Reflections from the EFL Classroom: Classroom Interaction and Reflective Teacher Development

Year 2017, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 19 - 24, 27.12.2017

Ayşegül Amanda Yeşilbursa

Abstract

Classroom interaction includes the face-to-face interaction between the
teacher and students that occurs to ensure that learning takes place and plays
a crucial role in shaping the language learning process. However, many teachers
of English as a foreign language are not aware of the effects of their
classroom interaction patterns. Reflective teacher development is an approach
to professional development based on the belief that experienced teachers can
improve their understandings of their own teaching practices by engaging in
conscious and systematic reflection on their classroom experiences, including
their classroom interaction patterns. In this paper, I will briefly introduce
the concept of classroom interaction the English as a foreign language classroom,
classroom interactional competence, and how these classroom phenomena
constitute an important focus for reflection. I will conclude by describing a
postgraduate course designed to raise participants’ awareness of their classroom interaction
skills.

Keywords

ELT, Classroom Interaction, EFL, Reflection

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