Promoting Student Participation in Seminar Courses: A Case Study

Abstract

Using a conversation analysis approach, the present study investigates the teacher-led question-answer sequences of one successful seminar course ( Short Stories and Western Culture ) within the curriculum reform for English majors in Beijing Foreign Studies University, aiming at uncovering an effective way of integrating disciplinary learning with language skills development. The result of the analysis shows that the teacher of the course, who perceives student participation as an indispensable ingredient of his class, often uses more divergent, opinion-seeking questions to initiate discussion and uses four types of expansion question on his turns to promote student participation, namely, probing questions (PQ), clue-giving questions (CQ), elaboration requests (ER), and agreement checks (AC). The study also generates an I-R-(E)-F-FC [ Initiation-Response-(Evaluation)-Follow up-Further Contribution ] model, in which the teacher attempts to promote student participation and guide the construction of students' understanding. 本研究采用会话分析的方法，对北外英语专业课程体系改革中一门比较成功的讨论型专业课（《短篇小说与西方文化》）课堂上的师生问答序列进行分析，旨在探究高年级专业教学与语言技能（口语）训练结合的有效途径。分析结果显示，这门课中教师采用发散式、征求观点类问题引发学生参与，而后又采用四种问题话轮来拓展学生的发言。这四种扩展问题话轮分别是：追问、提供线索式问题、详述请求、同意检验。同时，研究中还总结出一套由引发一回答一（评价）一跟进一进一步发言构成的会话模式。该模式不仅促进了学生参与，同时也有助于教师帮助学生构建对课程内容的理解。