INTERACTION PATTERNS
1. Group work
Students work in small groups on tasks that entail interaction; conveying
information, for example, or group decision-making. The teacher walks around
listening, intervenes little if at all
2. Closed-ended teacher questioning (IRF)
Only one “right” response gets approved. Sometimes cynically called the “Guess
what the teacher wants you to say” game.
3. Individual work
The teacher gives a task or set of tasks, and students work on them independently;
the teacher walks around monitoring and assisting where necessary.
4. Choral responses
The teacher gives a model which is repeated by all the class in the chorus; or gives a
cue which is responded to in chorus.
5. Collaboration
Students do the same sort of tasks as in “individual work”, but work together,
usually in pairs, to try to achieve the best results they can. The teacher may or may
not intervene. (Note that this is different from “Group work”, where the task itself
necessitates interaction.)
6. Student initiates, teacher answers
For example, in a guessing game: the students think of questions and the teacher
responds; but the teacher decides who asks.
7. Full-class interaction
The students debate a topic or do a language task as a class; the teacher may
intervene occasionally, to stimulate participation or to monitor.
8. Teacher talk
This may involve some kind of silent student response, such as writing from
dictation, but there is no initiative on the part of the student.
9. Self-access
Students choose their own learning tasks, and work autonomously.
10. Open-ended teacher questioning
There are a number of possible “right” answers, so that more students answer each
cue.
CLASSIFYING FORMS OF INTERACTION
Look at the various patterns of interaction described above and note for each one how
active the teacher and students are in their participation, using the following code:
