Chapter Four Classroom Interaction and Classroom Activities

CHAPTER-FOUR

Classroom Interaction
and

Classroom Activities

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Chapter Four Classroom Interaction and Classroom Activities

The contents of the book should facilitate teaching and learning. The textbook

should be adapted in line with the needs of the students so that they may find its

contents more interesting as contrary to the present textbook (NECI) in Iraq.

Owing to the lack of interest in and poor in quality of contents there has been little

improvement in the English language skills of Iraqi students over the years. The

students need course material in the field of general English. The course material

must be interesting for students. It should incorporate variety in material, integrate

the four skills, tasks and activities in the form of an illustrated course-book.

Students should participate actively in learning activities and language use. English

classes should be full of activities role play, games, projects, pair/group work,

instead of only teaching and students only listening. As student’s preference is for

the kind of classroom interaction which involves a lot of activities, where students

are involved in tasks, where teacher relinquishes his control. Activities in which

language is used for executing meaningful tasks promote learning. Tasks are

important as they provide a purpose for activities. The implication for the

classroom practice is that everything done in the classroom involves some kind of

communication leading to the use of language. This can be realized by involving

students in activities and problem-solving tasks.

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The aim of syllabus or course of study in English as a second or foreign language

ought to be, and often is, to make students proficient in communication skills by

activities. While the existing English syllabus in the Iraqi secondary schools level

English is taught like other subjects and not as a language to develop linguistic

skills and to develop creative thinking. There is lack of functional communicative

activities and social interaction activities, which help students in using language in

various social situations. In the existing English syllabus speaking skills has almost

no place and vocabulary is presented in the form of isolated items.

In view of these considerations the researcher urges that classroom activities and

tasks must be introduced in the English syllabus of the Iraqi secondary school.

Below is a brief account of both the concept and practice of classroom activities

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4.1 Classroom and Classroom Interaction

To study and describe what happens in the classroom, to know classroom teaching

and learning and what goes on in a language classroom, we have to gain

knowledge about the classroom, classroom interaction, task and activity. Amy

B.M. Tsui defines classroom thus:

The classroom can be defined as a place where

more than two people gather together for the
purpose of learning, with one having the role of
teacher. The teacher has certain perceptions
about his or her role in the classroom.1

Teaching is an interactive act. In the classroom, communication between the

teacher and pupils goes on constantly as initiatory or responsive acts. This

communication is called “interaction”.

Jack C. Richards, John Platt and Heidi Platt, (1992) define classroom interaction in

these words:

The patterns of verbal and non-verbal

communication and the types of social
relationships which occur within classrooms. The
study of classroom interaction may be a part of
studies of Classroom Discourse, Teacher Talk
and Second Language Acquisition.2

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Classroom learning is a co-operative effort between the teacher and the students. It

points to how the teacher and the students interact and how students interact

amongst themselves, all of which affects language learning

The teacher initiates interactions with the whole group of students and with

individuals, right from the beginning of a language course. Initially the students

can only respond non-verbally or with a few target language words they have

practised. Later on, the students have more control of the target language and can

respond more appropriately and even initiate interaction themselves.

What happens in a productive class hour is described by M.L. Tickoo (2009) under

the following heads:

1. The teacher interacts with the whole class.

2. The teacher interacts with a group, a pair or an
individual pupil.
3. Pupils interact with each other: in groups, in
pairs, as individuals or as a class.
4. Pupils work with materials or aids and attempt
the task once again individually, in groups and
so on.3

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The teacher sometimes interacts with the class as a whole while at other times with

sub-groups in the classroom.

The teacher should introduce variations in the interactions pattern. Some of these

are listed by Saket Raman Tiwari below: 4

Teacher Class

Teacher Sub-Group

Teacher Individual Pupil

Pupil Pupil

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Studies of the classroom, both primary and secondary, have shown that the

language used by the teacher affects the language produced by the learners, the

interaction generated and hence the kind of learning that takes place. Classroom

language and interaction are even more important because language is the subject

of study as well as the medium for learning. When students listen to the teacher’s

instructions and explanations, when they express their views, answer questions and

carry out tasks and activities, they are not only learning about the language but also

putting to use the language that they are learning.

4.2 ASPECTS OF CLASSROOM INTERACTION

The dominant pattern of interaction is that of the teacher’s question, the student’s

response and the teacher’s feedback. This is commonly found in all classrooms and

is typical of classroom exchange. Teacher’s talk not only takes up the largest

portion of talk but also determines the topic of talk and who talks. It is therefore a

very important component of classroom interaction.

Amy B.M. Tsui defines teacher’s explanation, which is another component that

takes up a significant portion of teacher’s talk:

There are different ways of defining

explanation. Some define it very generally
as providing information or communicating

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content, others make a distinction between

explanation of procedures and explanation
of concepts, vocabulary and grammatical
rules. How teachers deal with explanation is
very important: inappropriate explanation or
over- explanation hinder rather than help
students to comprehend.5

The ways in which students behave and interact during a classroom organized and

controlled by the teacher (or sometimes by the learners themselves) to enable

teaching to take place most effectively is called classroom management. It also

includes procedures for grouping students.

For different types of classroom activities, the use of lesson plans, handling of

equipment, aids, etc., and the direction and management of students behaviour and

activity are helpful.

4.3.1 CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

4.3.1. The Task

The task is an activity which is designed to help to achieve a particular learning

goal:

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The function of the task is to simply activate

the learners in such a way as to get them to
engage with the material to be practised.6

A number of dimensions of tasks influence their use in language teaching. These

include:

Goal - the kind of goals teachers and

learners identify for a task.
Procedures- the operations or procedures
learners use to complete a task.
Order - the location of a task within a
sequence of other tasks.
Pacing - the amount of time that is spent on
a task.
Product - the outcome or outcomes students
produce, such as a set of questions, an essay,
or a summary as the outcome of a reading
task.
Learning strategy - the kind of strategy a
student uses when completing a task.
Assessment - how success in the task will be
determined.
Participation - whether the task is completed
individually, with a partner, or with a group
of other learners.

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Chapter Four Classroom Interaction and Classroom Activities

Resources - the materials and other

resources used with a task.
Language - the language learners use in
completing a task (e.g. the mother tongue or
English, or the particular vocabulary,
structures or functions the task requires the
learners to use.7

The concept of task is central to many theories of classroom teaching and learning

and the school curriculum is sometimes described as a collection of tasks.

4.3.1 (a) Clear objective

The use of task in language teaching provides a purpose for a classroom

activity, which goes beyond the practice of language for its own sake:

The task objective may be language-based, in

which case it may be generally defined as
getting the language right. However, the
objective “getting the language right” on its
own often leads to the composition, if rather
boring, meaningless language-manipulation
tasks, such as putting a series of sentences
into the past tense.8

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4.4. Active Language Use

Activities are the ways of language practising which are used more:

We should make sure that the activity is in

fact based mainly on using language. This
may sound obvious, but it is surprising how
many otherwise excellent language-practice
tasks fall into this trap. It is tempting to think
that if students, particularly children are
happily absorbed in doing a task in an English
lesson, they are therefore learning English-but
it is not always so. They may, of course, be
achieving other equally-or more-important
educational objectives, for the sake of which
we may opt temporarily, to sacrifice
language-learning efficiency. 9

4.4.1 Learner Activation

The activities should be designed to concentrate on the students’ needs.

These activities should also include and involve several subjects and

different skills.

A well-designed grammar or language skill

exercise practice actively, then should be
based on a task that has clear objectives and
entails the active use to the structure being

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practiced, and it should maintain learner

interest and motivation through careful choice
of topic, use of information-gap procedures,
role-play, personalization, etc.10

Activities is a loose term used to give a general description of what will happen in

a class. It is important to realise that we are not concerned here much about items

of language; we are talking about what, generally and physically, the students are

going to do:

A game is an activity; so is a simulation. The

introduction of new language is an activity; so
is parallel writing or story reconstruction.
Listening is an activity and so is an information
gap task; social talk is an activity so is an oral
composition. An activity is what the teacher
thinks of when he is asked, “What are you
going to do in class today? 11

The activities that involve real communication promote learning and the activities

in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning and

the language that is meaningful for the learner to promote learning.

There are many activities, which are used in the classroom. Littlewood summaries

them under the following headings:

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Chapter Four Classroom Interaction and Classroom Activities

Whole task practice: It is often useful to

distinguish between (a) training in the part-
skills which the performance is composed and
(b) practice in the total skill. Sometimes called
whole task practice which contains various
kinds of communicative activities.

They improve motivation: The learner’s

ultimate objective is to take part in
communication with the other. Their motivation
to learn is more likely to be sustained if they
can see how their classroom learning is related
to this objective and help them to achieve it
with increasing success.

Natural learning: In fact, many aspects of

language learning can take place only through
natural process which operate when a person is
involve in using the language for
communication if this is so communicative
activity inside or outside the classroom.

To create a context, which supports learning:

communicative activity provides opportunities
for positive personal relationship to develop
among learners and between learners and
teacher.12

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Chapter Four Classroom Interaction and Classroom Activities

Today, language learning is seen as an activity which perceives students as

complex human beings, and not simply as language learners. Students need

practice in all skills in order to become efficient in the English language.

A number of activities can be used to prepare students to understand the use of

language. The most common activity in a language classroom especially where

language is taught through literature and language skills is to ask students to relate

their own knowledge and experiences to the topic. The teacher should provide

them with worksheets involving quiz, questionnaire, sentence stems to completed,

statements to be discussed and the four language skills’ exercises.

The following are the most important activities to be dealt with:

1. Tasks on paragraph writing  organizing

information into paragraphs.
2. Letter writing and précis.
3. Tasks on functional grammar : Agreeing,
Disagreeing, Obligation, Possibility, Parts of
Speech, Auxiliaries, Nouns, Prepositions, Sentence
Structures, Correction of tenses, etc.
4. Reporting statements, questions (whand yes/no),
requests, order, advice, intention, etc.
5. Tasks on language involving response, reason,
result, reply, condition, consequence, elicitation,
etc.
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Chapter Four Classroom Interaction and Classroom Activities

6. Tasks on pronunciation, intonation, stress, rhythm,

etc.13

Oral communication activities:

Role play, practising dialogues, debates, group discussion, etc. based on the

contents.

The other reinforcements of skill are:

 Tasks related to language skills (Listening,

speaking, reading and writing) for
proficiency.
 Tasks for writing and acting out dialogues.
 Tasks for summarizing a story.
 Tasks for words’ meaning.
 Tasks on making notes during listening or
reading.
 Tasks on writing reports in note form for oral
presentations.
 Discussions on textual questions.
 Tasks on paragraph and expansion of ideas.
 Tasks comparing features of different parts of
the text.
 Task on relating cause and effect.14

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4.5. EXERCISE:15 (Adapted from 700 Classroom Activities)

What’s it used for? Do as the example.

A kettle is used for boiling water.

Scissors …………………………..

A camera …………………………

A brush …………………………..

A bottle …………………………..

A padlock ……………………….

1. Put these expressions into the table. Some go in more than one place.

How many, a lot of, how much, there are, not many, not much, a few, any,

some, enough, plenty, there is.

Countable Uncountable

Positive

Question and Negative

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2. Fill in the missing words in the following table:

Verb Adjective Noun

Construct Construction

Consume Consumer

Introduce

Manage

Solve Soluble

Endanger Danger

Inventor

3. Advice

Give advice for each of these problems, beginning: If I were you, I’d
………………

I want to give up smoking.

I can’t get to sleep at night.

I keep dropping things.

My flatmate’s really untidy.

I love her, but she never calls.

My dog keeps biting people.

My hair won’t stay flat.

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4. I wish and if only

Rewrite these sentences with I wish/if only in two ways, one with a past

tense and the other with would, e.g. it’s raining. –

1) I wish/if only wasn’t raining.

2) I wish/if only it would stop raining.

She’s is singing that awful song again.

You’re unemployed.

It’s cold outside.

The lift is still not working.

I’ve had a nasty cold all week.

He’s late for the meeting again.

The streets are filthy.

5. If

Write what would happen if the situation was different, e.g. it’s raining;

we’ll have to cancel the barbecue. – If it wasn’t raining, we’d have a barbecue. If it

was sunny, we’d have a barbecue.

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I don’t know the answer so I can’t tell you.

He gets headaches because he works so hard.

We don’t have enough space for a piano.

She’s ill. She can’t come to the party.

Life’s easy because we both have well-paid jobs.

He’s not tall enough to be a policeman.

I can’t give you a lift because I haven’t got a car.

She’s so rude: it’s not surprising they don’t like her.

6. The sooner the better

Write the endings to the following:

e.g. Teacher – The earlier we leave …………….

Students – The sooner we’ll arrive.

The more you study …………………….

The more you drink …………………….

The less you know …………………….

The more we give him …………………….

The longer we waited …………………….

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The cheaper the hotel …………………….

The hotter it gets …………………….

The older he gets …………………….

The less she eats …………………….

The more interesting the work …………………….

7. As …… as

Write sentences comparing the price of these things in the UK/USA/Australia/

……… . with the price in your country, e.g.

Cigarettes are almost twice as expensive in the Australia.

food, clothes, cigarettes, transport, entertainment, accommodation, cars.

Here are some expressions to help you.

not quite as expensive as

half
twice
three times
not really

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8. Weather forecast

Ask the following questions about the weather

What is the weather forecast for the next couple of days?

What kinds of weather are typical at different times of the year?

Make use of:

Noun Adjective Verb

rain It’s cold It’s raining

sun It’s cold country. It rains a lot here.

wind

cold

snow

fog

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REFERENCES

1. Tsui, Amy B.M., Introducing Classroom Interaction,. Penguin books Ltd,

1995, P.1.

2. Richards, Jack C., Platt John, Platt Heidi, Longman Dictionary of

language teaching and applied linguistics,. Harlow, Essex, 1992, P.52.

3. Tickoo M.L., Teaching and Learning, English,. Hyderabad, Orient Black

Swan 2009, P. 402.

4. Tiwari, Saket Raman, Teaching of English,. New Delhi, A.P.H.

Publishing Corporation, 2009, P.294.

5. Tsui, Amy B.M. Op cit. P.16.

6. Jacob, Alvina Sarah, Role of Classroom Activities in The Teaching of

Grammar,. Unpublished MA(ELT) Project, Aligarh Muslim University,

2011, P.32.

7. Richards, Jack C., John Platt, Heidi Plat, Op. cit. P.373.

8. Jacob, Alvina Sarah, Op. cit. P.32.

9. Ibid; P.33.

10. Ibid; P.34.

11. Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English language Teaching. London:

Longman, 1983, P. 228.

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Chapter Four Classroom Interaction and Classroom Activities

12. Littlewood, W., Communicative Language Teaching: An introduction,

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. P. 18.

13. Wajahit Hussain, An analytic study of general English syllabus

prescribed at the first year degree level in the affiliated colleges of the

University of Jammu; and a proposed alternative syllabus. Ph.D. thesis,

Maulana Azad National Urdu University Hyderabad, 2011, P.P 221-223.

14. Ibid; P.223.

15. Seymour, David and Popova, Maria, 700 Classroom Activities. McMillan

Education, 2005. P.P. 70, 71,73,75,82,105.

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