Teacher-Student Interaction and Language Learning

This chapter reviews literature on recent developments in teacher-student interaction and language learning. Based on a sociocultural perspective of language and learning, the studies are drawn from three types of classrooms: first language classrooms; second language classrooms, which include contexts in which the language being learned in the classroom is also the language of the community; and foreign language classrooms. Foreign language learning contexts are those in which exposure to and opportunities for target language interaction are restricted for the most part to the language classroom. Across these three areas, attention is given to studies that investigate the specific means used in teacher-student interaction to promote language learning.