13. Peer interaction while learning to read in a new language
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Martha Bigelow
Abstract
This chapter examines second language (L2) peer oral language interaction between two learners engaged in a partner reading activity. The data come from an English language arts class for newcomers in an all-immigrant high school in the U.S. Students arrive in this beginner-level, English language arts class with widely disparate experiences with formal schooling and print literacy, as well as with varied first languages and oral English language skills. The year-long class focuses on developmental English language and literacy skills, and the students and teacher absorb and accommodate newcomer students each month. The data presented in this chapter highlight the peer work between two asymmetrically-paired, female adolescent students: an Amharic newcomer with prior schooling in Ethiopia and beginning-level oral English skills, and a Somali speaker with stronger English language skills but very low print literacy and no formal schooling before arriving to the U.S. Through an analysis of their interactions in one paired reading session, we describe how these two students use their language and literacy skills to complete a reading task and in doing so, we consider the complexities of how asymmetrically paired students engage in everyday classroom tasks and the learning opportunities therein.
Abstract
This chapter examines second language (L2) peer oral language interaction between two learners engaged in a partner reading activity. The data come from an English language arts class for newcomers in an all-immigrant high school in the U.S. Students arrive in this beginner-level, English language arts class with widely disparate experiences with formal schooling and print literacy, as well as with varied first languages and oral English language skills. The year-long class focuses on developmental English language and literacy skills, and the students and teacher absorb and accommodate newcomer students each month. The data presented in this chapter highlight the peer work between two asymmetrically-paired, female adolescent students: an Amharic newcomer with prior schooling in Ethiopia and beginning-level oral English skills, and a Somali speaker with stronger English language skills but very low print literacy and no formal schooling before arriving to the U.S. Through an analysis of their interactions in one paired reading session, we describe how these two students use their language and literacy skills to complete a reading task and in doing so, we consider the complexities of how asymmetrically paired students engage in everyday classroom tasks and the learning opportunities therein.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement of reviewers vii
-
Introduction
- Understanding peer interaction 1
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Section I: Interactional patterns and learner characteristics
- 1. Peer interaction and learning 33
- 2. Peer interaction and metacognitive instruction in the EFL classroom 63
- 3. Interaction or collaboration? Group dynamics in the foreign language classroom 91
- 4. Interactional behaviours of low-proficiency learners in small group work 113
- 5. Collaborative dialogue in a two-way Spanish/English immersion classroom 135
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Section II: Tasks and interactional modalities
- 6. Peer interaction in F2F and CMC contexts 163
- 7. Thai EFL learners’ interaction during collaborative writing tasks and its relationship to text quality 185
- 8. Engagement with the language 209
- 9. EFL task-based interaction 241
- 10. A focus on mode 267
- 11. Small-group meta-analytic talk and Spanish L2 development 291
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Section III: Learning settings
- 12. How adolescents use social discourse to open space for language learning during peer interactions 319
- 13. Peer interaction while learning to read in a new language 349
-
Epilogue
- New pathways in researching interaction 377
- Index 397
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement of reviewers vii
-
Introduction
- Understanding peer interaction 1
-
Section I: Interactional patterns and learner characteristics
- 1. Peer interaction and learning 33
- 2. Peer interaction and metacognitive instruction in the EFL classroom 63
- 3. Interaction or collaboration? Group dynamics in the foreign language classroom 91
- 4. Interactional behaviours of low-proficiency learners in small group work 113
- 5. Collaborative dialogue in a two-way Spanish/English immersion classroom 135
-
Section II: Tasks and interactional modalities
- 6. Peer interaction in F2F and CMC contexts 163
- 7. Thai EFL learners’ interaction during collaborative writing tasks and its relationship to text quality 185
- 8. Engagement with the language 209
- 9. EFL task-based interaction 241
- 10. A focus on mode 267
- 11. Small-group meta-analytic talk and Spanish L2 development 291
-
Section III: Learning settings
- 12. How adolescents use social discourse to open space for language learning during peer interactions 319
- 13. Peer interaction while learning to read in a new language 349
-
Epilogue
- New pathways in researching interaction 377
- Index 397
