The role of teachers’ interactional strategies in class

Le résumé fourni par la source

Research on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has focused on group work as a strategy to enhance the use of English/L2 in primary education settings. However, not all students contribute to CLIL classes in the L2 to the same extent and with the same quality. Therefore, this paper aims to examine (a) how providing students with adequate support can increase their willingness to communicate in the L2 in CLIL contexts and (b) whether these strategies had an impact on students’ oral productions. A CLIL lesson about healthy habits for a primary classroom was planned and implemented by two teachers following a coteaching method. Students were provided with language scaffolding to help them work in small heterogeneous groups and engage in the final plenary. The lesson was recorded and transcribed, and the data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the coteachers’ interactional strategies such as asking open questions or allowing students’ self-selection resulted in learners’ higher participation and the production of longer sentences in the L2. The paper argues that coteaching and an effective selection of interactional strategies can create positive and safe space for students to communicate and improve the quality of these interactions.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.