3.1.3.3 Types of interaction observed
The type of interaction which was predominant in all observations was what is
usually referred to as the three-phase discourse (IRF) where the teacher initiates, the
pupil responds and the teacher provides feedback (see Edwards and Mercer 1987;
Ellis 1999). Such an interaction, which, according to Delamont (1976), characterizes
classrooms all over the world, is associated by Barnes (1976, quoted in Ellis 1999:
147) with a ‘transmission mode of education’, in which the teacher seeks to impart
knowledge he possesses (and assumes the pupils do not), and to reinforce his social
role as arbiter of all classroom behaviour. However, as Gremmo et.al. (1978: 63)
stress, the dominant role of the teacher inhibits the opportunities for language
learning, as students learn only how to reply and not to initiate discourse. The role
played by the learner in nominating and controlling the topic of the discourse in
language acquisition has been commented on by both first and second-language
researchers. Wells (1985), contrasting the interactional styles of mothers who are
‘supportive’ (i.e. they allow their children to initiate topics) and those who are
‘tutorial’ (i.e. they cast their children in the role of respondents), argues that
supportive style results in speedier acquisition. Hatch (1978) also found that in
naturalistic interactions between native speakers and child L2 learners the latter are
generally allowed to nominate topics and that this provides a basis for buildi