Teachers’ Classroom Interactional Competence: An Analysis in Micro-Contexts of Teacher-Class Interaction

Abstract

Creating learning opportunities depends to a greater extent on classroom interaction, in which learning is maximised when teachers demonstrate classroom interactional competence (CIC). This article investigates how EFL Algerian teachers manifest CIC in the co-construction of talk-in- interaction. It addresses three core objectives: firstly, it examines teachers' use of mode-convergent language. Secondly, it analyses the interactional resources deployed by teachers to manage creating interactional space. Finally, it identifies the ways teachers shape their learners’ contributions. A qualitative research was adopted, and the data were collected through the use of video-recording and field notes at a private language institute in Sétif, Algeria. The findings revealed that teachers manifested CIC in different classroom micro-contexts but failed, in many occasions, to use mode-convergent language and to provide interactional space in the “Classroom Context” mode. To shape learners’ contributions, the findings uncovered the use of a range of interactional resources. However, differing from previous studies, the findings unveiled the use of humour as a resource that stimulated students’ further engagement in the discourse. Implications to teacher education are discussed as well.