Language-related episodes and pair dynamics in primary school CLIL learners: A comparison between proficiency-matched and student-selected pairs

Abstract

A considerable body of research within the interaction framework (Long, 1996) has centred on the language-related episodes (LREs) which occur when learners topicalize a specific linguistic item while they are engaged in meaning-focused tasks. Several studies have shown that the production of LREs may be influenced by the proficiency level of the learners (Kim & McDonough, 2008; Leeser, 2004). Sociocultural theory (Lantolf & Appel, 1994) has also explored collaborative work and the effect that pairing learners with the same proficiency levels or different patterns of interaction (Storch, 2002) has on the production of LREs (e.g., Mozaffari, 2017; Storch & Aldosari 2013), but little research has compared the effect of the pair formation method (student-selected vs. proficiency-matched) on young learners’ production of LREs and pair dynamics. This study compares young CLIL learners (aged 10-12) in student-selected and proficiency-matched pairs in task-based interaction. Results indicate that learners produce more meaning-based than form-based LREs, regardless of their pair formation method. The percentage of meaning-based LREs which are resolved accurately is much higher in proficiency-matched dyads than in student-selected ones. As for the patterns of interaction (Storch, 2002), the dynamics of proficiency-matched dyads are of a more collaborative nature than those of self-selected pairs.

Examining learning opportunities and perceptions of Latin American ESL learners in varying proficiency‐level groups

“…For Task 1 (see Appendix ), adapted from Choi and Iwashita (2016), participants watched a scene from the movie Toy Story 3, discussed key ideas about what they watched and wrote a creative ending for the scene. For Task 2 (see Appendix ), adapted from Basterrechea and Gallardo‐del‐Puerto (2020), participants chose the potential owner of a lost toy and then wrote a message to the child's parents providing information about where the toy was found and how it could be collected. Three versions were created for each task to ensure CLs completed a different task in each group.…”

Analysis of CLIL-Related Research in School Settings: A Systematic Review

“…It is also noteworthy that another area of emerging research within PrE is in-class procedure in line with the one proposed by Coyle et al (2010). Discourse analysis with transcripts of verbal reports of students' in-class interaction and teacher-students interaction has been the object of study to explore not only the teachers' language, for instance, the use of open questions as a scaffolding technique to foster interaction and science content in CLIL classes (Tagnin & Ní Ríordáin, 2021), but also to pair dynamics in task-based interaction (Basterrechea & Gallardo-del-Puerto, 2020), collaboration in written tasks (Jakonen, 2019).…”