Teacher’s classroom interaction strategies in a class in a secondary school in hanoi a case study

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES DƯƠNG NGỌC HẢI TEACHER’S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN A CLASS

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

DƯƠNG NGỌC HẢI

TEACHER’S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN A CLASS

IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HANOI: A CASE STUDY

(Chiến lược tương tác trong lớp học của giáo viên trong một lớp tiếng Anh tại

một trường THCS ở Hà Nội: Một nghiên cứu trường hợp)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

HÀ NỘI - 2020

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

DƯƠNG NGỌC HẢI

TEACHER’S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN A CLASS

IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HANOI: A CASE STUDY

(Chiến lược tương tác trong lớp học của giáo viên trong một lớp tiếng Anh tại

một trường THCS ở Hà Nội: Một nghiên cứu trường hợp)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Nguyễn Văn Độ

Nguyễn Văn Độ

HÀ NỘI - 2020

STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY

I hereby state that the Master’s thesis entitled “Teacher’s classroom interaction strategies in a class in a secondary school in Hanoi: A Case Study” was carried out by me for the degree of Master of English Teaching Methodology under the guidance and supervision of Assoc Prof Nguyễn Văn

Độ Where I have quoted from the work of the others, the sources are always given With the exceptions of quotations, this thesis is entirely on my own work

I confirm that the work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification

I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Dương Ngọc Hải

Hà Nội, ……… 20……

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my

supervisor, Assoc Prof Nguyễn Văn Độ who has spent his precious time to

instruct me in my research topic as well as research progress Without his constructive feedback and great encouragement, this thesis would not come into existence

Besides, I am particularly grateful to the enthusiastic lecturers and staff from Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU Their shared experiences as well as their profound knowledge have extended my understanding about the world around me in several ways

Furthermore, I truly desire to express my sincere gratitude to all the participants in the research, including the school management board, the teacher and her class of grade 7 students for their invaluable assistance and active involvement

in my data collecting procedure

Subsequently, I wish to extend my profound gratitude towards my loving family for their deep empathy and wholehearted support to me They have always been standing by me during turbulences of my life

Last but not least, I wish to offer my special thanks to my friends, who have been totally reliable They have made me partially comprehend numerous life‘s philosophy through everyday talks

I thank them all and wish them all the best in their lives

ABSTRACT

From the very first day of their teaching career, every language teacher has grasped the tremendous impact of classroom interaction on students‘ language acquisition process In an effort to follow the discernible trend, numerous teachers have strived for improving their interaction with students inside classroom, which has visibly developed students‘ great fascination with communicating in English With paramount concern about the widespread occurrence, I – as a teacher – would

like to conduct a thesis entitled: “Teacher’s classroom interaction strategies in a

class in a secondary school in Hanoi: A case study.”

With the intention of identifying the classroom interaction strategies adopted

by a teacher and discovering how such strategies affect interaction between teacher and students, the thesis is carried out as a case study which enables both researcher and readers to approach from an objective standpoint Based on the theory and model from several researchers, the thesis proposes to thoroughly analyze the classroom interaction from certain aspects

The major methods and procedures employed throughout the study include class observations and class recordings A combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods allow me to generate comprehensive and reliable data so as to present reliable and important findings In this way, the validity as well as the reliability of the thesis will be guaranteed Hopefully, the thesis will provide substantial support to novice teachers longing for enhancing their classroom interaction with learners

Key words: teacher’s classroom interaction strategies, ESL classroom,

secondary school

TABLE CONTENT

STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY i

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE CONTENT iv

LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS, CHARTS AND MODELS vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Statement of problem and rationale for the thesis 1

1.2 Aims and objectives 2

1.3 Significance of the thesis 2

1.4 Scope of the thesis 3

1.5 Organization of the thesis 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 The concept of case study 5

2.2 The concept of interaction in ELT 6

2.3 Classroom interaction in ELT 7

2.3.1 Types of interaction 7

2.3.2 The concept of classroom interaction in ELT 10

2.5 Types of teacher interaction strategy in classroom discourse 13

2.5.1 Teacher-fronted strategy 14

2.5.1.1 A model for classroom interaction 15

2.5.1.2 Teacher classroom interaction and questions 18

2.5.2 Facilitator-oriented strategy 19

2.5.3 Learner-oriented strategy 21

2.5.4 The difference between IRF pattern in teacher fronted strategy and IRF pattern in facilitator-oriented strategy 23

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 25

3.1 Study context 25

3.2 Sampling 26

3.2.1 Teacher participant selection 26

3.2.2 Student participant selection 28

3.3 Data collection instruments 29

3.4 Data collection procedure 30

3.5 Data analysis methods 31

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 32

4.1 Findings 32

4.1.1 Teacher-fronted strategy 32

4.1.2 Facilitator-oriented strategy 35

4.1.3 Learner-oriented strategy 35

4.2 Discussion 36

4.2.1 Teacher-fronted strategy in classroom discourse 36

4.2.1.1 IRF pattern in teacher-fronted strategy 37

4.2.1.2 Model for classroom interaction and teacher’s role 44

4.2.2 Facilitator-oriented strategy in classroom discourse 49

4.3 Combination of findings from all instruments 54

4.3.1 Research question 1: Strategies employed by teacher to enhance classroom interaction 54

4.3.1.1 Strategies employed by teacher 54

4.3.2 Research question 2: The dominant strategies and the contribution of each strategy to classroom interaction 55

4.3.2.1 The dominant strategies 55

4.3.2.2 The contribution of each strategy to classroom interaction 56

4.4 Implications for teaching and teacher training 58

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 58

5.1 Major findings of the study 58

5.2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 60

REFERENCES 61 APPENDICES LXV

APPENDIX A LXV CONSENT FORM LXV APPENDIX B III OBSERVATIONS III OBSERVATION NUMBER 1 III OBSERVATION NUMBER 2 VIII OBSERVATION NUMBER 3 XV OBSERVATION NUMBER 4 XVIII OBSERVATION NUMBER 5 XXV OBSERVATION NUMBER 6 XXXIV OBSERVATION NUMBER 7 XLII APPENDIX C L SUMMARY OF AREA OF INTERACTION AND ROLE OF TEACHER

IN BYRNE’S MODEL L

LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS, CHARTS AND MODELS

Table 2 Number of facilitator-oriented strategy units in

Table 3 Summary of interaction area teacher‘s role in

Diagram 1

Types of teacher interaction strategy in classroom

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ELT English Language Teaching

ESL English as a Second Language

EFL English as a Foreign Language

SLA Second Language Acquisition

IRF Teacher initiation – Student response – Teacher follow-up VEPH Vietnam Education Publishing House

MOET Ministry of Education and Training

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter releases statement of the problem and rationale for the thesis, the aims, the objectives, the scope as well as the design of the whole thesis The research questions are also framed as a specific guideline for the entire thesis

1.1 Statement of problem and rationale for the thesis

It is beyond dispute that English has become the communication language with approximately 1.75 billion users as reported by Harvard Business Review (2012) Conceivably, during the globalization, English has turned into an indispensable language in a great number institutions and companies Multinational corporation as well as enterprises have spread their business all round the world, and as a result, English turns out to be a necessity to apply for a job Not only in economy but also in entertainment does English play a pivotal role Practically all well-known songs, books and films are released in English English somehow has been an essential part of our daily life

In harmony with the vigorous development of English, Vietnam is not an exception In order to integrate with other countries in the world and export Vietnamese culture, Vietnam has exerted tremendous efforts and one of the simple ways to fulfill this task is through teaching and learning English English has been a mandatory subject in schools Syllabuses and methods have been improved continuously to satisfy the world‘s growing demand for English teaching A great quantity of concerted attempts have been made by Vietnamese government and relevant institutions to ameliorate English teaching and learning in Vietnam In his study, Hoang (2018) stated that: ―To promote the study of English further and to better the quality of English teaching and learning in Vietnam to meet the increasing trends of globalization and international interdependency of the global village, on September 30th, 2008 the Vietnamese Prime Minister issued Decision No1400/QD-TTg on Approving the 10-year National Plan for Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Formal Educational System in the Period of

2008 –2020, which is said to be worth 9.378 billion VND (currently equivalent to

about 5 billion USD).‖ Such investment has emphasized the significance of teaching English at schools to a developing country like Vietnam In addition, Allwright pointed out that ―Stevick has argued convincingly (1976) that we may expect learning to be more effective the more deeply it involves the learner Moskowitz has developed this point into a whole range of activities (1978) aimed at helping learners learn through interaction with their fellow-learners, interaction that involves bringing personal value systems to the surface in the classroom The fourth set of arguments used to support 'communication' in the classroom centres on the idea that learning may be enhanced by peer discussion From this point of view better understanding is likely to result if learners discuss their learning, and share their various understandings (Barnes & Todd, 1977) They may learn directly from each other, or, more likely, they will learn from the very act of attempting to articulate their own understanding.‖

1.2 Aims and objectives

First, the thesis proposes to examine the basic strategies adopted by a secondary school teacher in one of her English classes so as to explore her method

to stimulate classroom communication among the class Second, another objective

of the thesis is to determine which strategies are the dominant ones among the discovered ones Last but not least, the thesis aims to examine to what extent each

of the dominant strategies boost teacher‘s classroom interaction

In order to accomplish this goal, the research is expected to address the following questions:

1 What strategies are employed by the teacher to enhance classroom interaction in this case study?

2 Among the listed strategies, what are the dominant ones utilized by this teacher? To what extent does each of these strategies support her classroom interaction?

1.3 Significance of the thesis

During various decades, interaction in an ELT class has long been a highly controversial issue Gardner (2019) commented that: ―Learning requires not only the development of linguistic competence but also the emergence of skills of appropriate turn taking, of engaging in classroom activities, of performing various social actions such as requesting or disagreeing, of telling stories, of repairing problems in understanding or speaking Understanding these is understanding what Seedhouse (2004) called ―the architecture of the language classroom‖ (or for that matter other classrooms).‖ Thus, classroom interaction occupies a significant role in promoting language learning in classroom Through an investigation of how classroom communication is facilitated by the teacher, firstly, the research is aspired

to improve my method of classroom interaction in teaching secondary school students Secondly, the research is supposed to contribute its discoveries to the selected topic in ELT Last but not least, conclusions drawn from my individual perception will be added to the help novice teachers enhancing their knowledge

1.4 Scope of the thesis

The research is aimed at detailed data obtained in the class such as recordings and observations as well as the studies on the same topic In terms of in- class evidence, I have contemplated gathering recordings and observations in English periods of this English teacher and her class at her secondary school The recorded files are precise information on how the teacher‘s approaches to boost classroom interaction are used My observations at class are meant to detect the non-verbal data such as body language and visual aids used at class Based on the aforementioned sources of information, the classroom interaction method of the teacher will be uncovered Regarding previous studies on the same topic, my study

is projected to utilize them as an additional source for analyzing information

1.5 Organization of the thesis

The content of the study includes the following chapters:

Chapter 2 - Literature review – presents the relevant information on the classroom interaction in ELT

Chapter 3 - Methodology – delivers a clear description of the method employed in the analysis and discussion

Chapter 4 – Discussion and findings – provides readers with the thorough analysis of collected data basing on the theories mentioned in Literature Review, reviews the analyzed data and comments on the key findings of the research

Chapter 5 – Conclusion – summarizes the major findings of the research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter expounds the fundamental concept of classroom interaction strategy in EFL/ESL classroom Besides, the main features of model and features for classroom interaction are also presented in this chapter so that readers can adopt general perspectives in classroom interaction

2.1 The concept of case study

On mention the definition of case study, Stake (1995) cited Louis Smith - one of the first educational ethnographers - that the case is explained ad a ―bounded system‖, drawing attention to it as an object rather than a process Smith has added that in the social science and human services, the case is a single entity which has its own purposes In other words, a case is an integrated system that consists of a boundary and working parts The parts do not have to be working well, the purposes may be irrational, but it is a system Thus people and programs clearly are prospective cases

Smiths also points out that the compelling cases in educational and social services are related to people and programs ―Each one is similar to other persons and programs in many ways and unique in many ways We are interested in them for both uniqueness and commonality‖ It is human nature to raise doubt about what other people tell us, and vice versa, they will cast doubt about our saying However,

in a case, researchers tend to enter the scene with a sincere interest in ―learning how they function in their ordinary pursuits and settings and with a willingness to put aside many presumptions we learn‖ Therefore, the case study is adopted when there is a perceived necessity to study a person or a program as well as its correlation with the context

After having carefully considered, I decided that the research will be conducted as a case study for a broad variety of reasons First of all, in an educational background, the use of case study is reasonable because it is necessary

to recognize her individuality as well as the similarity with the former study in

classroom interaction How the teacher applied certain strategies into her classroom communication should be surveyed in her own context Second, as the world has changed dramatically in the past few decades, it is unavoidable that public opinion has regarded particular interaction strategies, such as teacher-fronted strategy, as outdated The below case will find out whether the such point of view is suitable to this case or not Last but not least, the selection of case study is projected to highlight the strategies of this individual and her relation with her milieu

One more remarkable feature is the case of this study As mentioned before,

a case is a ―bounded system‖ which consists of a boundary and working parts Which interaction strategy teacher uses in each period is the case that needs researching The boundary limited in a single class with 7 random periods The working parts, in this case, will aim to tackle the following topics: which strategies teacher chooses to interact with her students, how her students reply and why she chooses such strategies

2.2 The concept of interaction in ELT

There has been a wide range of opinion about the definition of interaction in ELT Rivers (1987) has asserted that: ―Students achieve facility in using a language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that

is, messages that contain information of interest to speaker and listener in a situation

of importance to both) This is interaction.‖ In other words, classroom interaction

appears when speakers and listeners concentrate on the messages delivered and received in class ―As Wells has expressed it: ―Linguistic interaction is a collaborative activity‖ involving ―the establishment of a triangular relationship between the sender, the receiver and the context of situation‖ (Wells, 1981), whether the communication be in speech or writing (For Wells the content of the message is part of the ―situation‖).‖ (Rivers, 1994) What Wells really meant closely resembles what Rivers thought about interaction: communicative activities are the essential nature of interaction Another striking feature that is also acknowledged by both Rivers and Wells is that classroom interaction is extremely

likely to happen when both the listeners and speakers are put in a context that is significant to them Under a circumstance that both teachers and students are involved does interaction exclusively occur

Rivers continued that whether the interaction is straightforward or implied, the involvement of the crowd is compulsory to create face-to-face communication

In ELT, the crowd is comprised of the learners and, indisputably, the teacher Likewise, the setting in which people convey and collect messages plays a crucial role in creating interaction ―The participants work out interpretations of meaning through this interaction, which is always understood in a context, physical or experiential, with nonverbal cues adding aspects of meaning beyond the verbal All

of these factors should be present as students learn to communicate: listen to others, talking with others, negotiating meaning in a shared context.‖

―A structured sequence of structured activities we may or may not have; we may promote inductive or deductive learning, or a mixture of the two; but communication must be there – interaction between people who have something to share.‖ Whatever the teaching method is, interaction is a fundamental prerequisite

to the procedure of learning acquisition In short, interaction does not happen with only one person Such phenomenon emerges when more than one individual engage

in the learning process in ELT

2.3 Classroom interaction in ELT

2.3.1 Types of interaction

According to Robinson (1994), interaction is divided into 2 types: verbal interaction and its counterpart – nonverbal interaction Fundamentally, each of these two fundamentals affects and supports each other, creating a perfect structure of classroom interaction

In terms of verbal interaction, Robinson (1994) stated that speech is employed to promote effective teaching Teaching is directly attributed to

conversation owing to its verbosity, style and method, all of which were mentioned

by Freire (1970) Giroux (1998), however, underlined the importance of words in accelerating an individual‘s educational progress Freire argued that in dialogue each word contains two aspects: reflection and action If a word is unable to spur students into action, the function of reflection will be impoverished as well Specifically, without verbal interaction in classroom, students may find it impossible to rapidly

advance in learning

Regarding teacher‘s speech in classroom, Freire has argued that there are two practical purposes which teacher‘s classroom interaction serves: First, speech is adopted to ―direct, guide, instruct, suggest, and persuade the students to do different things‖ Second, it can be utilized to ―silence students, deprive them of their own words and keep them locked in silence.‖ (Freire, 1970) Nevertheless, he elucidated that between two mentioned roles, the first one embraces the dominant part in teaching in class Although in many classrooms, silence is considered the prevailing condition of stimulating classroom activities Yet, learners ―are not built in silence,

but in word, work, in action-reflection‖ (Freire, 1970)

Studies conducted on cooperative and brain-compatible learning have validated the argument that students‘ ability to formulate their thoughts in dialogue with other people is pivotal (Hart, 1986; Johnson and Johnson, 1991) In addition to speech, prosodic signals such as timing, pitch and emphasis so that the students demonstrate teachers‘ verbal commands Also, Robinson have reported that ―all paralinguistic signals, messages independent of the content of speech such as emotional tone of speech (hurt, excitement), are present in interactions Nonverbal signals are used when attitudes, experiences and emotions are not so expressible by words (Argyle, 1988).‖

Robinson (1994) pointed out another type of interaction inside the classroom, which is nonverbal interaction She reviewed the literature about nonverbal communication and found that such studies have little evidence for her claim:

―Although a good deal of research has been done on various aspects of nonverbal communication, that research has had little or no impact on teaching (Woolfolk and Galloway, 1985)—possibly because it is so difficult for teachers, or anyone else, to become aware of their nonverbal communication and go on behaving normally And yet nonverbal communication is integral to classroom climate or atmosphere, which in turn forms the context in which the interactions between teacher and students take place.‖ It is a widely held belief that teaching is solely verbal process which includes ―conscious, rational, articulate, the teacher talking to the students‖, whereas non-verbal interaction is also a contributing factor in classroom interaction

Due to the space and time constraint, the non-verbal interaction will not be under scrutiny in this research Therefore, when classroom interaction is mentioned

in the upcoming study, there is the mere presence of verbal interaction

2.3.2 The concept of classroom interaction in ELT

Seedhouse (1996) gave the definition of classroom interaction in ELT as the following: ―ELT classroom interaction is, on the one hand, a very straightforward phenomenon; it consists of whatever people say and do in the ELT classroom On the other hand, it has been conceptualised and approached as a phenomenon in a great number of ways It can be conceptualised as a ‗point of delivery‘, where different aspects of a language are taught and learnt (vocabulary, listening), where a teaching method or syllabus or materials or assessment are delivered, where cross- linguistic and cross-cultural communication takes place; a location where affect, identity, motivation interact with group dynamics; a place where educational theory and practice interact, or where interaction and pedagogy combine.‖ What Seedhouse expounded on classroom interaction in ELT is uncomplicated: it is the activities conducted by teachers as well as students in the classroom Subsequently,

he provides his readers with clarification of how classroom interaction in ELT can

be grasped, which is elaborate owing to individual‘s point of view about classroom interaction in ELT Seedhouse describes the classroom as either a preparation for the application of English into the real world or a location to get English qualification ―It can be investigated as a location where learners produce systematic and thus analysable interlanguage data, including errors, or where they display learning strategies It can be seen as a place where teachers teach, make pedagogical choices, display teaching strategies or beliefs, respond to learner talk (including error treatment), deliver a curriculum and evaluate learner progress It is

a site where bilingualism, multilingualism, code-switching, and above all, learning, may be investigated It is a place where technology is deployed.‖ As a primary component of the teaching and learning process, classroom interaction is confined

or promoted by the policy from the institution of all levels as well as the technology available ―The classroom can be considered, particularly from a second language acquisition (SLA) perspective, as a place where the internal cognitive processes of learners are engaged and may be investigated.‖ Classroom interaction are adjusted

to meet learners‘ distinction ―such as proficiency, gender, ethnicity, age, social class, linguistic or cultural background‖ The activities in the ELT classroom is closely associated with the way English is spoken in the real life, especially when it comes to technological innovation and requirement international communication The interaction in the classroom can be viewed as a place of ideological contradiction (Canagarajah, 1999) and is concerned with broader political or social trends in the outside world

Seedhouse claims that language acquisition arises in a social and meaningful setting which is open and lifelike Learning happens when students interact with other people, or in other words, in authentic to the practical experience that humans have gained during their life (Neve, 1985; Hart, 1986; 1990; Nummela & Rosengren, 1986; Nummela Caine and Caine, 1991) ―To achieve ‗mutual humanization‘ the teacher ‗must be a partner of the students in his relations with them‘ (Freire, 1970) Social relationships, including the teacher-child relationship, require reciprocity (Buber, 1970)‖ Only through the process of reciprocal exchange can children and adult be involved in the conversation that extend their comprehensive knowledge in English Seedhouse concludes: ―This means that at the heart of teaching and learning lies classroom interaction‖ This view is supported by Buber (1970) who writes that in the face-to-face interaction, the teacher turns into a facilitation of learner‘s self-actuated enhancement Howe (1963) argues that his data support Buber‘s view that without dialogues, education (concerning much of the traditional classroom teaching) would be extremely damaging and exploitative The above mentioned points of view are remarkably close to Freire‘s (1970) belief about banking concept of education He has identified that traditional education severely hindered the progress of becoming fully human in students

2.4 Theories of Second Language Acquisition

It is admitted that there are three views of second language acquisition: Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, Monitor Model by Krashen and Sociocultural Approach by Vygotsky According to Piaget, there are 4 stages of cognitive development describing the process of second language acquisition in children In each stage, children develop their second language abilities in different domains Krashen‘s Theory of SLA includes 5 hypotheses: The Acquisition- Learning hypothesis, the Monitor Hypothesis, the Input Hypothesis, the Affective Filter Hypothesis and the Natural Order Hypothesis As for Monitor Hypothesis, This hypothesis states that acquiring an L2 will be developed automatically allowing the acquirer to monitor his new language grammatical rules and edit the mistakes unconsciously at some stage, which we will see later as ―the Monitor‖ These monitor uses vary from a learner to another, with different degree of accomplishment Stephen Krashen (1981) classify the monitors into two types, Over-users who habitually try to use their Monitor, in fact, this application leads to

a result of a correct language lacks a lot of natural fluency that should help the learners in their real live Monitor Under-users either have not intentionally learned

or decide to not use their aware information of the language Even though the modification of errors by others has little effect on the learners, they can frequently correct themselves, later on, based on a good judgment for correctness In the Input Hypothesis, Krashen explained how second language acquisition takes place According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses along the 'natural order' when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1' Since not all of the learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will receive some 'i + 1' input that is appropriate for his/her current

stage of linguistic competence Vygotsky‘s Sociocultual Theory has the following major concepts: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Mediation, Internalization, Regulation and Intersubjectivity The most outstanding one is the ZPD, which was explained by Vygostky himself in 1986: ―The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance,

or in collaboration with more capable peers ‖ He focuses on language development through social communication between learners and their teachers as well as peers

After having considered the above theories, the researcher has decided that the study will follow the Monitor Model by Krashen, as it sheds light on grammatical learning and editing mistakes in learning second language

2.5 Types of teacher interaction strategy in classroom discourse

Lee and Ng (2009) stated that: Generally, three types of teacher interaction strategy can be identified in an EFL classroom discourse: teacher fronted, facilitator oriented, and learner oriented

Diagram 1: Types of teacher interaction strategy in classroom discourse

2.5.1 Teacher-fronted strategy

Lee and Ng (2009), in her writing for ELT Journal, defined teacher-fronted strategy as ―a controlled interaction device used to facilitate a smooth flowing classroom discourse to ensure efficiency and smooth lesson progress.‖ It is popular for traditional teacher to employ such strategy because they select to interact with learners in a controlled and conventional style They skillfully manipulate the classroom interaction to make the best of the limited time in a period Therefore, the teacher is the only one in the classroom stimulating the flow of teaching and learning process Most of the time, the teacher frame non-communicative display questions in order to provide the whole lesson to all of his/her students As a result, the English periods turn into teacher-dominated, inflexible with controlled

Types of teacher interaction strategy

fronted strategy

Teacher- oriented strategy

Facilitator-

Learner-oriented

strategy

interaction cycle Lee‘s journal has revealed that there is pattern named IRF pattern describing the cycle of interactive communication based on the teacher-fronted strategy ―The IRF pattern (teacher initiation/student response/teacher follow-up) is associated with a teacher-centered classroom methodology, pedagogically oriented lessons, and teacher-fronted activities (Clifton; Garton) In spite of this, this strategy appears to be popular among teachers It is found that ‗teachers instinctively adopt

an IRF mode of instruction because it is perceived, perhaps unconsciously, to be a powerful pedagogical device for transmitting and constructing knowledge‘ (Cullen, 2002)‖ Teachers have a tendency to use this strategy because it helps them convey

a great deal of knowledge Teachers, especially Asian one, pick this type of strategy

to largely solves a thorny dilemma: ensuring that students are able to acquire precise and detailed information during a short period of time Particularly, when young learners are more fascinated to ―chit-chatting‖ with their peers than focusing on the lesson, the teacher are impelled to enforce rigorous discipline in the classroom, which is time-consuming The time available for effective teaching is hence sharply decreased The example of teacher-fronted strategy, which was given by Lee in her study, is presented below:

Example 1:

Purpose: checking understanding of vocabulary

Teacher: What‘s this? (teacher initiation—a display question)

Student: A tower (learner response—a short reply)

Teacher: Good, yes, a tower (teacher follow-up—comment)

2.5.1.1 A model for classroom interaction

While classroom interaction was receiving public attention, Byrne (1991) proposed a model which aims to summarize classroom interaction in ELT His model has sharply contrasted three following key points: Whole class versus pairs

or groups; Teacher control; What is your goal: accuracy or fluency?

The above-mentioned fundamental components have been expressly incorporated in countless ways to create the most suitable and balanced approach for each ELT classroom How each feature is used in the teaching process is mainly dependent on particular classroom situation: ―to give the students practice in grammar and vocabulary (accuracy work) and opportunities to use the language (fluency work) through a combination of class work, pair work and group work.‖ Such procedure can be performed in the model below:

TEACHER CONTROLLED WHOLE CLASS

Writing

C

Conversation Discussion Simulation Games Story-telling Listening Writing

Games Questionnaires Listening Writing

D

Discussion Games Role play Project work Listening Reading Writing

PAIR WORK  GROUP WORK LEARNER DIRECTED

Model 1: Model and summary of activities for classroom interaction by Byrne, D

(1991)

It can be seen that there are four areas of interaction in the model In each area, the types of activities and teacher‘s roles are dissimilar They are explicitly specified as followed:

A Accuracy activities controlled by the teacher and done with the whole class

In this area, the teacher‘s primary duty is to ensure that the students know what they have to practice and to observe whether they practice it effectively

or not The teacher‘s role here is that of CONDUCTOR (like the person in charge of the orchestra)

B Accuracy activities directed by the learners and done in pairs (or occasionally

in groups) In this area, teacher needs to organize the activities in which students are capable of working in pairs and check while they are working in pairs The teacher‘s role here is that of ORGANISER and MONITOR

C Fluency activities controlled by the teacher and done with the whole class In

this area, teacher must get the students to interact The teacher‘s role here is that of STIMULATOR

D Fluency activities directed by the learners and done in groups (or

occasionally in pairs) In this area, the teacher‘s primary duty is to set up activities and remain available for help and advice if the students need and ask for it Teacher mustn‘t try to check these activities as in B The teacher‘s role here is that of MANAGER and CONSULTANT

Byrne also adds that it is the teacher who decides their roles and area of activities after he/she discerns his/her teaching situation and the level at which he/she is working For further clarification, Byrne claims that, accuracy practice should be assigned priority when working with elementary level students At an elementary level, and working with a large class, it is crucial that the teacher starts with some class work and pair work (for accuracy practice) before going on to do some kind of fluency work Thence, only when the teachers really understand which particular realistic goals must be achieved in the class can they occupy their exact roles in the class

2.5.1.2 Teacher classroom interaction and questions

In the vigorous debate about teacher interaction in ELT classroom, some academicians support the view that the adoption of particular types of questions can

be a clear indication of how teacher interacts with students in the classroom Wu (1993) commented that regarding questions, there are 4 types of questions that can

be created by teachers, namely: referential questions, display questions, closed questions, and open questions

First, referential question The referential question is the descriptive term introduced by Long and Sato (1983) It is used to indicate the type of question that the teacher phrases but does not already know the answer A specific instance for referential question is: ―Have you finished?‖ In this case, when the teacher asks, he/she does not know whether the response from students will be ―Yes‖ or ―No‖

Second, display question Long and Sato (1983) also created another phrase named ―display question‖ Contrasting referential one, ―display question‖ is used to identify a question which the teacher already knows the answer If a display question is put, the teacher does not aim to tackle an issue Plainly, he/she is apparently intent on making the students repeat the knowledge learned previously For example: ―What do we call this kind of person?‖

Third, close question The closed question is the sort of question that evokes

a limited number of possible response as its acceptable answers A particular instance for this question is ―Can everybody see that?‖, which is answerable by

―yes‖ or ―no‖

Fourth, open question Open question is the type of question to which a great quantity of different answers would be satisfactory For example: ―Why do you think four is a very good number?‖

To sum up, the four mentioned types of questions are considered imperative

to the process of creating classroom interaction of a teacher Each of the above kind

of question has its useful contribution to the strategies that teacher employs to improve classroom communication among teacher and students

2.5.2 Facilitator-oriented strategy

Facilitator-oriented strategy, on the other hand, is the one that emphasizes the authenticity of interaction in classroom The learning environment will therefore

promote students‘ acquisition in an English period ―Facilitator-oriented strategy is

a set of facilitative interaction devices used by a teacher to facilitate interaction with his/her students in classrooms, and it includes personalizing a topic, use of referential questions, reformulation, elaboration, comment, repetition, and use of back channels, giving content focused feedback and longer wait time This set of strategies enables teachers to create ‗authentic‘ dialogues with learners throughout the interaction process‖ When teachers employ this strategy, the period will be covered in a more ―let-go‖ and ―meaning-focused‖ method that somewhat follows the IRF interaction pattern, offering learners more opportunities to participate in the classroom Presenting the instance from Garton and Gil, Lee and Ng (2009) highlights the distinctive traits of facilitator-oriented strategy: ―For example, referential questions are used, and the wait time is longer The right of turn allocation is returned to learners, and non-verbal expressions such as backchannels are used to show teacher support/ approval In addition, the feedback given is content focused rather than form focused (Garton & Gil, 2002) As a result, learners

are empowered to take more initiative and responsibility for learning.‖

It is also worth noting that these strategies can be directly applicable for pedagogically oriented classrooms Gil proposes that communicative talk can be transformed into focus-on-form talk if teacher willingly obliges students with creating open space for learners to make personal comments He attempted to explain that ―with the use of an effective strategy such as personalizing the topic, focus-on-form talk and focus-on-meaning talk are not mutually exclusive‖ Cullen (2002) supported the view that the popular IRF interaction cycle in traditional classrooms can be converted into a more learner directed as well as communicative method ―if the Follow-up Move (F-move), the third part of a chain of IRF (initiate– respond– follow-up), carries discoursal (content-focused) rather than evaluative

(form-focused) functions.‖ This implies that pedagogically teacher-fronted

classrooms are not necessarily form focused and non-communicative It depends on

how teacher starts and directs the dialogues between teacher and students The following example by Lee and Ng (2009) illustrates the features of this strategy Example 2:

Purpose: teaching past tense

T: How did you spend your Xmas holiday? (Initiating move—use of a

referential question)

S1: mm (pause for more than two seconds) Bored I sleep every day

(Response move—expressing opinions)

T: Oh, what a shame Your holiday was boring You slept the whole day

(Follow-up move—reformulation to show correct expression + showing sympathy)

Why didn‘t you go out? (Initiating move—asking another referential question to create a rapport with the student)

S1: No, no money (The whole class laughs.) (Response move—expressing

opinions)

T: Yeah (Follow-up move—backchannel showing understanding)

S2: No, he had money (Student 2 self-selects and joins in)

S1: How you know I had money? (Expressing opinion and using the correct

past tense verb form)

2.5.3 Learner-oriented strategy

Lee and Ng (2009) also added another sort of strategy, which is oriented During the past few decades, the ELT learning has got increasingly familiar with the term ―learner-oriented‖ As stated in Lee and Ng, a learn-oriented strategy is a ―non-intervening action device‖ that absolutely provides learners with every chance to raise their voice in English classroom The teacher has utilized an

learner-absolute hands-off method to encourage students to interact among themselves and handle the given task, which forms a very learner-directed classroom interaction pattern known as student–student interaction The whole process of the interaction

is primarily generated by learners, whilst the teacher will not interfere unless the learners confront challenges Thus, ―participation rights are open to all learners who have access to the ‗discursive resources‘ of self-selection, topic initiation, topic development, and topic shift‖ (Clifton, 2006) Garrett and Shortall (2002) hold a firm belief that this strategy is able to ameliorate both passive and reticent students During the whole interacting process, such students will receive peer support and negotiation of meaning when they are involved in the task, which promotes their motivation in participating in the classroom

However, Johnson (1992) asserted that the adoption of learner-oriented strategy should be recommended with carefulness The absence of a language model or structure may result in fossilization of errors O‘Neil (1991) shares the same idea when he warns that ―some students view learning on their own as a form

of teacher neglect‖ Thus, in order to ensure that learners can engage comfortably and confidently in a student–student interaction, a facilitator-oriented strategy can

be used to scaffold learners throughout their interaction process.‖ The instance provided by Lee and Ng (2009) shows how learner-orientated strategy can be applied in classroom:

Example 3:

Purpose: practising discussion skills

T: Get yourselves into groups of three, and discuss who‘s your favourite

singer and give reasons for your choice (Task setting by a teacher)

S1: My favourite singer is Lesley Cheung .he die I feel very .very sad

(Expressing opinions)

S2: Did you cry when mmm he was died? (Asking for information)

S1: I was not believe it first but .um .it was true .I cried (Giving

information)

S2: Now who you like? (Asking for more information)

S1: Mum .No, no .only like Lesley Cheung [Student 3 keeps quiet and

does not participate, and so the teacher intervenes]

T: (Uses body language to signal she is going to

intervene—facilitator-oriented strategy) right, John, how about you? Do you like Lesley Cheung?

S3: (Looks very shy) mum (shakes his head)

T: Ok Do you mean you don‘t like him? (Says this very slowly and

clearly—confirming)

S3: (Shakes his head) don‘t like him (Imitates the teacher‘s speaking) S2: Why?

S3: (thinking) I like Leon (Expresses opinion)

T: Ah You like Leon more than Lesley Is that right? (Confirming and

reformulating the expression)

S3: Yeah yeah (looks very happy)

2.5.4 The difference between IRF pattern in teacher fronted strategy and IRF

pattern in facilitator-oriented strategy

There are obvious distinctions between IRF pattern in teacher-fronted strategy and that of facilitator-oriented

First of all, in terms of the first stage – Teacher Initiation In teacher-fronted strategy, teacher puts display questions for students to answer Teacher makes questions not for the sake of knowing but for the sake of checking students‘ knowledge of an already mentioned lexical item Such stage in facilitator-oriented requires teacher to ask referential question, through which teacher does not know the answer in advance The students can answer whatever they want, provided that

it contributes to referential question made by teacher

Second, the second stage, as mentioned above, the Student Response to Teacher Initiation is dissimilar based on what question teacher asks in the first step Teacher‘s display question will result in students making answer that teacher knows beforehand, and vice versa, teacher‘s referential question will result in students making answer that teacher does not know beforehand

Third, the last stage of IRF pattern, Teacher Follow-up in each strategy is different In teacher-fronted, the feedback is form-focused, confirming whether students‘ answer is right or wrong However, in the feedback of facilitator-oriented

is content-focused and using backchannel There are certain differences that can be recognized between these 2 strategies, creating a distinction in terms of communication in teacher‘s classroom interaction with her students

In short, the interaction strategy in every period will be analyzed with the application of IRF pattern in the classroom Each turn of IRF pattern, including first, initiation from teacher, second, reply from students and third, teacher‘s feedback, is considered an interaction unit The number of interaction units counted

in every period will be shown, which indicates the dominant strategy in general

as qualitative research, will supply readers with adequate information of why teacher selects certain interaction strategies Through analyzing as well as listing the collected data from observations, qualitative and quantitative method will be fully employed in this research

3.1 Study context

The case study is conducted in a secondary school which follows the textbook series by Vietnam Education Publishing House (VEPH) in collaboration with MacMillan Education and Pearson Education Every English period lasts 45

minutes, which means that the school fully complies with MOET‘s instructions An experienced teacher was randomly selected by the school manager board to carry out her teaching in the class Each grade 7 class in this school includes approximately 25 students, all of whom have been English learners for 6 years The official language used in the classroom is English The presence of Vietnamese is considered an additional help so that students are able to acquire target language English better

3.2 Sampling

During the entire study, all the observations will refer to neither the involved participants‘ real names nor their pseudonyms Their names will be concealed to protect their personal privacy

3.2.1 Teacher participant selection

Based on purposive sampling, a veteran teacher at a secondary school designated as T was chosen to join the study Having worked in the teaching domain at a lower secondary school for 18 years, T possesses a profound understanding of how to teach efficiently to different types of students Thus, the first-hand experiences obtained by the mentioned teacher is valuable not only to me but also to other novice teachers

Moreover, the English teaching periods executed by T were absolutely crucial since they are the factual data on which classroom interaction strategies are employed The samples, including 7 periods, were selected for the following principal reasons First, the textbook utilized for teaching and learning in the secondary school is the one that included in the textbook series released by Vietnam Education Publishing House (VEPH) in collaboration with MacMillan Education and Pearson Education The increasing popularity of the textbook series among secondary schools in all over Vietnam has urged me to do the research on classroom interaction using this book The research on classroom interaction employing such textbook also assists other teachers in Vietnam territory with improving the efficiency of classroom communication in official curriculum

3.2.2 Student participant selection

The chosen class was selected from a number of class which have been taught by the referred teacher for a period of time Such class include 30 students in grade 7 at a junior high school Unlike grade 6 students, English learners in grade 7 shared a close bond with the target teacher for more than a year (grade 6 and few months in grade 7); and hence, they are capable of accurately understanding the verbal instructions that are given by the teacher Furthermore, students in grade 7 have not received as prolonged exposure to English as grade 8 and grade 9 It is my strong belief that the classroom interaction in English grade 9 is not as reliable as that of grade 7 because senior year students are expected to take an entrance exam

to the high school, which makes their classroom interaction less natural

Besides, grade 7 learners have grown entirely accustomed to the grammatical structures and vocabulary provided in the textbook series by VEPH Regarding students‘ level in English competence, Van (2015) reports that in the textbook series, ―three sets of specifications are developed spanning the three levels from level zero to level Sơ cấp bậc 1 (equivalent to CEFR level A1) which includes level 1-1 for grade 3, level 1-2 for grade 4 and level 1-3 for grade 5, to level Sơ cấp bậc 2 (equivalent to CEFR level A2) which includes level 2-1 for grade 6, level 2-2 for grade 7, level 2-3 for grade 8, and level 2-4 for grade 9‖ Accordingly, the level of grade 7 student is ranked as the middle of A2 in CEFR, and is considered elementary level by British Council At this point, learners have achieved certain understanding in English for an ESL classroom Thus, such participant selection is apt for this case study

3.3 Data collection instruments

Diagram 3: Data collection instrument

With potent combination of classroom observation and interaction unit in form of IRF pattern, as a researcher, I am able to exploit various sources as well as deliver an accurate and detailed description of the research problem and produce satisfactory replies to research questions

According to Mason (1996), observation stipulates that the researcher soaks him/herself in the research context and distinctly perceives various aspects of that context including interactions, relationships, actions, events and so forth Hence, should observation be used as a research method, it will acquire data with validity and reliability Based on the recorded files of 7 periods in classroom, teacher‘s verbal interaction with her students in the classroom have been transcribed into classroom observation The transcript will be given in-depth analysis in terms of setting, interactions, lesson plan and so forth; thence the reliability of the information will be immensely improved Owing to the outstanding merits seen in the observation instrument, all of the analyzed periods will be transcribed into observation documents to answer two presented research questions

TWO RESEARCH QUESTIONS

INTERACTION UNIT (IRF PATTERN) CLASSROOM

OBSERVATION

3.4 Data collection procedure

After having worked with the administration board and obtained their permission, I invited an experienced teacher (T) who is responsible for teaching English in a grade-7 class to join my study When seeking for support from teacher

T and school staff, I made a clear commitment that recorded files will be used for research purpose only The recording was generated and obtained during English classes of the aforementioned English teacher Subsequently, I, as a guest, was granted the authority to put a recorder in the classroom and make observations on the whole recorded periods Undoubtedly, there would be no external interference from the observer with the teaching periods Afterwards, the recorded files were transcribed and attached to the study as an appendix It is essential that the lesson plan is added to the observation because both of them will give a panoramic view of how teacher employs classroom interaction strategies The use of observation is projected to explicitly address two research questions

In short, the data collection procedure can be depicted in the illustration below with 4 main steps:

Diagram 3: Data collection procedure

- Transcribing the recorded periods into observation

Listing interaction units

- Counting the number of interaction units using IRF pattern

Comparing the number of interaction units belonging to each strategy

- Combining recording and observing documents