Willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) is a speaker's voluntary engagement in communication using a target language. WTC has undergone several conceptualisations over the past twenty years or so. The aim of the current article is to present a narrative review of the major conceptual developments in research on L2 WTC. First, the…

This study examined emotional climate in relation to the teaching and learning of grade 7 science. A multi-method and multi-theoretic approach used sociocultural frameworks as a foundation for interpretive research, conversation analysis, prosody analysis, and studies of nonverbal conduct. Emotional climate varied continuously throughout a lesson.…

The interactions between teachers and students provide a venue for instructional delivery and ultimately student achievement in the school setting. However, not all students experience positive interactions with teachers in the typical classroom setting, especially those students exhibiting behavioral challenges. These students are observed with…

An analysis of teacher-pupil interaction in grades 1,6, and 11 showed that communicatory behavior was concentrated in the front of the room and along the center aisle. (Portions of the research reported were supported at the University of Missouri by the Educational Media Branch of USOE.) (MS)

In an attempt to uncover differences in student behavior as a function of class size, the author observed a small class and a large class for 15 hours each and conducted interviews with eight students who were members of both classes. Two trends emerged from these qualitative data. First, a "diverge-converge" pattern was evident in the small class…

Cites materials in the ERIC system concerning research on classroom communication and its implications, and notes some of the problems with that research. (HTH)

An overview of studies on the role of talk in student learning. (RL)

Grounded in a communication theory that assumes that the form of communication affects the content of the knowledge that a teacher conveys to his or her students, a study attempted to determine how violence is treated in the classroom. The site for the study was Darbin Elementary School, in a suburb of San Francisco. The method was observation,…

A study represented an initial attempt to assess the functional equivalence of two techniques for compliance-gaining research in the classroom, the constructionist approach and the strategy checklist approach. First, a system for coding teachers' message constructions was developed. Then those messages were analyzed to assess the relative…

Presents reflections on the articles in this special issue. Discusses how talk in the classroom has the potential to transform. Suggests that there is much more to learn about how to microanalyze teacher and student behavior, and that the greatest tool for this analysis is talk. (RS)

Discusses students (in two different settings, and both native and nonnative speakers) who were quiet in their English classrooms. Finds that dimensions of schooling which created barriers were opportunity to talk, self concepts, and texts and other course materials. Includes responses which consider how students can be helped to talk. (PA)

A sociolinguistic study of pupil interpretations of the functions of teacher praise in lessons involved 165 pupils in six classes in a single multiethnic, lower socioeconomic status, elementary school. Procedures involved videotaping six language arts lessons in each classroom. After playbacks of videotapes, pupils were asked individually, "What…

Observation in 281 elementary and junior secondary classrooms and interview with teachers found large variation in communication behaviors of Botswana teachers, related to subject matter, presence of a textbook, and school size. Much class time was spent on choral recitation, which was positively related to expatriate staff and pupil persistence.…

Presents an overview of communication patterns between Swedish students during ordinary lessons. Reveals that they are filled with internal communication that is not random, even if it is out of the teacher's conscious control. Identifies contextual factors that contribute to the intensity of communication that teachers can turn to educational…

Looks at the impact of the classroom environment on student emotions and behavior, offering suggestions for using the physical features of the environment to calm or stimulate students. Shows how the factors of environmental arousal, classroom robustness, and spatial settings may be used to create art classrooms that minimize chances for…