Unlike continuous whole-class (plenary) interaction, independent task work involves incipient teacher-student talk, as the teacher typically 'makes rounds' to engage in brief desk interactions with students. This article draws on multimodal conversation analysis to investigate how teacher movement during tasks offers resources for re-engaging in…

Both early childhood maternal language input and the quality of classroom instruction in elementary school have been shown to be important environmental supports in predicting children's literacy skill development. However, no studies have simultaneously examined these two environmental supports in relation to children's early language skills and…

This article examines floor management in two classroom sessions: a task-oriented computer lesson and a literature lesson. Recordings made in the computer lesson show the organization of floor when a task is given to students. Temporary or "incipient" side floors (Jones and Thornborrow, 2004) emerge beside the main floor. In the…

Although a number of studies have investigated classroom-based peer interaction with adults and high school students, research pertaining to children in the elementary grades is scant. Drawing on sociocultural theory, the present study investigated how children in an intensive elementary level Grade 6 class for English as a second language (ESL)…

Tasks and interactional feedback have received much attention in instructed second language acquisition research in recent years. However, little research exists that has investigated feedback and task factors together during naturally occurring teacher-student interaction in classroom settings. To bridge this gap, the current study explored the…

This article is the first in a series that connects the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards" with the new document, "Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics." The four focal components of the "Professional Teaching Standards" are given, followed by a deeper…

The concept of "task" is explored, particularly as it relates to the work students perform in learning a language. It is proposed that what really happens as a student learns can be understood better by applying the concept of task to classroom processes. The ways in which task has been defined by educators are reviewed, and it is concluded that…