The Interactional Organization of Bilingual Co-Teaching in South Korea

Abstract

Conversation analytic studies of classroom interaction have uncovered intricate ways in which classroom talk is organized, demonstrating recurrently observed practices and resources of instructional activities. The scope of these studies includes content and language instruction in a diverse range of monolingual, bilingual, multilingual, heritage, and foreign language learning contexts, but such research has mostly focused on typical classroom formations where only one teacher is present in the classroom. This dissertation examines an under-researched context of bilingual co-teaching wherein two teachers – an American and a Korean teacher – concurrently use English and Korean to carry out content-based lessons. Guided by the theoretical and methodological framework of Conversation Analysis (CA), this study takes interest in describing the interactional organization of co-taught lessons as well as the semiotic resources that teachers deploy to coordinate an integrated lesson. The study centers on three analytical topics. Initiation-response-feedback (IRF) sequences exhibit a distinct interactional structure wherein the co-teachers and students flexibly adapt the IRF to manage local classroom contingencies, coordinate student participation, and achieve the curricular focus of the lesson. Analysis of embodiment unveils how the participants use language and nonvocal conduct to build temporally unfolding participation frameworks and construct socially available resources in the organization of second language (L2) vocabulary instruction. Social asymmetries that emerge in co-teacher interaction are shown to be related to the teachers’ differential access to Korean and English language, entitlement to remedy instruction, and authority to student discipline and classroom management. The dissertation concludes with some recommendations for ESL/EFL co-teaching research and collaborative bilingual teaching practices in Korea.