Investigating the Quality of Interaction in the Middle EFL Classes

Abstract

The present study aims at exploring the nature of interaction that is provided in public middle EFL classrooms. It investigates the possibility of promoting learners’ communicative capacities via different interaction patterns that are used in EFL middle school classes within the framework of Competency-Based language teaching (CBLT) to see how applicable this method of teaching language with reference to interaction and communication is. This research attempts to probe the effectiveness of classroom interaction as a pedagogical strategy in enhancing EFL learner’s performance as well as fostering their capacity to generate new language. The research in hand hypothesised that If there is a balance between different interaction patterns ( Teacher-Learner and Learner-Learner ) and between teacher’s talk and learner’s talk in addition to the needed feedback; then, a successful quality of interaction would be achieved in middle schools. In order to achieve the preceding aims, a descriptive exploratory study is carried out. The main data gathering tools in this study are questionnaires and classroom observation. The questionnaires were administered to a sample of ( 80) pupils in the two middle schools “Abadou Abdelkamel”, “Boutaya Boudjemaa” and (25) teachers of middle school classes from different institutions to determine and qualify the nature of interaction and the relationship between classroom interaction and pupils’ development. The findings of the questionnaires and classroom observation supported the hypothesis of the research and revealed a positive view on classroom interaction in the middle school context.