An analysis of interaction patterns in elementary English classes

초등영어 수업에서 교사와 학생의 상호작용 연구

The purpose of this study was to analyze the interaction patterns of elementary English classes in terms of the taking of turns, number of words used, learner responses, teacher initiated vs student initiated questions, interaction structures, and meaning negotiations. A total of 11 classes, 7 Korean Teacher(KT)/Native Teacher(NT) cooperative classes and 4 KT only classes, were videotaped and transcribed. The results were as follows. First, teachers took more turns than students in both types of classes. Second, KT uttered 43.4% of the language in KT/NT classes whereas NT uttered 26.9% of the language in their classes, which implies KT played a more dominant role. And teachers in both classes used more than 90% of the English used. Third, NT used more IRF interactional structures whereas KT used more IR structures in the cooperative classes. Fourth, display questions were used three times as much as referential questions were in both types of classes. Finally negotiations of meaning occurred about 4 times per class. Whenever teachers provide a modelling, repetition, or translation of utterances, the negotiation of meaning succeeded. Based on the results, some suggestions were made.