Abstract
Adopting a social learning perspective towards the interface between the use of pair work and language learning, the present study investigated the dyadic interaction in an EFL course for young learners at pre-elementary school level. A number of 18 EFL learners were put into 9 pairs and received instructions on 24 target vocabulary items during 6 sessions. In each session, the participants completed a recognitions task and a production task. Their dialogues were recorded, transcribed, and coded as exhibiting one of the four patterns: collaborative, expert/novice, dominant/dominant, and dominant/passive based on Storch’s (2002) patterns of interaction coding scheme. The comparison between the patterns and the participants’ performance on a vocabulary test revealed that collaborative and expert/novice were associated with better learning outcomes. The findings are discussed along with Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and pedagogical implications for trainers and instructors. Keywords: Sociocultural theory; social learning; patterns of interaction; peer response; vocabulary acquisition DOI: http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2017-2301-08
Highlights
The social interactionist view regards learning as a social act and not as “a solitary demonstration of individual knowledge” (Roberson 2014, p. 1)
A single pattern of interaction was identified for each peer response transcript and the number of instances of patterns of interaction for each pair across six sessions was identified
This study aimed at investigating whether Storch’s (2002) patterns of interaction can be extended to other aspects of language learning such as vocabulary acquisition and be applied to analysing pair talk among young learners of English
Summary
The social interactionist view regards learning as a social act and not as “a solitary demonstration of individual knowledge” (Roberson 2014, p. 1). 76) and, as with every small or big society, the language learners in a classroom are engaged in different types of interactions These interactions have multiple meanings and can lead to multiple learning outcomes (Brooks 1990). Peer response is supported by the communicative language teaching approach which puts authentic interactions between the learners as its central theme (Roberson 2014). Neither these theoretical arguments nor the popularity of peer response guarantee the success of all peer response in promoting learning. Rather than being static, peer response possesses a variety
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