In this dissertation I explore the nature of English as a Second Language (ESL) trainee teacher talk and the challenges trainees face in understanding and implementing it. The study takes a sociocultural perspective and uses a qualitative, multiple case study approach of nine non-native and native speaking trainees who are studying on a TESOL Master's programme which includes a microteaching and overseas teaching practice placement. The data set includes lesson transcripts which are analysed using Conversation Analysis and protocols of stimulated recall interviews which are analysed using the Threshold Concept framework. The data provide robust evidence of episodes of trainee talk and trainees' justification for use or non-use of interactional features. Findings show that trainees use talk to manage themselves rather than to manage pedagogy. They avoid interactional uncertainty, use unmarked mode switches, design turns which benefit the self and use rapport building features to confirm effectiveness. These features manifest in a closing down of communication. Findings also show that there is a hybrid nature to trainee identity in microteaching. Trainees shift between, for example, being a teacher and being a classmate and this leads to an opening up of interaction which is not evident in the teaching practice data. Furthermore findings show that trainees understand teacher talk in different ways: as a loss of familiar assumptions, a mimicking of 'correct' use and as a skill which needs to be performed in front of observers. The study has three main outcomes: a model showing trainee teacher talk features which 'open up' interaction and those that 'close down' interaction; a teacher talk concept 'map' which helps teacher educators explain the components which comprise teacher talk and a flow chart which bridges the gap between the theory of teacher talk as a threshold concept and the process of practising it.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:665456 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Skinner, Barbara |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0022 seconds