Teacher Talk Research Articles

Pathways to educational integration: affordances and constraints on migrant children's participation in Swedish preschool teaching activities

ABSTRACT This study explores the integration of newly arrived migrant children in Swedish preschools, focusing on their participation in teaching activities. The research is part of a larger project examining how these children, who experience a double transition into both a new cultural and educational environment, become integrated into early childhood education and care (ECEC). The study investigates how different teaching activities either facilitate or constrain migrant children’s democratic participation. The research was conducted in two rural preschools with predominantly Swedish-speaking children and practitioners. The findings reveal that migrant children are more engaged during musical and physical activities, which rely less on verbal communication, compared to linguistically based activities. Teacher-controlled events, which consistently link language with resources, help maintain migrant children’s attention, while dialogic teaching practices often result in their disengagement. The study highlights the importance of structured and inclusive teaching practices to support the educational integration of migrant children.

The Impact of a Dialogic Intervention on a Chinese Rural Teacher and Students' Stances Towards Texts

ABSTRACTIn language arts classrooms, dialogic teaching encourages diverse text interpretations, fostering discussions that enhance students' literacy skills like reasoning. However, adopting a dialogic stance poses challenges for both teachers and students. The study investigated the impact of a tailor‐made dialogic intervention on a Chinese rural teacher and students' stances towards texts. Chinese rural students shifted from efferent and instrumental stances to a more critical‐analytical stance, indicating a profound change in how rural students interacted with texts through exploratory talk, highlighting the potential of dialogic teaching practices to foster deep engagement with reading materials. However, after the intervention ended, the teacher reverted to a monologic approach due to limited dialogic texts and time constraints. The findings underscore the potential of dialogic teaching for engaging rural students, yet highlight the need for sustained teacher training and suitable texts. Future research should focus on cultivating and maintaining students' growth mindset effectively in rural settings.

Lexical frequency and target language input in the primary languages classroom

ABSTRACT This paper presents an exploratory study of L2 input in the primary languages classroom. Teacher talk in 33 videorecorded lessons taught to Year 3 French beginners by a specialist teacher of French was analysed, in order to document the extent and nature of L2 vocabulary input. Further analyses compared the lexis of teacher talk in this primary setting with high-frequency wordlists derived from two reference corpora designed to support the teaching of L2 French. Results showed that children were exposed to c 45,000 words (tokens) of French, reflecting a teacher vocabulary of c 650 lemmas. Intentionally taught lexis such as foods or animal names typically received massed practice, not always supplemented by distributed practice. The teachers’ partial but consistent use of French for classroom management contributed to a well-balanced distribution of word classes. There was considerable overlap with both reference wordlists, and divergence could largely be explained by the teacher’s choice of topics, and incidental use of French to personalise and engage childrens’ individual interests, as well as for classroom management purposes. In discussion, the need for careful planning and management of vocabulary instruction is highlighted, as well as the significant potential of L2 classroom management to enrich lexical input.

Enhancing collaborative online learning in higher education: using Google Docs to analyze Literature texts by teacher trainees

The purpose of this project was to explore how collaborative learning can be enhanced through Information Communications Technology in the critical reading and analysis of Literature texts in a particular teacher training course at a selected university in Uganda. The study undertook an interventional research approach whereby critical literacy principles provided the basis for formulating online tasks that would provoke higher order thinking skills such synthesizing, analyzing, reasoning, comprehending, application, and evaluation during the discussion of the play The Lion and the Jewel. A conversational framework was adopted to design a collaborative learning environment by which face-to-face sessions were combined with technology in form of Google Docs. Some of the steps of engagement included identifying the eight participants, sharing of initial content on critical literacy with them, face-to-face sessions and uploading of tasks. The findings reveal that with systematic instructions and guidance Google Docs can provide a collaborative learning platform whereby students can continuously comment about Literature texts in a conversational manner; the intervention proved the possibilities of flexibility in the learning environment; and dialogic teaching especially when discussing Literature texts was greatly enhanced during this intervention. This study was carried out in a real time learning context during the teaching of one of the researcher’s courses. The finding thus can offer some useful guiding steps as benchmarks for actual take up of other ICT tools in teaching and learning in higher institutions of education

The Analysis of English Teacher Talk Modification in Classroom Interaction of 2nd Grade Students at MTsN 6 Kubang Putiah

This research was due to some problems that were found in MTsN 6 Kubang Putih. First, teacher gave less pauses during her talk in the classroom. Teacher talk should be give more pauses for students’ comprehension. Second, the teacher did not do self-repeat frequently. She only does it sometimes. Self-repeat in teacher talk also need to be done frequently. Self-repeat is when the teacher repeat her sentence or word for the students to get a better understanding. This research was descriptive qualitative. , the subject of the research is the teacher and students of English class of the second grade in MTsN 6 Kubang Putih in academic year 2021. There is six class and one class consist of 30 students. The researcher focused on teacher’s talk in the classroom interaction in English class. The researcher used purposive sampling to choose the student to be interviewed or participant. The data of the present study are collected through observation in the classroom and conducting interview. The researcher found that the modifications seen in teacher talk in language classrooms, including a slower rate of speech, longer and more frequent pauses, exaggerated and simplified pronunciation, more basic vocabulary, less subordination, more declaratives and statements versus questions, and more self-repetition, were all present. This supports the findings from Chaudron and Dodu's study of modification of teacher talk in language classrooms. The findings of this research highlighted the importance of teacher modifications in language teaching. It is essential for teachers to vary their speech rate, use pauses, and stress particular words in order to emphasize the messages they are trying to communicate within the classroom. Self-repeat can aid learners in understanding the instructional content better. Additionally, teachers should incorporate simple vocabulary within their discussions, and use more declarative senteces. Modifying the teacher talk is an effective strategy in helping learners better comprehend the material being presented.

The role of oral language in the dialogic primary classroom

ABSTRACT This article takes stock of the current trends in research, policy and practice regarding the role of language in the dialogic classroom. The article uses the policies of two different educational jurisdictions as counterpoints to highlight the different ways that oral language can be positioned within primary curricula. It reflects on current and recent research literature, exploring how language can promote the collaborative learning that is central to dialogic pedagogy, highlighting the value of less formal registers or less ‘certainty’ in the proposal of ideas. The article then offers a linguistic-ethnographic analysis of what this looks like in practice, drawing on classroom observational data gathered in English primary schools. Finally, these three strands of theory, policy and practice are brought together, scoping ways forward for the inclusion of language and dialogue in primary education.

Semiotic Packaging of Teacher Talk for Affective Recyclings: A Usage-Based Approach to Children’s Construction Development

This study examines how iconically designed teacher talk facilitates preschool novice L2 learners’ construction development through playful interactions. It combines two approaches: ethnomethodological conversation analysis and usage-based linguistics. The conversational data were retrieved from teacher-children interactions filmed at an all-English school in Japan. The microanalysis of 945-minute classroom interactions illustrated that when a part of teacher talk was packaged with iconic semiotic resources, such as gestures, situated meanings, tones of voice, and affective stances, it became accessible L2 resources for the children to learn and recycle in their subsequent utterances. Simultaneously, the analysis also revealed the pragmatic mechanism of teachers’ assignment of interactional responsibility, inviting children to perform language learning of target constructions through recyclings. The recycled part of the teacher talk indicated the children’s microgenetic usage-based language learning as they modified and developed L2 constructions to accomplish certain social actions—sanction of a deviated action, attention-getting, and storytelling in situ. This study indicates that language learning opportunities can be integrated into children’s processes of achieving specific social actions, and language learning performance can be invited as an appropriate practice in situ by certain teacher talk designs.

Helping teacher education students’ understanding of self-regulated learning and how to promote self-regulated learning in the classroom

This research investigated the details and effects of a short online Professional Learning Program designed to develop teacher education students’ knowledge about how to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) in the classroom. The Program was based on a new framework for how teachers can promote SRL, the SRL Teacher Promotion Framework (SRL-TPF), which focused on the promotion of SRL strategies, students’ knowledge about learning, and students’ metacognition. It consisted of seven modules describing the different SRL promotion types and SRL capabilities and ways to promote them through teacher talk and action. Modules included written information and video examples taken from observations of real classrooms, which were used to illustrate the transfer of SRL theory to instructional practice. Each module concluded with several assessment items. During the Program the participants, 91 teacher education students, were asked to use a simplified scoring system based on the SRL-TPF to code lesson transcripts taken from classroom observations. The results showed that by the end of the program over 85% of the participants were able to provide teacher instructions that included explicit SRL promotion and/or promoted students’ SRL knowledge. Our study contributes to research findings on teacher education students’ knowledge of SRL, their promotion of SRL to students, and the contribution of short duration SRL professional development.

“Our Voyage with Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics”

From the Archives highlights articles from NCTM’s legacy journals, previously discussed during MTLT Teacher Talk.

Teacher Talk Analysis in The Youtube Video "Differentiated Learning on Self-Introduction" From SMAN 1 Pangkalan Susu Through FIAC

This study analyzes teacher talk in the YouTube video "Differentiated Learning on Self-Introduction" from SMAN 1 Pangkalan Susu using the Flanders Interaction Analysis Category (FIAC) system. Teacher talk, which includes both direct and indirect verbal interactions, plays a critical role in fostering an engaging and effective learning environment. The research focuses on identifying patterns of teacher-student interactions that support differentiated learning, a method designed to cater to individual student needs. The results reveal that indirect talk, such as accepting feelings and giving encouragement, accounts for 60.87% of the interactions, while direct talk, like giving instructions and lecturing, constitutes 39.13%. This balance suggests a strong emphasis on student engagement through supportive communication, essential for differentiated learning environments.

Interthinking in asynchronous online talk: A study of Hong Kong English as a second language learners

Engaging in productive forms of classroom talk has been shown to positively impact students’ thinking and language exposure. To maximize the effects of classroom talk on students who learn English as a second language (ESL) and to create more learning opportunities by leveraging the affordances of dialogic teaching in enabling interthinking, this study set out to explore the influence of asynchronous online talk on students’ thinking through a micro-blogging tool, Padlet. Twenty-five students from a local secondary school were recruited. They were asked to post their views on current news articles and conduct dialogues with one another through the commenting function. After the discussion, the students were invited to self-evaluate the process of the discussion. Five students were also invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that the asynchronous online talk had the potential to broaden and deepen students’ thinking through the creation and maintenance of their intermental development zone (IDZ). The talk also facilitated the internalization of co-constructed ideas for individual production. Drawing from these findings, it is recommended that the conceptualization of interthinking could capitalize on students’ self-evaluation and that the evaluative stage could be structured in interactive tasks in future instructional practices.

Teacher collaborative inquiry into practice in school-based learning communities: The role of activity type

This study contributes to growing scholarly interest in teacher-led, school-based learning communities and the characteristics of teacher dialogue and social interaction that support professional learning in these settings. Based on existing conceptual distinctions proposed in the literature, we term this type of teacher dialogue “collaborative inquiry into practice” (CLIP) and propose a systematic and reliable tool to measure it. We then employ a quantitative, comparative research design to study how different teacher team activities (i.e., video-analysis, peer consultations, and pedagogical planning) shape the extent to which teachers engage in CLIP. Fifty-four transcribed teacher meeting excerpts were analyzed with the CLIP coding scheme, assessing different aspects of inquiry-based reasoning, participation, and content. Quantitative comparisons and illustrative examples show that CLIP was lowest during peer consultations, in part because teachers were often not positioned as agents of change in such conversations. Pedagogical planning activities featured more instances of inquiry into each other's ideas. Contrary to common assumptions, collaborative video analysis activities were not characterized by increased attention to student thinking or inquiry orientation. Our findings provide new insights into teacher-led, collaborative learning in on-the-job settings, as well as practical implications for the design of school-based professional learning communities.

Navigating controversial discussions: the role of talk moves in dialogic teaching

Despite its importance for students’ learning, engaging students in dialogic discussions, especially about controversial, justice-oriented topics, can be difficult for U.S. teachers to enact due to current political constraints. In this study, we explore how three middle school teachers engaged their students in curriculum-embedded discussions on a controversial topic and highlight their deployment of talk moves to invoke or extend discussions, assert authority, and interrogate. Using the Low-Inference Discourse Observation tool, we also identify how teachers used specific talk moves for each of these purposes during discussions. Our work underscores how teacher talk moves, coded along a spectrum of dialogicity in form, can function differently in the context of dialogic discussions about controversial topics.

Social annotation and dialogic teaching and learning in English language arts

AbstractThis research study explores the role of social annotation in supporting dialogic teaching in secondary English language arts. Grounded in Bakhtin's dialogism and building upon research into online discussion, this study describes how a high school English teacher and her students used a digital annotation tool to read and talk about texts. Analyzing student annotations based on discourse features associated with comprehension and high‐level thinking, the study examines the extent to which social annotation supports quality dialogue. Findings highlight the need for open‐ended prompts and teacher scaffolding of online discussions, and authors suggest that dialogue enhances comprehension of texts when students go beyond reporting on others' thoughts and instead share their own ideas, connections, and questions about the text.

Competencies in interdisciplinary engineering education: constructing perspectives on interdisciplinarity in a Q-sort study

ABSTRACT Interdisciplinary engineering education (IEE) is gaining traction as engineering practices increasingly acknowledge the need to transcend traditional boundaries given the complexities of globalised systems. IEE, however, faces challenges that underscore uncertainties and different perceptions about what interdisciplinarity means for engineering education, what it requires, and how current educational practices should change accordingly. This study addresses these concerns by taking competencies as indicators. Analysing new angles interdisciplinary approaches bring to traditional engineering competencies, we first propose six IEE-related competency categories. We then use the Q-sort methodology to investigate how interdisciplinarity is envisioned within overall engineering educational goals. Findings highlight three distinct perspectives, seeing IEE respectively as social-holistic, technical problem-solving, and reflective pragmatic. Each perspective embodies specific values and conceptions about the role and implications of interdisciplinarity for engineering education. The multifaceted understandings of and approaches to realise IEE suggest the need for nuanced strategies and continuous dialogues in education.

Indigenous socio-educational recognition in the construction of intercultural knowledge dialogues in education

Indigenous socio-educational recognition in the construction of intercultural knowledge dialogues in education

The Influence of Individual Differences in College English Dialogue Teaching

This study analyzed the impact of individual differences among students on college English conversation teaching and proposed corresponding teaching strategies. Research suggests that differences in students' language abilities, personalities, and learning styles may have a positive or negative impact on teaching. Through literature review and case analysis, the paper explores the specific impacts of these differences and proposes strategies such as personalized teaching, emotional teaching, and group collaboration to enhance teaching effectiveness. The study emphasizes the importance of teachers in adapting to individual differences among students and provides guidance for educational practitioners.

Смысловое чтение рассказа «Солдат в лесу»

In the article, the author of the story “Soldier in the Forest” from the book “How Vovka Learned Humanity” reveals the methodology of text activity. The goal of working with the text is to lead children to an understanding of the noble qualities of the heroes of the story, who tidy up the forgotten grave of a soldier who defended the Motherland in the Great Patriotic War. A scenario of a possible lesson on the surrounding world in the fourth grade based on the story “Soldier in the Forest” is given. The methodology of reading the text by younger schoolchildren, its analysis and evaluation of the narrative during the educational dialogue is discussed.

Analysing educational dialogue around shared artefacts in technology-mediated contexts: a new coding framework

ABSTRACT Multimodal interactions that incorporate technology use can support rich new forms of educational dialogue that highlight differences between participants’ perspectives and make reasoning processes more explicit. Learning with technology is mediated by digitally represented knowledge artefacts that participants construct together and manipulate through dialogue. However, there is a need for research into the methods by which researchers and practitioners can understand the learning taking place in such complex environments where verbal and nonverbal interactions with technology are inter-connected and entangled with activities and material learning resources. This paper addresses that need. It offers a critical discussion of the underlying theory and presents a new 13-category coding scheme, ‘Tech-SEDA’. This is the first public version of a systematic, research-informed and practical tool for analysing verbal and nonverbal dialogic communication at the micro- or meso- level across diverse educational settings. Application is illustrated with examples of dialogic interaction across diverse technology contexts by learners located in classrooms or remotely – including online discussions, 3-dimensional modelling in augmented reality, software apps on tablets, Knowledge Forum, Scratch programming, interactive whiteboards, and more. The paper considers the methodological issues arising in capturing dynamic multimodal dialogue and in identifying the learning taking place.

Podcasts as Teacher Talk in Historical Thinking

One of the challenges associated with preparing teacher-candidates to teach historical thinking involves moving away from narrative practices that inhibit explicit use of historical thinking concepts. One belief is that if teachers are able to demonstrate out loud how historians work with primary sources—and thus model historical reasoning through the use of historical thinking strategies—they can better assist their students to arrive at more complex understandings about the constructed nature of history. Indeed, as van Boxtel and van Drie (2018) have argued, how teacher-candidates make sense of the past is key to how their future students will learn to make sense of the past. In this practice-oriented journal article, I explore the benefits and challenges of using podcasts as a pedagogy for preparing pre-service teachers to model historical thinking—and thus engage in dynamic conversations as teacher talk. Through a semester-long project that culminated in the development of “Unwritten Histories” podcasts, teacher-candidates were encouraged to work in groups to adopt a National History Day framework for historical inquiry. This involved the use of annotated bibliographies, inquiry questions, and storylines. Participants were also required to adopt a vocabulary for historical thinking, thus practising the strategy of modelling historical thinking out loud—as teacher talk. This pedagogy was found to be beneficial in supporting a criterialist stance in historical reasoning. What makes this inquiry unique is that while a great deal of research has been undertaken with regards to explicitly teaching historical reasoning through document-based writing (De La Paz et al., 2010; Monte-Sano, 2011; Nokes et al., 2007; Sendur et al., 2021), very little research has been undertaken with regards to creating dialogic podcasts for this purpose.