Language Use and Language Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Language Use and Language Learning - Essay Example Furthermore other variables such as the environment, time and situation at the time of this study may not be constant through the ages. This report analyzes a study conducted to learn about teacher-student interaction. the lecture is given to students of grade 3 who are learning English as their second language. The teacher is a Pakistani national teaching in the Grammar School whose first language is Urdu. Data were analysed using grounded theory methodology following a step by step process. The teacher and student interaction was recorded and transcribed to be processed further. First a set of descriptive categories which were representative of classroom dynamics and interaction were identified. Initiation-Response-Evaluation, Forms of Feedbacks and Types of elicitation were identified. This helped in identifying the features and patterns of interaction in the class room. Mehan (1979) studied classroom dynamics and analysed the language used during classroom both by the teacher and the student. The interaction between the two sides was analysed as function role it played during a lesson. He discovered that teachers initiate an elicitation, the students respond, and then there is an evaluative interaction. These interactions were labelled Initiate-Response-Evaluate (IRE). In our classroom, the findings are similar.... And this independence is vital for learning. Response rate of the students is on the slower side, but this response latency can be a cause of stage fear and fear of public speaking in some students. In the transcript two concepts of learner repair can be seen from the responding side. First there is 'correction' from the teacher asking the student to repeat the text in the correct way. Then there is 'peer-repair' in which another student responds to the first student. This again re-emphasizes the openness being observed in the classroom as even students are encouraged to answer the queries. Evaluation took place after an initiation of the question had been responded by the student. The evaluation was usually accompanied by a question so that the teacher could properly understand the student's level of comprehension and in cases, to aid in further comprehension. Forms of Feedback Some of the forms of feedback that have been identified as being used by the teacher in this study are from-related comment, explicit correction and clarification. Form-related comment refers to positive or negative response (not correction) to previous statement. The use of a positive word 'good' is an example of this. Explicit correction refers to any linguistic correction of a previous utterance. The correction of 'he-stant' to 'hesitant' is an example of this. Clarification is a request from the student to the teacher or vice-versa to explain or clarify something. The example of clarification is students asking the meaning of certain words. Types of Elicitation Mehan (1979) identified four types of elicitations in the instructional phase of the lessons analysed. These elicitations help us know the teacher's