世新大學圖書館

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-03, Section: A, page: 0878.

Chair: Sarane S. Boocock.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Rutgers The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick, 2002.

Much of the literature on classroom interaction in the adult English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom has focused on the teacher-student relationship and, specifically, on how the teacher can promote learning. Although studies of teacher designed cooperative learning groups have shown that learning occurs when students work together in small groups, there are few studies that have looked at student-initiated student-student interactions that are not structured by the teacher. In focusing on the student-initiated student-student interactions that occurred in two university-level ESL classrooms, and the helping behaviors they represented, this study began to address the gap in the second language learning literature.

To investigate the student-initiated helping behaviors that occurred in the two ESL classrooms observed, the researcher used an ethnographic approach, observing both classes as a passive observer. Any interactions among students that were not governed by the teacher and appeared to represent helping behaviors were noted and later analyzed. In addition, both informal and formal interviews were conducted with those students who volunteered.

Three kinds of helping behaviors used among the students in both classes were identified in the fieldnotes. In the analysis stage, these categories were described and labeled as language helping behaviors, cultural helping behaviors, and general helping behaviors. For each kind of behavior, examples of student dialogues and vignettes were presented. Using the data obtained from the informal and formal interviews, it was hypothesized that student learning did result from student-initiated student-student interactions that contained helping behaviors. However, learning could not be proven to have occurred and was hypothesized to have occurred based on the students' own interpretations of their helping interactions. As a result, the main contribution of this study was in providing a set of categorizations of the helping behaviors that adult ESL students use to help each other while they are in class.

In conclusion, by provoking thinking, this study offers innovative suggestions for ESL teachers who wish to promote positive student-student interactions in their own classrooms. In addition, this study has provided a foundation on which to base future research on student-initiated student-student interactions.

School code: 0190.