Module+7+-+Classroom+Interaction

= Teacher talk and classroom interaction = [|PSP_Module_B_7_AFversion_CECVLOTEHAT2010.ppt]

[|PSP-MODULE B-07_Handout2.doc]

Lote lessons are often teacher centred. The teacher knows the words, the language and conveys this information to the class. Discussion is either whole class, group or pair work. The teacher needs to create a culture in the room where the students understand that responding to questions in the target language is OK. That it is safe .At certain ages, and in an all boys environment, there can be a reluctance to participate in a discussion and particularly when it is in the L2.

Students whose thinking is ahead of their language will experience frustration.

In older classes learners need to recall the strategies they used, the scaffolds that were useful in earlier years.

L1 or L2

A mixture of both is possible. At the early years the students do not have the productive language to answer questions other than those they have been taught. eg name age etc. They are limited to these although they can understand much more, particularly with the aid of gestures illustrations by the teacher.

In the Year 9 sample the teacher opened with an open question, praised prior knowledge and extended it. The students came to recognise and understand the Rule about the form of the counter being taught. However a further enquiry asking for a reason for the rule was dismissed without adequate explanation as the teacher needed to get through the lesson.

This may be necessary as there are imperatives of the assessment and reporting system. The work has to get done. There is also the consideration of the time allowed for the LOTE. If there is sufficient time it is possible to allow for more discussion