Primary school pupils with English as an additional language : an analysis of interactional practices facilitating participation during group work

Abstract

This study explores interactional practices facilitating primary school pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) to participate in small group-work settings. The aim is to investigate how interactions involving pupils with EAL can provide opportunities for participation and learning. The objective is to inform policy and practice by enabling relevant educational professionals to develop their pedagogic understanding regarding the impact of specific interactional approaches. The following research question is put forward: 1. How do participants organise interaction to enable opportunities for participation during small group-work for pupils with EAL? Data consists of thirty-seven video-recorded lessons across curriculum subjects. Emic analysis following applied conversation analysis (CA) principles reveals teachers utilise a range of interactional practices to direct pupils’ responses and facilitate participation, with mixed results in the opportunities for learning they enable. Three distinct interactional practices are identified as most consistently promoting pupil participation practices: i) co-producing spoken formulations through designedly incomplete utterances, ii) teacher modelling sequences employing list constructions and iii) corrective feedback sequences utilising guiding prompts. A sociocultural theory (SCT) framework is applied to interpret the findings and evaluate their pedagogical implications. The study identifies three pivotal SCT concepts - scaffolding, dialogic teaching, and learning affordances - and elucidates their manifestation in classroom interactions to enhance participation and learning for pupils with EAL. The discussion provides a nuanced evaluation of both substantive and procedural participation, challenging the traditional preference for substantive modes by demonstrating how procedural participation can also support learning for pupils with EAL. The findings underscore the importance of teacher interactional competence and adaptive pedagogical strategies, suggesting that effective scaffolding, when contextually applied, can significantly advance learning opportunities in diverse educational settings. Additionally, the study challenges views of pupils with EAL as deficient communicators by showcasing their active and successful participation across diverse interactional strategies. These findings advocate for a nuanced understanding of communicative roles in mainstream classrooms, urging teachers to adopt inclusive, context-sensitive approaches that utilise the unique strengths of pupils with EAL to foster effective learning environments.