Peer-reviewed article
Scaffolding children’s participation during teacher–child interaction in second language classrooms
Selma Koyuncu, Kristiina Kumpulainen, Arniika Kuusisto ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how teachers interact with and scaffold young children's participation in second language classrooms in Finland and Sweden. Researchers video-recorded 56 hours of classroom interaction across seven pre-primary and early primary classrooms with 205 children and four teachers. The findings show that small-group sessions were more effective than whole-class sessions for supporting children's active participation in language learning. The study highlights that shifting from teacher-led to child-centred, playful interaction requires significant professional skill from teachers.
Key points
- Small-group teacher-child interaction supported children's active participation in L2 learning more effectively than whole-class sessions
- Teacher scaffolding of children's participation was observed through communicative functions, teacher and student initiations, and participation support
- Changing from teacher-centred to child-centred and playful classroom interaction is challenging and requires strong teacher professionalism
- Study included 205 children across seven pre-primary and early primary L2 classrooms with video analysis of 56 hours of interaction
Limitations
The study does not measure learning outcomes or compare different scaffolding strategies experimentally. It describes observed interaction patterns but cannot definitively establish which scaffolding approaches most effectively improve language acquisition.
Abstract
This study investigates the nature of teacher–child interaction and teacher scaffolding in Finnish second language (L2) classrooms. Although previous research on classroom interaction has highlighted the importance of scaffolding in language learning, much less is known about the importance of scaffolding for younger children's L2 learning. Utilising a sociocultural approach, this study aims to fill this gap. The data were collected from seven pre-primary/early primary L2 classrooms, with four teachers and 205 children through video recording (56 h) and observational field notes. The interaction analysis focused on the communicative functions of teacher–child interaction, teacher and student initiations, and teachers’ scaffolding children's participation during whole-class and small-group sessions. The results show how teacher–child interaction during small-group sessions supported the children’s active participation in L2 interaction and learning. The results also suggest how changing from teacher-centred modes of classroom interaction to child-centred and playful interaction is challenging and requires strong teacher professionalism.