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

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

DƢƠNG NGỌC HẢI

TEACHER’S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN A CLASS
IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HANOI: A CASE STUDY
(Chiến lƣợc tƣơng tác trong lớp học của giáo viên trong một lớp tiếng Anh tại
một trƣờng THCS ở Hà Nội: Một nghiên cứu trƣờng 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

DƢƠNG NGỌC HẢI

TEACHER’S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN A CLASS
IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HANOI: A CASE STUDY

(Chiến lƣợc tƣơng tác trong lớp học của giáo viên trong một lớp tiếng Anh tại
một trƣờng THCS ở Hà Nội: Một nghiên cứu trƣờng 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……

i

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.

ii


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

iii


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

iv


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

v


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

vi


LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS, CHARTS AND MODELS
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Number of teacher-fronted strategy units in
classroom
Number of facilitator-oriented strategy units in
classroom
Summary of interaction area teacher‘s role in
each teaching activity
LIST OF DIAGRAMS

PAGE
30

34

45
PAGE

Types of teacher interaction strategy in classroom
Diagram 1

discourse

14

Diagram 2

Data collection instruments

27

Diagram 3

Data collection procedure

28

LIST OF CHARTS

PAGE

Percentage of each type of question for teacher‘s
Chart 1

34

classroom interaction
LIST OF MODEL

PAGE

Model and summary of activities for classroom
Model 1

interaction by Byrne, D. (1991)

vii

16


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

viii


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 N o

1400/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

1


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

2


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 inclass 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:

3


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.

4


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

5


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
6

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

7


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:

8


―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.
(Ross, 1989).
Bennet (1990), with a view to clarifying her opinion about nonverbal
interaction in classroom, she uses examples of how students denote their boredom
to the teacher nonverbally, ―by fidgeting, getting up to go to the bathroom or to
sharpen their pencil, talking to their neighbors, or otherwise ‗disrupting‘ the
‗classroom‘— which means, of course, disrupting the flow of the teacher‘s talk‖.
Yet the teacher commonly regards these actions as ―misbehavior‖ and as a result
enforces discipline, with an intention of preserving order in the classroom and
preventing such communication. The teacher talks, the children sit silently and
listen. Robinson provides an in-depth analysis of the example: ―The teacher‘s body
does not communicate to the children nonverbally—which is to say, the children are
not to notice or ‗read‘ the teacher‘s nonverbal communication, are to act as if the
only relevant communication in the classroom were verbal. The children‘s voices

are to remain silent until they are called on by the teacher; and while they are
waiting to be called on, their bodies are to remain perfectly still, so that the teacher
too can pretend that nonverbal communication is irrelevant, even nonexistent. As
Woolfolk and Galloway (1985) suggest, paying more attention to nonverbal
interaction might transform the very idea of teaching.‖

9


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 crosslinguistic 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

10


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.
11


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 AcquisitionLearning 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

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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.

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Teacherfronted
strategy

Types of
teacher
interaction
strategy
Learneroriented
strategy

Facilitatororiented
strategy

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

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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?
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