An Analysis of the Interactional Patterns that Encourage Learner Utterances

Abstract

This paper examines interaction patterns which encourage learner utterances and others which do not encourage them, based on classroom data from the Spring Semester Overseas Teaching Practicum, Academic Year 2012, held at the Universiti Sains Malaysia. The interaction patterns have been categorized into three types. The first type includes cases in which an interaction did not develop due to the author's failure to conduct an appropriate follow-up in the IRF pattern. The second type includes cases in which opportunities to develop an interaction were lost as the author had failed to take advantage of a learner initiation. The third pattern includes those in which opportunities for an utterance were lost because the author did not appoint a specific learner as the next speaker. As a result of the analyses, an improvement measure has been proposed for the first pattern in which the author should conduct interactions which emphasize the contents of the utterances more than grammatical accuracy, taking into consideration learner needs as well as the course objectives. The improvement measure proposed for the second pattern is to limit the amount of speech by the author, thereby giving more turns to talk to the interlocutors. For the third pattern an improvement measure has been suggested in which the author should increase opportunities for learner utterances by appointing individual learners as subsequent speakers, while considering a shared topic by learners an effective medium for developing an interaction.