Initiation Response Follow-up Research Articles

Gender and Diversity in EFL Textbook Dialogues: Interactional Structure and Pedagogical Implications

AbstractFocusing on English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language (EFL) textbook dialogues, this study explores both gender equality and diverse identities from the perspective of interactional competence. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to examine gender differences in textbook dialogues concerning interactional patterns, and second, to derive pedagogical implications for gender equality and diverse identities in English‐language teaching from the findings. This study proposes the initiation‐response‐follow‐up (IRF) model of discourse structure as both an analytical framework and a pedagogical framework for exploring and incorporating interactional competence related to gender and diversity. Findings reveal an overall balance in the interactional patterns between females and males in the textbook dialogues, although major differences were found in relation to particular discourse features in the context of a specific type of dialogue initiation. These findings are discussed in relation to possible classroom strategies for incorporating the IRF discourse structure to inform the teaching of interactional competence and sociolinguistic skills, particularly as relevant to the linguistic dimension of promoting diverse identities.

“Pedagogical Communication in Modular Distance Learning Modality for Primary Graders”

The study investigated the significance of pedagogical communication to find out if there is a difference between traditional face-to-face instruction and modular instruction, to discover the flow of pedagogical communication in modular instruction, to identify the needs and challenges that occurred in the pedagogical communication of today’s modular instruction, and to discern the pros and cons of modular instruction. The study employed Tsui’s (1994) IRF (Initiation-Response-Follow-up) Taxonomy and Burroughs’ (2007) Typology of Actual Compliance-Resistance Strategies and Messages as the bases for the detailed categorization of the learners’ responses. Qualitative content analysis was utilized to treat the gathered data generated from the pedagogical communication content of the Grade 2 Grade 3 modules, specifically the entire lessons found in Quarter 1 Module 1 of English subject only per grade level. It encompasses three major phases: preparation, organization, and reporting of the results. Based on the summary of findings, it was found out that all Tsui’s IRF head acts were present. Still, there were some sub-categories that were not present, and so with the sub-categories on Burroughs’ Typology of Actual Compliance-Resistance Strategies and Messages. Indeed, the pedagogical communication present in the Modular Distance Learning modality must be maintained and improved for the continuous development of the teaching-learning process and lived experiences among teachers, learners, parents, guardians, stakeholders, and other concerned individuals, with a focus on learner-centeredness and learner agency.

Extended dialogues in establishing children-teacher play: The pattern of initiation–challenge–extension (ICE)

In studies of classroom discourse in early childhood education and care (ECEC), a dominance of the communicative pattern of initiation, response, follow-up (IRF) is shown, and a need of knowledge about extensive dialogue for meaning making is argued. In the present study, communication between children and teacher(s) in play is consider as a form educational discourse mediating language learning. The study, informed by a sociocultural perspective aims to contribute to the knowledge of pattern of establishing a pedagogical dialogue in play activities. What characterizes the communication establishing a joint play in which children come to participate in extensive dialogues is clarified through reanalyzing video-documented data from a project concerning play, learning and teaching in ECEC. The analysis implies a pattern of ICE: children initiating a play (I)—a teacher challenging the initiative (C)—children expanding the content (E). The function of challenging is understood as the critical contribution for opening for and expanding the children’s verbal participation. A conclusion of changing the follow-up from evaluating to expanding in a pedagogical dialogue is recommended to study further in different contexts.

Learner Initiative Based on Learners’ Turns in a Korean Kindergarten English Classroom

Learner initiative and very young learner talk have not been fully investigated despite the growing recognition of their importance in English education. Therefore, the present study examined the sequential development of talk-in-interaction observed in an after-school English program in a Korean kindergarten classroom by investigating how children contributed their behaviors to class participation using the methodological framework of conversation analysis. Data was collected from one intact classroom interaction between a native teacher and 28 seven-year-old children. The analysis highlighted a noticeable interactional phenomenon, learner initiative, which was revealed through children’s turn position in the Initiation-Response-Follow-up (IRF) sequence. In particular, this study presented evidence that learner initiative could be displayed through learners’ self-selected turns: initiating repair of the teacher’s previous utterance, asking a question, and displaying knowledge of words. These findings were discussed in relation to the view of learners as active agents through the process of interaction and suggested pedagogical implications of very young learners’ classroom interaction.

Two Heads Better than One? Exploring the Co-teaching of Intercultural Competence by NES and NNS Teachers

Collaborative teaching between one native English speaking (NES) teacher and one non-native English speaking (NNS) teacher has been found to be more effective than traditional ways of lecturing in improving students' language competence, yet its superiority in cultivating students’ intercultural competence has rarely been considered, let alone confirmed. To address this gap, this study tracks a 12 weeks’ course co-taught by an NES teacher and a local Chinese teacher (NNS) at a university in China. Based on the initiation-response-follow-up (IRF) analytical framework and after triangulating three data resources (class recordings, class observations, interview with students), it found that overall co-teaching generated extended IRF sequences with diverse speech functions. In particular, the NES and NNS adopted distinctive yet complementary roles in IRF sequences, with the NES eliciting and contributing culture evidence and the NNS developing and explaining students’ argument in culture comparison. This study suggests that intercultural co-teaching can help students progress from passive, culture-textbook-based learning to authentic, communication-process-oriented learning.

Developing Interaction in ESL Classes: An Investigation of Teacher-Student Interaction of Teacher Trainees in a Sri Lankan University

This study examines the possibility of using of IRF (Initiation-Response-Follow-up) sequence of teacher-student interaction in Sri Lankan ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for developing longer interactional exchanges which are believed to be useful for language development. Usually, in Sri Lankan ESL classes, teachers ask more display questions and a few referential questions. As a result, teacher-student interaction occurs only occasionally and they follow the traditional IRF pattern with an evaluation at the third move. Teachers could develop longer interactional exchanges by giving follow-up questions or prompts at the third move of the IRF sequence so that students respond, elaborate, explain or prolong their responses. This study examines how the teacher trainees on their teaching practice of a TESL degree programme at a university interacted with their students in ESL classes and how they changed their pattern of interaction to sustain more student interaction. Using lecture discourse data as the basis of the analysis, this study evaluated the changes after an intervention that focussed on training the teacher trainees in developing longer interactional episodes. The results revealed that there was only a slight improvement in the way teacher trainees maintained interactions in the lessons after the intervention. Hence, this study enlightens the possibility of utilizing interaction for language development through intensive teacher training.

The quality of teacher feedback matters: Examining Chinese teachers’ use of feedback strategies in preschool math lessons

This study examined 69 Chinese preschool teachers’ use of feedback strategies in their math lessons. Guided by the Initiation-Response-Follow-up (IRF) framework, math lessons were coded using quality feedback strategies in CLASS (CLASS-PreK; Pianta et al., 2008). Specifically, the frequency of teachers’ feedback strategies as well as their effectiveness of engaging children in higher-order thinking were examined. Results showed that teachers were quite familiar with the use of feedback strategies such as recognition, back-and-forth exchanges, and teacher persistence. Moreover, in terms of promoting children’s critical thinking, teachers were ineffective when scaffolding and querying children’s responses and actions.

Teacher Questioning Practices over a Sequence of Consecutive Lessons: A Case Study of Two Mathematics Teachers

This study examined teacher questioning practices over a sequence of consecutive lessons in China. Based on the IRF (initiation–response–follow-up) framework, a comprehensive coding system was developed to analyze what kinds of verbal questions were initiated by the teachers to elicit mathematical information and in what ways the teachers made use of students’ verbal contributions. This study finds that all participating teachers’ questioning practices showed both variations and consistencies over the lesson sequence. It is argued that the act of asking questions in classroom interaction not only includes the teachers’ conscious planning so as to accomplish pedagogical goals, but also involves the teachers’ unconscious routine in how to build up on students’ thinking.

Pedagogical Tensions in Teacher’s Questioning Practices in the Mathematics Classroom: A Case in Mainland China

During the last decades, curriculum reform has been implemented in mainland China to emphasize classroom interaction in mathematics teaching and learning. The intention to create more chances for classroom interaction in large-size classrooms has led to the introduction of self-learning guide which allows students to go through the learning contents before the classroom learning. This study investigates the pedagogical tensions emerging in a mainland Chinese mathematics teacher’s practices of using self-learning guide to reform classroom questioning. The analytical entry point is the examination of the IRF (Initiation/Response/Follow-up) structures evident in the reform-based mathematics classroom interactions. The results show that, by using various reform-based questioning strategies, students were given adequate opportunities to present and share their mathematical thinking and ideas. The nature of the pedagogical tensions has shifted from imbalance of time allocation for classroom discussion and lecturing to imbalance of opportunities for guided classroom discussion and elaborated classroom discussion.

Teaching Language Learners to Elaborate on Their Responses: A Structured, Genre‐Based Approach

AbstractDue to Japanese students' poor record of conversational ability in English in homestay contexts (Pryde, 2014), classroom English language curriculum decisions were reinvestigated in order to better prepare students to participate in study abroad experiences. A genre‐based approach was used to teach and reinforce a conversational structure designed to extend students' second move in the initiation, response, follow‐up (IRF) triadic dialogue. This study discusses how a genre‐based approach can teach language learners to make the most of their role in an IRF‐based conversational framework and specifically investigated the use of an educational tool, termed “quadratic structure,” to improve students' conversational skills, metalinguistic awareness, confidence, and willingness to communicate in the target language. Pedagogical implications for both course design and study abroad are also discussed.

Triadic Dialogue in EFL Classroom: Embedded Extensions

Students learn languages through talking and there is a documented need for more student talk in the classroom. Through talk we learn not only structural components of a language but also the communicative application of it. Can standard classroom speaking strategies, embodied in typical predictable patterns, successfully serve these functions? And to which extent should those traditional patterns allow predictability and control in managing classroom interaction? In this paper the focus is driven towards the ways the classroom teacher can orchestrate and support a kind of classroom discourse that engenders more active student talk that leads to foreign language learning. A particular emphasis is put on the use of the Triadic Dialogue, known as IRF (initiation-response-follow-up) pattern, the value of which has been debated in writings on language education. It has attracted criticism for being ritualistic and restrictive, although recent research has pointed to the range of functions that may be fulfilled by the follow-up move. The paper examines the constituents and possible sub-genres of the three-part classroom exchange and aims to prove that a certain degree of freedom is possible within the constraints of the Triadic Dialogue. Drawing on recorded episodes of teacher-students interaction in adult EFL classroom, the paper will show that the three-part pattern allows spontaneous variations and extensions initiated both by teachers and students. The variety of forms that the basic IRF structure can take enriches the linguistic repertoire of choices in the co-constructed classroom reality.http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.18.416

A preliminary investigation into communication in the special needs classroom during Key Stage 3 English lessons

A preliminary study was conducted to investigate the communicative roles performed by teacher and pupil during Key Stage 3 (KS3) English lessons. Two classes of a special school were involved in the study. Data collection employed video capture of teacher—pupil communication during timetabled English lessons. The data were transcribed and analysed in terms of interaction structure, communicative functions and modes. Significant differences between teachers and pupils were observed with regard to interactional structure: the teachers occupied more turns and used a higher number of initiating and follow-up moves than the pupils; the pupils used more response moves than the teachers. Analysis of communicative functions revealed significant differences between teachers and pupils, with teachers using more requestives and feedbacks. The exception was the informative function, which showed no significant difference between the groups. In terms of communicative modes, teachers used significantly more speech, although no significant differences were recorded on the measures of sign and gesture. This small-scale study illustrates the use of the initiation—response—follow-up sequence in communication within the classroom. Teacher use of multi-modal communication appears to reflect those used by the pupils in the study. Implications for future research and practice are considered.

Teacher–student talk in Singapore Chinese language classrooms: a case study of initiation/response/follow-up (IRF)

In this article, I analyse the initiation/response/follow-up (IRF) exchanges between teachers and students in teacher-fronted instruction by using transcribed classroom data. Adopting a social constructivist position, I examine ways in which teachers construct or reduce students' learning opportunities in these communications. Furthermore, I demonstrate how language is used to serve the functions of mediation and to provide learning opportunities. Although teachers talk most of the time and control most of the turns, I argue that teachers can improve their talk and control in their fronted instruction to optimise student contributions and to facilitate students' learning.

Dialogue in the Classroom

There is increasing agreement among those who study classrooms that learning is likely to be most effective when students are actively involved in the dialogic coconstruction of meaning about topics that are of significance to them. This article reports the results of an extended collaborative action research project in which teachers attempted to create the conditions for such dialogue by adopting an inquiry approach to the curriculum. A quantitative comparison between observations made early and late in the teachers' involvement in the project showed a number of significant changes in the characteristics of teacher–whole-class discourse, with a shift toward a more dialogic mode of interaction. Nevertheless, the initiation-response-follow-up (IRF) genre continued to be pervasive. Despite this, when the same observations were examined qualitatively, there was clear evidence of an increase over time in the teachers' adoption of a "dialogic stance." The article concludes with a consideration of the relationship between the choice of discourse formats and the enactment of a dialogic stance.

OK, who’s got number one? Permeable Triadic Dialogue, covert participation and the co-construction of checking episodes

The three-part Initiation, Response, Follow-up (IRF) cycle, or Triadic Dialogue, has been shown to be a common pattern in classroom discourse, and is widely used in EFL classrooms. The value of Triadic Dialogue has been debated in general education, where it has attracted criticism for being over-formulaic and restrictive, although recent research has pointed to the range of functions that may be fulfilled by the follow-up move. But how do teachers and learners actually work within this pattern in the adult EFL context? This paper examines lesson extracts from two multilingual Business English lessons, focusing first on how the teachers embed a variety of language functions within Triadic Dialogue used in checking episodes. It then goes on to investigate how the students engage in a variety of covert individual and group activities during checking episodes. It concludes by arguing that Triadic Dialogue may be viewed as a ritualistic framework, with points of permeability where teachers can initiate embedded extensions and students can enact their own personal agendas. It also argues that the checking episode itself may be viewed as a hybrid, exhibiting multiple macro functions in the wider classroom discourse and process.

Reevaluating the IRF sequence: A proposal for the articulation of theories of activity and discourse for the analysis of teaching and learning in the classroom

Noting the fundamental compatibility between activity, theory, as developed by Leontiev (1981) , and the theory of discourse developed in the Halliday, 1970 , Halliday, 1975 , Halliday, 1978 , Halliday, 1984 ; Halliday & Hasan, 1985 ) tradition, this article attempts to develop an integrated framework for the description and analysis of classroom discourse. Episodes of discourse, it is proposed, are best understood as occurring in the Operationalization of the Actions, and their constituent curricular activities and tasks, through which the participants engage in the Activity of Education. Which genre of discourse is coconstructed in any episode depends on the goal of the task in which it occurs and on choices of register with respect to its Operationalization in the situation. In the second part of this article, this framework is applied to a corpus of data videorecorded over the course of a unit of study on time in a Grade 3 classroom in order to gain a better understanding of the various functions performed by the discourse genre of triadic dialogue, recognized by its characteristic IRF (initiation-response-follow-up) structure.