1.

Defintion
- Interaction analysis is system for describing and analysis between teacher-
student verbal interaction. It has found its way into many different kinds of
education programs both research, development.
It refers to a technique consisting of objective and systematic observation of the
classroom events for the study of the teacher’s behavior and the process of
interaction going inside the classroom. It is a process of encoding and decoding the
study pattern of teaching and learning.
- Interaction analysis uses some type of coding system to investigate the
communication patterns that occur in a classroom. These coding systems can be
used to:
+ determine what kind of classroom interaction best promotes L2 learning.
+ evaluate teachers to determine whether or not they use patterns of
communication that have been shown to be effective, and/or
+ train prospective teachers to use a variety of communication patterns in their
classrooms.
- A typical system of interaction analysis will usually include:
a) A set of categories, each defined clearly.
b) A procedure for observation and a set of ground rules which govern the coding
process.
c) Steps for tabulating data in order to arrange display
d) Suggestions that can be followed in some of the more common applications.
2. Generic Coding Schemes
Generic coding schemes can vary along several dimensions, including the
following
1. Recording Procedure: In some coding systems, the observer codes a behavior
every time it occurs, whereas in others they code only what is happening at a
specified time period (e.g., every 30 seconds or every minute).
2. Multiple Coding: In some systems, the observer can assign more than one code
to a particular behavior. For example, a behavior could be coded by pedagogical
function (e.g., teacher praise) as well as modality (e.g., verbal or nonverbal).
Although such coding patterns allow for multidimensional coding, because of their
complexity, they can result in lower inter-rater reliability.
One of the most widely used generic coding systems is the Communicative
Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) designed by Allen, and Spada (1984).
The scheme was developed in the early 1980s as part of a large scale Canadian
research project to investigate the effects of particular instructional variables on the
development of language proficiency. Because the goal of the project was to
determine the effects of instruction on learning outcomes, some type of classroom
observation scheme was needed to systematically describe what was happening in
different L2 classrooms (Spada & Fröhlich, 1995). Because at that time there was
widespread support of communicative language teacher (CLT), one aim of the
project was to assess the influence of CLT on language development.
The topic of the lesson is therefore included in these systems as a category of
description. They look at both the what and how of classroom communication.
+ Part A describes activities of the classroom
1. Activity type describes the kind of activity such as a drill, singing, discus-
sion, and so on.
2. Participation organization indicates the participation pattern: whole class, group
work, and group and individual work.
3. Content indicates whether the focus is on classroom management, on an explicit
language focus, or on some other content. Also the category deals with whether or
not the topic is controlled by the teacher, student, or is shared.
4. Modality identifies the skill type—listening, speaking, reading, writing, or a
combination.
5. Materials indicates the type of material (i.e., text, audio, or visual), the length of
the text, the purpose of the text and the use of materials
+ Part B consists of an analysis of the communicative features occurring within
each activity and includes the following subcategories.
1. Use of the target language measures the extent to which the target language is
used.
2. Information gap refers to the extent to which the information that is dealt with is
predictable and genuine.
3. Sustained speech deals with the extent to which the speaker engages in extended
discourse.
4. Reaction to code or message refers to the extent to which the purpose of the
exchange is on the accuracy of the message or the meaning.
5. Incorporation of preceding utterances refers to how a comment relates to
the preceding comment, exemplifying no incorporation, repetition, paraphrase,
comment, expansion, or elaboration.
6. Discourse initiation refers to whether the teacher or student initiates the
exchange.
7. Relative restriction of linguistic form refers to the expected linguistic form of a
response being either restricted use (one form is expected),
Limited Coding Systems
With a limited coding systems, the categories are developed in reference
to a specific classroom activity.
Interaction Codes for Cooperative Picture Ordering Task
Code Example
Describes a Picture D There’s a clock on the wall that says
8:00.
Proposal w/o Reasoning P- I think picture C should go first.
Proposal w/ Reasoning P+ I think picture C should go first because
the sun is coming up.
Support S Looks right. I agree. What’s next?
Non-support N Nope, Unh, unh, Don’t think so. Some
other.
Counter-Proposal w/o CP- No, I think B is first.
Reasoning
Counter-proposal CP+ But everybody’s happy in B. I think it
should go first.
w/Reasoning
Filler, Doubt, Neutral F Mmmm. Maybe. Let’s see.
Operational 0 What do we have to do? Shall I start?
Are we done?

Interaction Analysis Research

- It is possible that the teachers’ role produced the variation in conferences

so that teachers adjusted their style to the students’ discourse style or to
their expectations of the student. Whatever the cause of such differences, it
was clear that having a conference that involved a negotiation of meaning
led to more successful student revisions.
- What is important to note from a methodological perspective is that
Goldstein and Conrad’s coding system was specifically designed to capture
the patterns that occurred in writing conferences.
Having such a fine-tuned coding system allowed them to draw conclusions
regarding the roles of teachers and students in writing conferences and the
importance of the negotiation of meaning in students’ essay revisions. By selecting
one aspect of classroom interaction you wish to investigate, you can design a
coding system that is more finely tuned than the generic codes we looked at earlier.
Your coding system should be based on an analyses of the interaction you
observed, with the coding categories developing from the data. This inductive
process is in sharp contrast to the deductive application of pre-existing categories
employed in most generic coding systems.
Discourse Features of Writing Conferences
1. Episodes These are the subunits of a conference. Each episode has a unique
combination of topic and purpose.
2. Discourse Structure Each episode has a particular discourse structure.
1. Teacher talks and student backchannels.
2. Teacher questions and student answers.
3. Teacher talks and student talks.
4. Student talks and teacher backchannels.
5. Student questions and teacher answers.
6. A combination of the above.
3. Topic Nomination The participant who introduces a new topic or new purpose is
said
to have nominated the topic of a new episode.
4. Invited Nomination An invited nomination occurs when the participant
nominates the
topic in response to a question, such as “What would you like to discuss?”
5. Turns A change of speaker signifies a new turn.
6. Questions This category includes all questions except those used for negotiation.
7. Negotiation Two types of negotiation exist.
Negotiation of meaning includes confirmation checks, comprehension checks, and
clarification requests .Negotiation of revision takes place when revision strategies
need to be clarified and consists of
a. the student confirming the teacher’s suggestion for revision;
b. either the teacher or student checking to see if the student understands
discussion
of revision options;
c. the student checking to see if it would be appropriate to revise in a certain way;
or

d. the student stating that he/she does not understand either why a revision is
neces-
sary or how to revise.