Exploring Material-Mediated EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Classroom Interactions: An Ecological Perspective

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Abstract

The study intends to investigate interactions among teacher, students and materials in an EFL classroom. Multiple data were collected and mixed methods were adopted combining classroom discourse analysis with in-depth analyses on students' interviews and learning reflections. Findings revealed that 1) features of pedagogical materials embody the potential to elicit different patterns of classroom interactions even under similar instructional approach; 2) materials serve as both an impetus and resource for complex meaning making in mediated interactions; 3) compared to idea building, attempts to make reasoning explicit seem more likely to elicit complex language use on the part of students. These findings shed light on interactions among teacher, students and materials in complex classroom ecology.

Author

• Dongying Li, Nanjing Normal University