Negotiation of meaning and English proficiency while completing pedagogical tasks in multilingual primary education classrooms

Abstract

The effect of language proficiency and language choice on child interaction while working on classroom tasks (Pica, Kanagy and Falodun, 1993; Seedhouse, 2005) is the focus of this research. Forty dyads of nonnative speakers (NNS) of English aged 8-12 years completed a task designed by their teacher in a school in Tolosa (Basque Autonomous Community). The dyads were organized into proficiency levels according to their grades and some specific tasks designed by their English teacher, following Lesser (2004).The interactions were recorded, examining the effect of proficiency level categories on instances of attention to form. Analyses for variables of attention to form and task completion of each proficiency level category were performed. Our results suggest that the proficiency level does not have an effect on the number of instances of attention to form. Across proficiency level categories of interaction, it was found that the learners used less Basque, Spanish, and Mixed utterances in the higher proficiency levels. These results shed some light on the current teaching practices with several pedagogical implications.