Participation, collaboration and language use in English Foreign Language adult learning groups that share or do not share a common language besides English
Master Thesis
2004
Permanent link to this Item
Authors
Supervisors
Journal Title
Link to Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Department
Faculty
License
Series
Abstract
The study attempts to answer the question: "How is learning, interaction and information exchange affected by whether learning groups are composed of people who share or do not share a common language (besides English)?" I carried out the research at English Foreign Language (EFL) classes which were held for peoples of Africa. Data were collected through audio and audio-visual recordings, field notes and semi-structured follow-up interviews. The findings indicated that learning, interaction and information exchange were affected by the composition of the group. These differences were related to the interactive and dialogic nature of exchange in the 'cross language groups' where conversational techniques (such as turn-taking) were used in order to engage in an interactive and collabortive dialogue. As a result, learning, interaction and information exchange occurred more readily in 'cross language groups' than in 'common language groups'.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-177).
Keywords
Reference:
Gavron-Stadtmaer, T. 2004. Participation, collaboration and language use in English Foreign Language adult learning groups that share or do not share a common language besides English. University of Cape Town.