This paper will report on some insights gained from sequential analyses of L2 peer interactions in French-as-a-foreign-language classrooms and suggest how these might be used to support pre- and in-service teachers in their planning and handling of peer interactions in the classroom.
This paper reports on some empirical insights gained from analyzing the development of learners' L2 interactional competence (L2 IC) as well as the teaching practices in two French-as-a-foreign-language classrooms. It suggests that these findings can be used to advise pre- and in-service teachers in their planning and organizing of peer interactions in the classroom. In this way, it aims to complement existing research on L2 IC "teachable practices" (Waring, 2018) and strengthens the argument that teachers need to be supported in becoming aware of the issues regarding L2 IC and in dealing with them (cf. García García 2016; Huth 2021).
Teachers should know that students' turns at talk in the classroom orient to and are intricately shaped by aspects such as the sequential environment, the participation framework, the task instructions, the materiality of the situation, the purpose and aim of the activity. However, an investigation into the development of L2 IC in two French as a foreign language classes suggests that teachers may lack awareness of these contingencies and consequently underestimate how these factors can impact on the pedagogical potential of activities in terms of L2 IC.
The empirical study of students' L2 IC development in peer interactions in the classroom has yielded some concrete suggestions regarding the support of L2 IC development that should be emphasised in the training of (future) language teachers, particularly in foreign (rather than second) language teaching contexts. Teachers should aim to progressively widen students' repertoire not only in terms of range of vocabulary and complexity of grammar but also in terms of interactional requirements and variety of types of actions.
