This present study closely examines a particular type of institutionalized interactions for second language (L2) learning, namely one-on-one instructional sessions between instructors and learners of Japanese at an intensive summer study abroad program in Japan. During these sessions, both instructors and learners employ various form-focused…

An interaction is the heart of language teaching and learning. Classroom interaction initially refers to conversational exchanges between teacher, as an initiator, and students, as responders. However, the dimension of interaction in the classroom is not solely on conversational adjustment among interactants. The aim of the study was to report the…

Forty college students of second-year French were used to study the extent to which individual learners exercise initiative in structuring classroom talk. Textual outcomes of four typical tasks for pairs were examined. Interactions were coded in four areas (topic, self-selection, allocation, and sequencing); results showed variation in the extent…

It is contended that verbal and nonverbal behavior are necessary components of human communication and that they should be conceived of as inseparable elements when teaching a foreign language. It is suggested that the use of gestural dictionaries currently available could serve to close the gap between old and new methods of teaching during the…

This paper describes a method to extract, by computer, maximum amounts of sequential information on pattern frequencies underlying verbal interactions in the foreign language classroom. For this purpose, an observation instrument was developed which was expected to allow the study of the structure of the interaction process; it was hypothesized…

The purpose of this study was to obtain quantitative nonevaluative data about verbal behavior used by instructor and students in the foreign language classroom. Two beginner and two intermediate German classes were tape-recorded for two weeks, then coded according to patterns. Frequencies of various verbal behavior patterns were analyzed. A…

Part of a longitudinal study of the relationship of language and play in a preschool multilingual/multicultural setting indicated that not all children gain the same linguistic and social benefits from unstructured freeplay and that teachers may need to structure and individualize play according to children's social and linguistic development…