The role of oral language in the dialogic primary classroom

Figures & data

Figure 1. Differences in frequency of elaborative moves in lesson 3 and lesson 8.

Figure 2. Differences in provisional language use in lesson 3 and lesson 8.

Table

48	T	G1, what do you think? What do you think these children are talking about?
49	G1	I think they’re saying, ‘Let's find Vanessa.’
50	T	Let’s find Vanessa. Anyone want to build on that idea? G2?
51	G2	I think she’s running up to her friends and she’s saying to them, ‘Help the new girl because she’s crying.’
52	T	So, you think that she’s asking the other- Mmm, so, is she asking the other friends to help or just telling them that Vanessa’s sad?
53	G2	Asking.
54	T	You think she’s actually asking them to help her? Shall we just move on through the story and see what Vanessa and the girl in the yellow dress do? (Displays next page) Tell me, tell me, G3.
55	G3	She looks-, she’s on her bed. That’s why she’s sad.
56	T	You think she’s feeling sad. What’s the clue about her feeling sad, G3?
57	G3	Just because she doesn’t wanna see anybody, just Vanessa because she feels sad and she wants to help her.
58	T	So, you think she’s feeling sad and wants to help Vanessa. Looking at the pictures, I think she’s been thinking about Vanessa all night. All night. Let's have a look (displays next page).

Table

450	G4	Also they don’t choose to go. They have to go. But on holiday, you want to go. Like if I said to you, ‘T, you have to go to war right now,’ you wouldn’t be happy, but, if I said to you, ‘T, you can go on any holiday right now’ you [would be].
451	T	[Oh fabulous], thank you, G4.
452	G5	On holiday you can choose -
453		{Unclear} going to -
454	G4	When you can choose if you want to go on holiday.
455	G5	Yeah.
456	G4	[{Unclear}]
457	T	[So, there’s] that element of choice, isn’t there?
458	G6	Yeah.
459	G5	[Whereas]-
460	T	[Does that] determine [how you feel about it]?
461	G5	[When you’re forced to go somewhere]-
462	G6	[If you’re, say] it was like the [fire of London when you have]-
463	G5	[then you have to go], then you have to go somewhere -
464	T	So, you’re both speaking at the same time. Decide who is gonna - (G5 and G6 look at each other smiling, whole class giggles)
465	G5	(giggling) So I think when when you’re forced to go somewhere, it’s like uhm, I’ve forgotten what I was saying now!
466	T	That solved that problem! (laughing)
467	G6	If it’s like in somewhere like at war when evacuees have to go, it’s - they wouldn’t - why would they want to go and especially if you have to be split up from your family. Say there was somewhere that you didn’t wanna go and you had to, it was no choice for you, but -
468	T	I’m going to disagree with you, G6. If - in in a situation where you have to leave your home, surely there’s part of you that wants to go because you want to be safe.
469	Class	Yeah.
470	G6	That is true.
471	G4	[Yeah, because]-
472		[{Unclear}].
473	T	G7?
474	G7	There would be a part of you that wants to be saved, but the other part of you would probably want to stay with your family.
475	G8	[I agree with G7].
476	G9	[{Unclear}].
477	T	I think -
478	G8	I agree with G7 because going away from home because you have to isn’t like a holiday. It’s you have to go, there’s no choice.
479	G4	But you want to go. If it was war, I would rather be split from my family and stay alive than stay with my family and probably get killed [because]-
480	T	[Oh], interesting. That’s quite - hang on, that’s quite a that’s quite a strong statement, isn’t it?
481	G4	Because I don’t really want to die in World War II, so I’d go, but I’d also want to stay with my family, but I’d have to - I - I’d want to go. I’d want to go - part of me would want to go, part of me would want to stay. [But I]-

Table

418	B1	Do you think you can have more than one home, though? [Like]-
419	G5	[Yeah. I mean, yeah, ‘cos]-
420	B1	because I feel, I feel very comfortable [here]-
421	G6	[Yeah] me too.
422	B1	but I also have lots of friends and lots of family and most most family in Canada.
423	B2	Yeah [that’s that’s]-
424	G5	[Actually I quite] like it at my grandad’s house, uhm because I actually go there quite a lot. Like I go there like every holiday. He’s actually looking after me B1orrow and I’m going to his B1orrow. So uhm I - he lives in XY (large rural town), so it’s quite close and I actually know it quite well around there, [‘cos]-
425	G6	[Well]-
426	G5	I spend so much time there, I know them. B2, would you like to speak?
427	B2	I I - me and B1 have a similarity because I I feel comfortable in England, but I feel comfortable in Italy as well, because there’s my grandparents and lots of my friends [and]-
428	G6	[Going]-
429	B2	I call that home.
430	B1	Yeah.
431	G6	Going back to what G5 said as well, I think that I also feel comfortable in XY (large rural town) as well because my - I was born born there, plus my dad kind of works around there. So it’s kind of like when I go, I’m most used to going. It’s like it’s not like ‘Oh what is that in XY’ I’ve seen it, pretty much all of it.