Reconceptualising teachers’ directive and supportive scaffolding in bilingual classrooms within the neo-Vygotskyan approach

Authors

  • Mukul Saxena University of Warwick

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i2.169

Keywords:

Scaffolding, English, Bilingual, Classroom, Vygotsky, Critical Perspective

Abstract

This paper reconceptualises ‘directive’ and ‘supportive’ scaffolding (Silliman and Wilkinson, 1994) within the wider neo-Vygotskyan literature to examine how these concepts could be operationalised through the triadic dialogues of IRE (initiate-response-evaluation) and IRF (initiate-response-feedback). This theoretical reconceptualisation is applied to classroom interaction in a multilingual context. The audio-recordings and transcripts of the teaching-learning events are drawn from a long-term research based in schools and communities in Brunei Darussalam, in Southeast Asia. The findings from the discussions with the class teachers, ethnographic observations of the socio-cultural contexts of the two selected classrooms, other similar classrooms and the wider society contribute towards explaining why the directive and supportive scaffolding occurs. This explanation points to the need for combining neo-Vygotskyan approach with the critical perspective for a better understanding of the micro-interaction in the bilingual classroom. It is concluded that micro-analyses of the classroom interaction alone do not provide the whole picture and a universal injunction to incorporate analyses of teachers’ talk cannot be the answer. The way forward is to draw on the linguistic ethnographic approach to study bilingual classrooms that should take into account the complex interaction between the micro-interaction in the classroom, the macro-level socio-cultural factors, as well as micro-interactional practices in the wider society.

Author Biography

  • Mukul Saxena, University of Warwick

    Mukul Saxena received his PhD in sociolinguistics from the University of York and is currently assistant professor in the University of Warwick. His research interests include (English - ) bilingual classroom interaction, language policy, multilingual literacies, language shift & change, and world Englishes. His most recent co-edited publication is ‘Contending with Globalisation in World Englishes’ (2010, Multilingual Matters, with Tope Omoniyi).

References

Bakhtin, M. M. (1981) The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays by M. M. Bakhtin. Edited by M. Holquist and translated by C. Emerson and M. Holquist. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Britton, J., Burgess, T., Martin, N., McLeod, A. and Rosen, H. (1975) The Development of Writing Abilities. London: Macmillan.

Bruner, J. (1986) Towards a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Cazden, C. B. (1988) Classroom Discourse: The Language of Teaching and Learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Creese, A. and Martin, P. (eds) (2003) Multilingual Classroom Ecologies: Inter-relationships, Interactions, Ideologies. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Edwards, A. D. and Furlong, V. J. (1987) Teaching and learning as the creation of meanings. In B. M. Mayor and A. K. Pugh (eds) Language, Communication and Education, 357–370. London: Croom Helm.

Evensen, L. S. (2007) ‘With a little help from my friends’? Theory of learning in applied linguistics and SLA. Journal of Applied Linguistics 4 (3): 333–353.

Heller, M. and Martin-Jones, M. (eds.) (2001) Voices of Authority: Education and Linguistic Difference. Westport, CT: Ablex.

Hornberger, N. (ed.) (2002) The Continua of Biliteracy: A Framework for Educational Policy, Research and Practice in Multiple Settings. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Lemke, J. L. (1990) Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Martin-Jones, M. and Saxena, M. (1995) Supporting or containing bilingualism? Policies, power asymmetries and pedagogic practices in mainstream primary classrooms. In J.W. Tollefson (ed.) Language, Power and Inequality, 73–90. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Martin-Jones, M. and Saxena, M. (1996) Turn-taking, power asymmetries and the positioning of bilingual participants in classroom discourse. Linguistics and Education 8 (1): 105–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0898-5898(96)90008-X

Martin-Jones, M. and Saxena, M. (2003) Bilingual resources and ‘funds of knowledge’ for teaching and learning in multi-ethnic classrooms in Britain. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 6 (3/4): 267–282.

Martin, P. W. (1999) Bilingual unpacking of monolingual texts in two primary classrooms in Brunei Darussalam. Language and Education 13 (1): 38–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 09500789908666758

Maybin, J. (2003) The potential contribution of linguistic ethnography to Vygotskyan studies of talk and learning in education. Available online at http://www.ling-ethnog.org. uk/documents/papers/maybin2003.pdf

Mehan, H. (1979) Learning Lessons: Social Organization in the Classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Mercer, N. (1994) Neo-Vygotskyan theory and classroom education. In B. Stierer and J. Maybin (eds) Language, Literacy and Learning in Educational Practice, 92–110. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Mercer, N. (1995) The Guided Construction of Knowledge: Talk amongst Teachers and Learners. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Mercer, N. (2004) Sociocultural discourse analysis: Analysing classroom talk as a social mode of thinking. Journal of Applied Linguistics 1 (2): 137–168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ japl.2004.1.2.137

Nassaji, H. and Wells, G. (2000) What’s the use of ‘triadic dialogue’? An investigation of teacher-student interaction. Applied Linguistics 21 (3): 376–406. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1093/applin/21.3.376

Nystrand, M. (1997) Opening Dialogue: Understanding the Dynamics of Language and Learning in the English Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.

Phillipson, R. (1992) Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pressley, M. (1998) Reading Instruction that Works: The Case for Balanced Teaching. New York: Guilford.

Pressley, M. and Woloshyn, V. (eds.) (1995) Cognitive Strategy Instruction that Really Improves Children’s Academic Performance. Cambridge, MA: Brookline.

Rampton, B. (2006) Language in Late Modernity: Interaction in an Urban School. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486722

Roberts, C. and Sarangi, S. (2001) ‘Like you’re living two lives in one go’: Negotiating different social conditions for classroom learning. In M. Heller and M. Martin-Jones (eds) Voices of Authority: Education and Linguistic Difference, 172–192. Westport, CT: Ablex.

Saxena, M. (2007) Multilingual and multicultural identities in Brunei Darussalam. In A. B. M. Tsui and J. Tollefson (eds) Language Policy, Culture and Identity in Asian Contexts, 143–162. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Saxena, M. (2008) Ideology, policy and practice in bilingual classrooms: Brunei Darussalam. In A. Creese, P. W. Martin and N. Hornberger (eds) Encyclopedia of Language and Education vol 9, 3129–3141. Springer Science+Business Media LLC.

Saxena, M. (2009) Negotiating conflicting ideologies and linguistic otherness: Codeswitching in English classrooms. English Teaching: Practice and Critique 8 (2): 167–187.

Saxena, M. (forthcoming) Critical diglossia and lifestyle diglossia: national development, English, linguistic diversity and language change. International Journal of Sociology of Language.

Silliman, E. R. and Wilkinson, L. C. (1994) Discourse scaffolds for classroom intervention. In G.P. Wallach and K.G. Butler (eds.) Language Learning Disabilities in School-Age Children and Adolescents, 27–54. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Sinclair, J. M. and Coulthard, M. (1975) Towards an Analysis of Discourse: The English Used by Teachers and Pupils. London: Oxford University Press.

Tharp, R. G. and Gallimore, R. (1988) Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learning, and Schooling in Social Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Van Lier, L. (1996) Interaction in the Language Curriculum: Awareness, Autonomy, and Authenticity. London: Longman.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1962) Thought and Language. Cambridge: MIT Press. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/11193-000

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Wells, G. (1989) Language in the classroom: literacy and collaborative talk. Language and Education 3 (4): 251–273. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500788909541266

Wells, G. (1999) Dialogic Enquiry: Towards a Sociocultural Practice and Theory of Education. USA: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605895

Wells, G. and Chang-Wells, G. L. (1992) Constructing Knowledge Together: Classrooms as Centers of Inquiry and Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.

Wells, G. and Mejía-Arauz, R. (2006) Towards dialogue in the classroom. Journal of the Learning Sciences 15 (3): 379–428. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327809jls1503_3

Published

2011-11-08

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Saxena, M. (2011). Reconceptualising teachers’ directive and supportive scaffolding in bilingual classrooms within the neo-Vygotskyan approach. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 7(2), 169-190. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i2.169

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>