New Directions in Research on Classroom Interaction

Patricia A. Duff
University of British Columbia
(patricia.duff@ubc.ca)

A generation of studies on input, interaction, and output in second language (L2) classrooms has shown, convincingly, that all three of these elements are crucial for successful language development. New research drawing on sociocultural theory, activity theory, and language socialization also stresses the importance of sufficient exposure to language, suitable opportunities for interaction (e.g., in task-based activities), guided assistance or scaffolding by teachers and peers, and opportunities for practice. However, this research reveals that we need to look more closely at the following aspects of classroom interaction that have received insufficient attention to date: participation patterns within our “communities of practice,” the positioning, legitimacy, and identities of students, the meaning(s) of silence, behind-the-scenes task-based activity, the role of L1 in scaffolding L2 performance, and students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the utility of certain types of interaction and of their own roles and agency in classroom-based based activities. In addition, more research needs to examine interactions involving L2 learners in mainstream (L2-mediated) academic courses, including those with online components, and not just within traditional language classrooms. In this presentation, I illustrate some of these new directions in classroom interaction research by discussing the findings of several recent Canadian studies informed by sociocultural and sociocognitive theory.