Interactive Pair Work in Grammar-discovery Tasks: Focus on Form and Mutual Scaffolding

Interactive Pair Work in Grammar-discovery Tasks: Focus on Form and Mutual Scaffolding

  This study investigated how learners perform a grammar-discovery task by focusing on two conditions thought to be important for L2 learning: focus on form and the interaction which takes place while learners solve problems in the task. Focus on form was defined by the occasions when learners are engaged in discussing the target structure and interaction was investigated in terms of scaffolding which occurred between learners during dyadic discussion. The analysis of the data showed that the learners were engaged in discussing the target structure but there was no positive link between the extent to which learners discuss the target form and gains in learning. All transcriptions of learners pair work displayed evidence of scaffolding in various forms, indicating that the learners approached the task with a collaborative orientation. The analysis further showed that members of the dyad engaged in co-construction of knowledge through collaboration with their peers. The results were discussed within the framework of sociocultural theory and pedagogical implications for L2 learning were suggested.