ERIC Number: EJ1020029
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Oct
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-1688
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Shadow-Reading: Affordances for Imitation in the Language Classroom
de Guerrero, María C. M.; Commander, Millie
Language Teaching Research, v17 n4 p433-453 Oct 2013
Imitation has a fundamental role in learning and development within Vygotskyan sociocultural theory. In this study, we adopt a sociocultural theory view of imitation as an intentional, meaningful, and transformative process leading learners to higher developmental levels. The study centers on instances of imitation that occurred as adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) were engaged in a classroom shadow-reading task. The task consisted of an interactional phase where two learners, working collaboratively, read aloud, shadowed, and orally summarized a story, and a non-interactional phase where students produced written retellings of the story. The qualitative analysis of the data involved identifying possible instances of imitation and tracking relevant story segments throughout the different phases of the activity. Various types of imitative behaviors were found, ranging from close copies to major transformations of models, as well as immediate to deferred reproductions. From an instructional point of view, the built-in, recursive structure of the shadow-reading task seemed effective in providing affordances for persistent, meaningful imitation and internalization of second language (L2) exemplars as well as story comprehension and retention.
Descriptors: Sociocultural Patterns, Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Task Analysis, Imitation, Story Reading, Qualitative Research, Transformative Learning, English (Second Language), Reading Aloud to Others, Cooperative Learning, Retention (Psychology), Teaching Methods, College Students, Dialogs (Language)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Puerto Rico
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A