Language Moves in Classroom Discussion: A Discourse Analysis

Abstract

In any classroom discourse, teachers are challenged as to how they elicit responses from their students and make them realize the importance of participation to attain learning. This paper aimed to know the language moves in classroom discourse and focuses on how language move shapes students’ participation. It used Flanders’ (1970) theory on language moves categorized as structuring, soliciting, responding, and reacting. Using qualitative-descriptive design utilizing discourse analysis, the researcher found out that all patterns of Flanders’ moves are present with the following types for soliciting – checking students’ day, encouraging to ask questions, asking questions, giving hints, and checking if students learn; for responding – giving commendations, answering questions and queries, and discussing the answers; for structuring – directing/requesting someone to pray, leading the prayer, reviewing the past lesson, introducing topic, interacting through question and answer, explaining the lesson, encouraging students, encouraging students to participate/ to answer questions, asking someone to answer, giving quiz/oral activity, giving directions for quiz/oral activities, giving activity, and asking students to continue the activity; and for reacting – shushing the students, giving announcements/bidding goodbye, greeting, discussing, connecting talks to today’s lesson, giving commendations, warning/advising, correcting students’ statements/answers, and giving information. Moreover, students voluntarily participate when they are commended by their teachers.