Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning synthesizes the existing body of research on the role of peer interaction in second language learning in one comprehensive volume. In spite of the many hours that language learners spend interacting with peers in the classroom, there is a tendency to evaluate the usefulness of this time by comparison to whole class interaction with the teacher. Yet teachers are teachers and peers are peers – as partners in interaction, they are likely to offer very different kinds of learning opportunities. This book encourages researchers and instructors alike to take a new look at the potential of peer interaction to foster second language development. Acknowledging the context of peer interaction as highly dynamic and complex, the book considers the strengths and limitations of peer work from a range of theoretical perspectives. In doing so, Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning clarifies features of effective peer interaction for second language learning across a range of educational contexts, age spans, proficiency levels, and classroom tasks and settings.
| Acknowledgments |
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ix | |
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1 Definitions, Descriptions, and Understandings of Peer Interaction |
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1 | (14) |
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Section I Language Use, Misuse, Modification, and Development |
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15 | (54) |
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2 Peer Interaction as a Context for Experimenting With Language |
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17 | (20) |
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3 Peer Interaction as a Context for Correcting Language |
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37 | (19) |
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4 Peer Interaction as a Context for Polishing Language |
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56 | (13) |
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Section II The Participants of Peer Interaction |
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69 | (52) |
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5 Learner Proficiency and L1 Use |
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71 | (14) |
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6 The Social Dimension of Peer Interaction |
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85 | (18) |
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7 Age-Related Characteristics and Peer Interaction |
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103 | (18) |
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Section III The Purpose and Mode of Peer Interaction |
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121 | (82) |
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8 Communicative Tasks and Peer Interaction |
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123 | (17) |
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9 Computer-Mediated Communication |
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140 | (17) |
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10 Peer Writing and Reading |
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157 | (17) |
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11 Peer Interaction as a Context for Assessment |
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174 | (16) |
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12 The Contribution of Peer Interaction |
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190 | (13) |
| References |
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203 | (22) |
| Author Index |
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225 | (5) |
| Subject Index |
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230 | |
Jenefer Philp works in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University, and is a research associate of the University of Auckland.
Rebecca Adams is the Associate Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at Northcentral University, and is a research associate of the University of Auckland.
Noriko Iwashita is a senior lecturer in Applied Linguistics at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
