L1 Use and Translanguaging in ELL Peer Interaction

While task-based peer interaction in dyads has been commonly practiced in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, how to pair learners in dyadic tasks has always been a concern of teachers and researchers. This study examined learner proficiency pairing, task type and L1 use by Chinese EFL learners in two dyadic speaking tasks. Thirty-six participants were paired according to their oral English proficiency levels into: same-level pairs (high-high; medium-medium; low-low), and mixed-level pairs (high-low). All pairs completed two types of speaking tasks—information-gap and opinion-exchange. Quantitative results showed a significant difference between low-low pairs and other pairs in the amount of L1 use. Low-level learners produced significantly more L1 words and turns when paired with other low-level peers (low-low) than with high-level peers (high-low) in both types of tasks. Qualitative analysis further indicated that the mixed-level (high-low) pairs produced more opportunities for negotiation of meaning than the same-level (low-low) pairs during the interactional episodes where the L1 served various functions. The study offers pedagogical implications for EFL teachers about how to optimally pair learners to maximize their language development.

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EFL child peer interaction: Measuring the effect of time, proficiency pairing and language of interaction

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching ◽

10.14746/ssllt.2020.10.3.3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 449-472

Author(s):

Elisabet Pladevall-Ballester ◽

Alexandra Vraciu

Keyword(s):

Peer Interaction ◽

First Language ◽

Language Choice ◽

Self And Other ◽

Negotiation Strategies ◽

Oral Production ◽

Meaning Negotiation ◽

Language Effects ◽

Positive And Negative Feedback ◽

L1 Use

Child peer interaction in English as a foreign language (EFL) settings has recently received increasing attention with respect to age, instruction type and first language (L1) use, but longitudinal studies remain scarce and the effects of proficiency pairing and language choice on meaning negotiation strategies are still rather unexplored. Within a primary school EFL context, this paper aims to explore the amount and types of meaning negotiation, and the effects of time, proficiency pairing and language choice in a spot-the-differences task. Forty Catalan/Spanish bilingual children were paired into mixed and matched proficiency dyads, and their oral production was analyzed twice over the course of two years (i.e., 9-10 and 11-12 years old). The analysis included conversational adjustments, self- and other-repetition and positive and negative feedback in the learners’ L1 and second language (L2). Our data show that the amount of meaning negotiation is low, although L2 meaning negotiation is higher than L1 meaning negotiation, and all the strategies are present in the data except for comprehension checks. Time effects are hardly observed. However, proficiency pairing and language effects are more generally found, whereby mixed proficiency dyads tend to negotiate for meaning more than matched dyads and meaning negotiation instances are more frequent in the L2 than in the L1.

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Task complexity, L2 proficiency and EFL learners’ L1 use in task-based peer interaction

Language Teaching Research ◽

10.1177/13621688211004633 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136216882110046

Author(s):

Jinfen Xu ◽

Yumei Fan

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Cognitive Complexity ◽

Peer Interaction ◽

Task Complexity ◽

First Language ◽

L2 Proficiency ◽

Complex Tasks ◽

Efl Learners ◽

L1 Use ◽

The Impact

This study is aimed to identify the effects of task complexity on first language (L1) use and the functions it may serve when two groups of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) work on collaborative tasks. Twenty-four pairs of Chinese EFL learners from two universities were assigned to a lower-proficiency and a higher-proficiency group, each with twelve pairs. Each group completed two collaborative tasks of different cognitive complexity. The results showed that task complexity had an appreciable impact on the use of L1 and its functions. It is also found that the impact of task complexity was dependent on learners’ English proficiency. Specifically, the higher-proficiency group employed more L1 to perform complex tasks than they did in the simple versions of the tasks. These learners also devoted significantly more L1 turns to fulfill the functions of metacognitive and grammar talk to complete the complex tasks. These trends did not hold for the lower-proficiency group.

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Training Graduate Student Clinicians to Use Preschool Peer Interaction Strategies

Perspectives on Administration and Supervision ◽

10.1044/aas19.1.13 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 13-18

Author(s):

Corey L. Herd

Keyword(s):

Language Development ◽

Training Program ◽

Peer Interaction ◽

Graduate Program ◽

Peer Interactions ◽

Graduate Programs ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Learning Opportunities ◽

Knowledge And Skills ◽

Direct Training

Abstract Playing with peers is an important part of childhood—what children learn from interacting with one another has enormous impact on both their social and language development. Although many children naturally develop the ability to interact well with peers, some children have difficulty interacting with other children and may miss out on important learning opportunities as a result. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can target the peer interactions of young children on their caseload, assuming that they have the knowledge and skills with which to address them. SLP graduate programs have the opportunity to provide future SLPs with both knowledge and skills-based training. This study assessed a graduate program in which three graduate clinicians participated in a preschool program for children with communication disorders; peer interactions were targeted within the program. The students were observed and data was collected regarding their use of peer interaction facilitation strategies in the group sessions both prior to and after they participated in a direct training program regarding the use of such skills. Outcomes indicate that the direct training program resulted in a statistically significant increase in the students' use of different strategies to facilitate peer interactions among the children in the group.

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