Formulations in dialogic facilitation of classroom interactions

Abstract

Formulations are turns of talk that address both interlocutors’ perspectives (in previous turns) and participation (in subsequent turns). This paper examines formulations in interactions, taking place during classroom workshops held with children aged 10–13 and coordinated by facilitators. The analysis shows the ways in which facilitators’ formulations combine reference to the children’s previous statements with the projection of children’s positioning, thus creating different opportunities for children’s active participation and dialogic forms of communication. In the context taken into consideration, formulations can have five different functions: revoicing; promoting assessments of children’s performances; promoting diverging opinions about controversial issues; supporting children’s expressions of emotional experiences and rapport; concluding interactions by asserting shared values (upshot formulations). The analysis reveals that, in achieving different functions, formulations can take different forms, displaying and enhancing different forms of expectations and positioning, with different consequences on dialogic forms of communication.