millennium in response to the perceived misgivings of teachers' language lessons relying on materials rather than 'genuine' communication. Teaching materials are presumed to hinder such communication and take the focus away from learner language. Based on the overriding aim of foregrounding the language created by the learners during meaningful communicative exchanges, a Dogme 'syllabus' is more about this 'emergent language' and less about the content of coursebooks and other materials. Language learning episodes are claimed to have their beginnings in these social interactions, where there is a perceived or noticed need to develop the repertoire of a learner's functional linguistic system. Together, these claims have generated significant interest among many English language teachers, yet they have undergone little empirical investigation. Central to Dogme ELT is its 'conversation-driven' methodology (ibid.: 8), which is also central to the concerns of this article. Notably, the

Contributions and silence in academic talk: Exploring learner experiences of dialogic interaction

“…There were instances of highly active discussions, and periods of very little contribution. It is not my intention to analyse the interaction in this paper as in-depth analyses of teaching episodes and dialogic interaction have been well documented in the literature in mainstream classrooms (Jones, 2010;Mercer, Dawes & Staarman, 2009;Reznitksaya, 2012) and ESL classrooms (Chappell, 2014;Seedhouse, 2004). Instead, the aim of this paper is to explore why students contribute and why they choose to remain silent.…”

Group Work in the English Language Curriculum

“…The talk is often presentational in nature, more 'final draft' than 'first draft' (Barnes, 2008, p. 5), since the next anticipated phase of the lesson for the students, another well-known classroom ritual, will involve the teacher nominating each student to present his or her information, or a spokesperson to do so on behalf of the group. In a sense, these activities involving group talk are often preparation for a recitation activity (Chappell, 2014). However, the transition to elicitation results in a rather unexpected turn at talk, as can be seen in the transcript below.…”

“…In a study where I investigated a range of second language classrooms (Chappell, 2014), I developed a taxonomy of types of talk, borrowing from classroom research conducted by several scholars in mainstream (non second language) classrooms: Alexander (2001Alexander ( , 2008; Cazden (2001); Lindfors (1999); Mehan (1979); Mercer (2000). Since then, after analysing more classroom talk, I have modified the taxonomy, presented in Table 4.1.…”

“…At the same time, the balance between discussion and inquiry dialogue is one that needs to be strategically managed. Eclecticism in classroom talk is not to be avoided; however, it needs to be an informed eclecticism to avoid the problem that an EFL student encountered in her class: 'we talk and talk but never feel to learn much' (Chappell, 2014). …”

Language education via audio/videoconferencing (LEVAC): A discursive investigation

“…Current literature suggests that there is a considerable vagueness about the nature of speaking or 'conversational' lessons worldwide. In a recent paper on conversation-driven ELT (English Language Teaching) pedagogy, Chappell (2014) asks "if we are privileging conversation, then what is it exactly that is being privileged?" (p. 2).…”