English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
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crucially(d)252 NEIL MERCERused by teachers and pupils <strong>in</strong> the classes, and Zcntclla was able to show that there werethree recurr<strong>in</strong>g patterns of language-switch<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> IRF sequences, which seem to representthe use of certa<strong>in</strong> ‘ground rules’ govern<strong>in</strong>g language choice. These are summarized below:Rules govern<strong>in</strong>g teacher <strong>in</strong>itiation student reply teacher feedbacklanguage choice1. Teacher and <strong>English</strong>student: ‘follow Spanishthe leader’2. Teacher: ‘follow <strong>English</strong>the child’ SpanishSpanishSpanishSpanish<strong>English</strong><strong>English</strong>SpanishSpanish<strong>English</strong>3. Teacher: ‘<strong>in</strong>clude <strong>English</strong> Spanish both languagesthe child’s choice Spanish <strong>English</strong> both languagesnot yours’(Adapted from Zentella, 1981)From this example, we can see that dist<strong>in</strong>ctive patterns of language use emerge <strong>in</strong>bil<strong>in</strong>gual classrooms, but these can be <strong>in</strong>terpreted as adaptations of the common IRFstructure and language strategies used by teachers <strong>in</strong> monol<strong>in</strong>gual sett<strong>in</strong>gs. What is more,the dist<strong>in</strong>ctive patterns of switch<strong>in</strong>g which emerge <strong>in</strong> teacher-talk can be expla<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> termsof the special communicative resources that arise <strong>in</strong> a modern language classroom and theways that teachers decide to respond to these special circumstances. The extent to whichcode-switch<strong>in</strong>g between <strong>English</strong> and another language occurs <strong>in</strong> a particular sett<strong>in</strong>g willtherefore be <strong>in</strong>fluenced by factors such as (a) the degree of fluency <strong>in</strong> <strong>English</strong> that membersof a particular class have achieved; (b) the bil<strong>in</strong>gual competence of teachers (c) the specificteach<strong>in</strong>g goals of teachers; and ~ ~ the attitudes of both children and teachersto the practice of code-switch<strong>in</strong>g and to the languages <strong>in</strong>volved.What learners have to understand about classroom languageWhen students enter an <strong>English</strong> medium or EFL classroom hav<strong>in</strong>g grown up speak<strong>in</strong>ganother language, it may be difficult for both teachers and children to dist<strong>in</strong>guish betweentwo ‘learn<strong>in</strong>g tasks’ ~ acquir<strong>in</strong>g a basic fluency <strong>in</strong> <strong>English</strong> and learn<strong>in</strong>g the social conventionsof us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>English</strong> as a classroom language. Some patterns of classroom language - such asIRF sequences ~ are likely to be familiar to any student who has had experience of school,even if they had encountered them <strong>in</strong> another language. As I noted earlier, however (<strong>in</strong> thecomparison of Sequences 1 and 2), IRFs can be used for different purposes, some of whichmay not be familiar to students from their previous educational experience (say, if they havearrived as immigrants <strong>in</strong> an <strong>English</strong>-speak<strong>in</strong>g country hav<strong>in</strong>g been educated elsewhere <strong>in</strong>another language). Depend<strong>in</strong>g on their experiences with<strong>in</strong> their own language communities,students might also be unfamiliar with some other Conventions or ‘ground-rules’ for us<strong>in</strong>g<strong>English</strong> that are associated with particular social sett<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong>side and outside school.For these reasons, it can be difficult for a teacher to tell whether a new pupil who isnot fluent <strong>in</strong> <strong>English</strong>, and who appears to be hav<strong>in</strong>g difficulties with us<strong>in</strong>g the language <strong>in</strong>the classroom, is struggl<strong>in</strong>g with general aspects of us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>English</strong> or hav<strong>in</strong>g difficulties withgrasp<strong>in</strong>g the ‘local’ ground rules for classroom language use.This k<strong>in</strong>d of difficulty may arise