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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NAVIGATING THE DISCOURSE 317learners navigate that discourse <strong>in</strong> different ways. It is <strong>in</strong>evitable that different learners willdifferentially achieve <strong>in</strong> such circumstances. In fact, the variables to which I have referred<strong>in</strong> review<strong>in</strong>g second language classroom research are an important explanation for suchdifferentiation.Implications for classroom pedagogyWe might deduce from the evidence that there is only a very tenuous relationship betweensuccessful participation by learners <strong>in</strong> the discourse of lessons and their actual progress <strong>in</strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g the language. At least it seems that overt participation <strong>in</strong> lessons has little impacton actual learn<strong>in</strong>g whilst overt negotiation for mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> small group and dyadic tasks isseen by SLA researchers as pivotal for learn<strong>in</strong>g. But a crucial issue is that overt participationseems to be relatively rare for <strong>in</strong>dividual learners <strong>in</strong> the k<strong>in</strong>ds of lessons from which mostdata for second language classroom research are obta<strong>in</strong>ed. Navigat<strong>in</strong>g the discourse <strong>in</strong> manylanguage classrooms, whilst result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> different learn<strong>in</strong>g outcomes for most learners, isnot a difficult th<strong>in</strong>g for most of them to do. S<strong>in</strong>ce their early years at school, languagelearners have gradually discovered what is expected of them as discursive practitioners <strong>in</strong>a classroom. In many cases, they have had years of practice at <strong>in</strong>terpret<strong>in</strong>g the texts oflessons, learn<strong>in</strong>g and adopt<strong>in</strong>g appropriate discursive practices, and understand<strong>in</strong>g andcontribut<strong>in</strong>g to the social practices of classrooms. As we have seen, the data from secondlanguage classroom research primarily reveals that teachers orchestrate the discourse whilelearners play their parts as a k<strong>in</strong>d of counterpo<strong>in</strong>t to their <strong>in</strong>dividual learn<strong>in</strong>g agendas. Thediscourse may momentarily harmonise with these agendas while at other times, there isdiscordance between the discourse and genu<strong>in</strong>e learn<strong>in</strong>g. To be provocative, we mightconclude that some learners’ highly attentive efforts to avoid trouble by successfullynavigat<strong>in</strong>g the prevail<strong>in</strong>g discourse of language lessons might actually distract their attentionfrom actually learn<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g.There is a grow<strong>in</strong>g body of evidence which suggests that the discourse of the languageclassroom is dist<strong>in</strong>ctive. And it is dist<strong>in</strong>ctive <strong>in</strong> many ways from the discourse <strong>in</strong> which weparticipate <strong>in</strong> other contexts (Riley 1977, Gremmo et al. 1978, Edmondson 1985, Kramsch1985, Glahn and Holman 1985, Kasper 1986, Ellis 1992). If, for most learners perhaps,language learn<strong>in</strong>g is embedded <strong>in</strong> the discourse of the classroom, if they learn how to becomemembers of a new language community through the discursive practices which they adoptor are obliged to adopt <strong>in</strong> the classroom, how will these practices prepare them forparticipation <strong>in</strong> discourse beyond the classroom? In other words, how are learners totranscend what they have learned <strong>in</strong> manag<strong>in</strong>g classroom discourse <strong>in</strong> order to participateas speakers of the new language <strong>in</strong> other realms of discourse?A paradoxical but central issue for language pedagogy is how it may facilitate the gradualduembeddmg of language learn<strong>in</strong>g from what appears to be the prevail<strong>in</strong>g discourse of lessons.In rais<strong>in</strong>g this issue I am not <strong>in</strong>tend<strong>in</strong>g to imply that all the features of such discourse <strong>in</strong>hibitthe learner’s capacity to participate <strong>in</strong> other k<strong>in</strong>ds of discourse. However, I believe it doesimply that we need to consider how we might identify and mobilise the discursive work of‘learners which actually benef<strong>its</strong> learn<strong>in</strong>g while also identify<strong>in</strong>g and reduc<strong>in</strong>g those mutableconstra<strong>in</strong>ts with<strong>in</strong> the current discursive and social practices of language classrooms whichmay <strong>in</strong>hibit it.If a lcarncr is positioned <strong>in</strong> a largely responsive role with<strong>in</strong> the discourse, the rcscarchsuggests that the learner has to fall back upon covert and unguided ways of mak<strong>in</strong>g sensebecause the opportunities for overt negotiation which entail the added benef<strong>its</strong> of <strong>in</strong>dividual