Learner Code-Switching in the Content-Based Foreign Language Classroom

The goal of this article is to further our understanding of how learning opportunities are created in interactions. Based on a conversation analysis of peer interactions of foreign language learners, we investigate how the negotiation of expert positions among these learners affects this process. The focus of the analysis is on the relationship between the conversation analytic notion of “doing‐being‐an‐expert” and learning in the context of word searches. We challenge the fixed notions of expert and novice and highlight the roles of interpersonal context, tools, and positioning in the negotiation of expertise. Drawing on the socio‐interactionist notion of situating learning in interaction, we argue that there is a link between the negotiation of expert positions and opportunities for learning.

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“…As Lea here, students commonly draw on their language repertoire as learning resources (cf. Creese & Blackledge, ; Liebscher & Dailey‐O'Cain, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positioning the Expert: Word Searches, Expertise, and Learning Opportunities in Peer Interaction

Reichert

Liebscher

2012

The Modern Language Journal

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“…An important study (Liebscher & Dailey-O'Cain, 2004) will not be discussed here as it analyzes code-switching in an advanced level content-based seminar whereas this study deals with the views of participants enrolled in a beginner language course.…”

Section: Student Perspective On L1 Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Students' Views Regarding the Use of the First Language: An Exploratory Study in a Tertiary Context Maximizing Target Language Use

Rolin-Ianziti¹,

Varshney²

2008

The Canadian Modern Language Review

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The present study investigates the functions that language learners attribute to the first language (L1) within a teaching context that maximizes the target language (TL). Beginners of French in an Australian university (N ¼ 52) completed a questionnaire consisting of 21 closed questions on their views on L1/TL use and two open questions on the advantages/ disadvantages of using the L1 in teaching and learning a language. Results confirm previous studies indicating that students attribute a function to L1 to impart knowledge about the TL medium. The particularities of the context may help explain other findings of the study. First, a majority of students showed a preference for the use of L1 to perform classroom management. Second, for respondents, L1 and TL have an impact on anxiety and motivation. While L1 use may alleviate classroom anxiety, it may also be a demotivating factor. This article calls for further research to examine the impact of the teaching context on students' views of L1/TL distribution.Keywords: students' perceptions, use of the first language, language teaching at beginner level, importance of teaching context Résumé : Cette recherche s'est intéressée aux fonctions que les apprenants de langue attribuent à la langue première (L1) dans un contexte pédagogique qui maximise la langue cible (LC). Des apprenants d'une université australienne, débutants en français (N ¼ 52), ont rempli un questionnaire comptant 21 questions fermées concernant leurs points de vue sur l'emploi de la L1 / LC ainsi que 2 questions ouvertes sur les avantages / désavantages que pose l'utilisation de la L1 dans l'enseignement et dans l'apprentissage de la LC. Nos résultats confirment les conclusions d'études antérieures selon lesquelles les apprenants attribuent une fonction à la L1 dans la transmission de connaissances en LC. Les caractéristiques du contexte de recherche dans la présente étude pourraient expliquer certaines de nos autres constatations. Premièrement, une majorité des apprenants a exprimé une préférence pour l'emploi de la L1 en ce qui concerne la gestion de classe. Deuxièmement, les participants ont rapporté que l'emploi de la L1 ou de la LC exerçait une influence sur leur anxiété et sur leur motivation ; bien que l'emploi de la L1 puisse réduire leur anxiété, parallèlement, # 2008 The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 65, 2 (December/décembre), 249 -273

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“…For example, Shin and Milory's () study showed that Korean–American schoolchildren used CS as a contextualization strategy to achieve particular conversational goals. Liebscher and Dailey–O'Cain's () analysis suggested that, when students were permitted to codeswitch, they effectively turned the classroom into a space where their CS practices resembled authentic multilingual interaction outside the classroom. Üstünel and Seedhouse () were the first to examine the pedagogical functions of teacher‐initiated and teacher‐induced CS in FL classrooms by explicating the intricate relationship between language choice and pedagogical focus.…”

Section: Codeswitching In Classroom Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Codeswitching and participant orientations in a Chinese as a foreign language classroom

Cheng

2013

The Modern Language Journal

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Using a conversation analysis approach to codeswitching (CS;Auer, 1984Auer, , 1998, this study examines the relationship between participants' orientations to two in-class interactions and their CS practices in a Chinese as a foreign language classroom. Specifically, the analysis focuses on a teacher and one focal student's converging and diverging orientations towards two different types of classroom interaction: assessment talk and an instructed language learning activity. When a mismatch in their orientations occurs, the teacher and student deploy CS as an interactional resource to achieve a common pedagogical goal. CS is thus shown to be a constitutive interactional practice through which the teacher and student accomplish foreign language teaching and learning. Moreover, the close observation of teacher-student interaction in this study encourages language teaching professionals and classroom researchers to consider how CS indexes students' understanding of the pedagogical focus in different classroom activities and how its strategic deployment might foster language learning.

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Learner Code-Switching in the Content-Based Foreign Language Classroom

Cited by 43 publications

References 18 publications

Positioning the Expert: Word Searches, Expertise, and Learning Opportunities in Peer Interaction

Positioning the Expert: Word Searches, Expertise, and Learning Opportunities in Peer Interaction

Students' Views Regarding the Use of the First Language: An Exploratory Study in a Tertiary Context Maximizing Target Language Use

Codeswitching and participant orientations in a Chinese as a foreign language classroom

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