Study 21: Learner language and proficiency level
In 1990, George Yule and Doris Macdonald investigated the effect of the communication roles of the learner on their interactive behavior. To do this, they set up a task and after completing task, they reached a conclusion that teachers should sometimes place more advanced students in less dominant roles in paired activities with lower-level learners.
Study 22: The dynamics of pair work
Naomi Storch investigated the patterns of pair interaction over time and the effects of different natures of the interactions on language learning in 2002. In her study, she identified four distinct patterns of interaction (collaborative, dominant-dominant, dominant-passive, and expert-novice) and she concluded that when pair work functions collaboratively and learners are in an expert-novice relationship, they can successfully engage in the co-construction of knowledge.
Study 23: Interaction and second language development
In 1999, Alison Mackey carried out a study among adult learners engaging in different communicative tasks with native speakers of the target language on producing question forms. At the end of the study, learners who interacted with native speakers produced more advanced questions and this result showed that spontaneous natural interaction can be more beneficial for the learners.
Study 24: Learner-learner interaction in a Thai classroom
Kim McDonough investigated the use of pair and small group activities in English as a foreign language classes in 2004. In this study, students engaged in interaction about environmental problems by using conditional types, and they used interactional features such as explicit correction, recast and modified output and this improved their accuracy. However, when she asked whether such activities contributed to learning, she found that students did not perceive pair and group activities as useful for learning.
As this proposal is production-based, I can use this proposal especially in practice and production parts in my lessons. For example, after presenting the structure I can create a context in which learners can interact with each other and me. Also by forming groups and by giving them small tasks, I can create an interactional atmosphere and they can negotiate for the meaning. Role plays can be a useful activity for the learners in this view. With the help of role plays, learners both interact with each other and work in pairs or groups. They can use genuine utterances.