Learner Initiatives in the EFL Classroom: a Public/Private Phenomenon

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines how a teacher responds to ‘learner initiatives’ during classroom instruction. Learner initiatives refer to students making ‘uninvited’ contributions in class when not selected as the next speaker. This paper focuses on learners initiating an interactional sequence through asking the teacher a question. Using conversation analysis, this research describes two practices adopted by a teacher when responding to such learner initiatives. These practices shape how learners participate within learner-initiated interactional sequences and hence the opportunities that occur for learning the target language. The teacher utilizes recipient design to either better understand learner queries or explicitly answer learner questions as part of dealing with learner initiatives. This paper contributes to understanding of how learner initiatives are managed by teachers and has a role to play in teacher education by raising practitioner awareness of how this aspect of classroom interaction can be managed to further learner participation.