Interactional Architecture and Learning Opportunities in an ESL Classroom

Interpersonal verbal communication in the language classroom is essential for acquiring target language features and improving spontaneous oral production. This paper, thus, reports on a study that attempted to contribute to our understanding of the nature and usefulness of classroom interaction as a major component of language learning. Transcribed audio-recordings and observation reports from three advanced speaking ESL classes comprised the data used in the study. Qualitative data analysis focused on the characteristics and structure of teacher-student and student-student interaction sequences and their potential contribution to the students’ linguistic knowledge. The study attempted to address the following two questions: what is the nature and structure of teacher-student and student-student interaction and what learning opportunities do they create for language learners? The results indicated that teacher-student interactions followed a regular pattern and allowed limited student contribution. Student-student interactions, on the other hand, had longer turns and were more natural. Both types of interaction seemed to influence the learning process in different ways; the former provided explicit knowledge and comprehensible input while the latter allowed more opportunities for learners to test their communicative abilities and produce comprehensible output.