In this paper social semiotics, and systemic functional linguistics in particular, are used in order to identify registers of digital literacy in the use of virtual learning environments. The framework of social semiotics provides means to systemize and discuss digital literacy as a linguistic and semiotic issue. The following research question…

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the work of the teacher during collaborative-learning activities. Whilst the importance of the teacher for the success of collaborative learning has frequently been recognized in the CSCL literature, there is nevertheless a curious absence of detailed studies that describe how the teacher intervenes in…

Storybooks are the most frequently chosen genre for read alouds in preschool classrooms. However, growing evidence suggests that genre may influence the quantity and quality of talk produced outside of the text. The current study compared twenty preschool teachers' extratextual talk across read-aloud sessions with a storybook and an information…

As transfer researchers have begun to investigate a broader range of phenomena, they have correspondingly put forward new processes to provide explanatory accounts for the occurrence of transfer. This move coincides with a call to acknowledge the contribution of social interactions, language, cultural artifacts, and normed practices to the…

The nature of silence is complex in any classroom with international or domestic students. Instructors sometimes fail to recognize that the classroom silence of foreign students is unlike their native counterparts. With an insider perspective, this article explores the concept of silence among international students by examining the existing body…

Research from interactionist second language acquisition and sociocultural theoretical perspectives shows that referential questions are important for learning, but also, that they can be difficult for English language learners (ELLs) to understand and produce answers to. By integrating analytical tools from both traditions, this study examined…

"National and Civic Education" is a program of study compulsory across all grade levels in Lebanon aimed at promoting social cohesion and active citizenship. A sample of 19 civics teachers in Lebanon across four of the six governorates participated in semi-structured interviews. The conversations delved into their conceptions of…

This study examined students' perceived understanding as a mediator of the relationship between student perceptions of teacher clarity, nonverbal immediacy cues, and learner empowerment (i.e., meaningfulness, competence, and impact). Participants included 261 undergraduate students who completed survey instruments. Results of structural equation…

Recent research highlights the paradoxical importance of students' being able to check their understanding with teachers and of teachers' constraining student participation. Using quantitative discourse analysis, this paper examines third graders' discursive strategies in initiating such checks and teachers' strategies in constraining them. The…

The current study, drawing on Positioning Theory, presents an analysis of various storylines of classroom interaction to illustrate how an adult ESL learner positioned himself and others in an academic oral skills class. Through a recursive micro-analysis of classroom talk, the findings demonstrate how this outspoken student shaped classroom…

Young Learners have less reinforcement to speak with others. One of the causes is the trend of formal or clumsy learning setting in emphasizing the speaking proficiency. Speaking based on the culture context also contribute them in increasing their motivation to express their ideas. "Casual style" as one of the language variations gives…

This study was aimed to evaluate the learning styles of education faculty students and to determine the effect of their success and relationship between their learning styles and academic success. The population of this study is comprised of the students of Ondokuz Mayis University Education Faculty and the sample includes 140, 68 art, 72…

This article is intended to highlight peer response discourse trends and to initiate a dialogue about the ways in which educators, and designers of educational environments, can play a central role in creating more democratic discourse in classrooms. We report on a research and development project involving education experts, computer engineers,…

This article aims at developing an external language of description to investigate the problem of why particular groups of students are systematically not provided access to school mathematical knowledge. Based on Basil Bernstein's conceptualisation of power in classification, we develop a three-dimensional model that operationalises the…

Drawn on the sociocultural paradigm, I examined teacher-student communication with emphasis on teacher's talk and its role on international students' learning English as a Second Language in an English for Academic Purposes classroom in a global campus in the U.S. Developmental data analyses of class observations, teacher and student interviews,…