SELF-POLICING IN THE ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

Abstract

The present study explores how classroom participants invoke a monolingual target-language policy in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom, specifically focusing on one method of doing language policy through self-initiated language policing sequences, which I have called self-policing. Language policing refers to the mechanism deployed by the teacher and/or the pupils to (re-)establish the normatively prescribed medium of classroom interaction (Amir & Musk, 2013; cf. Bonacina & Gafaranga, 2011). The data comes from sequential analyses of 20 hours of video recordings in grades 8 & 9 of an international compulsory school in Sweden between the years 2007-2010. Drawing on Auer (1984) and Gafaranga’s (1999) organisational code-switching framework, this study sheds light on how teachers and pupils self-initiate a switch to English in their interactions. As will be demonstrated, both teachers and pupils, while orienting to the English-only norm, use a three-step sequence for language policing.

Keywords

• Classroom interaction, code-switching, conversation analysis, language policy, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), language in education policy (LIEP)

SELF-POLICING IN THE ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

Öz

Bu çalışma, benim kendini yönetme olarak adlandırdığım bir öğrenci ya da öğretmenin kendisinin başlattığı dil politikası dizilişleri yoluyla dil politikası yapma yollarından özellikle bir tanesine odaklanarak, bir yabancı dil olarak İngilizce (EFL) sınıfında sınıf katılımcılarının nasıl tek dilli hedef dil politikasını kullandıklarını göstermektedir. Dil yönetimi, sınıf etkileşim dilini (yeniden) kurmak için öğretmen ve/veya öğrenciler tarafından kullanılan mekanizma olarak tanımlanabilir (Amir & Musk, 2013; Bonacina & Gafaranga, 2011). Veri, 2007-2010 yılları arasında İsveç’te uluslararası bir okulun 8. ve 9. sınıflarında kayıt altına alınmış olan videoların dizisel çözümlemesinden oluşmaktadır. Auer (1984) ve Gafaranga’nın (1999) organizasyonel dil değiştirme yapısından yola çıkarak, bu çalışma öğretmenlerin ve öğrencilerin etkileşimlerinde kendi kendilerine İngilizce’ye nasıl geçtiklerine ışık tutmaktadır. Gösterileceği üzere, sadece İngilizce kuralına uyarlarken, hem öğretmenler hem de öğrenciler dil politikası için üçbasamaklı bir dizilişi kullanmaktadırlar.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sınıf etkileşimi, dil değiştirme, Konuşma Çözümlemesi, dil politikası, Yabancı Dil olarak İngilizce (EFL), eğitim politikasında dil

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