Abstract:

The current study seeks to investigate the effect of classroom power distribution on the quality of classroom interaction in an Algerian university oral class of English. This effect would be measured through a comparison between the quality of classroom interaction in an unplugged classroom, where students are said to be empowered to initiate talk and choose what to talk about, and the quality of interaction that emerges in an ordinary oral English class where teachers are said to be in charge of choosing topics of discussion. Analysis of the audio recordings of both types of oral English classes revealed that the balance of classroom power has been tipped in favor of teachers in the ordinary class; students rarely initiate talk and teachers rarely encourage spontaneous responses and allow space for student-student interaction. Additionally, reciting what was presented in the video/audio introduced to students prevailed in most ordinary oral English sessions. Unlike the ordinary class, opportunities to talk in the unplugged one were evenly balanced between teachers and their students. Sharing personal interests and expressing personal opinions and views openly was the most important aspect of the recorded classroom interaction. What empowers students to do so is the power released by their teachers regarding the choice of topics of talk and the activities to be performed in class.

Keywords:

Teaching Unplugged, classroom power distribution, classroom interaction, Student-initiated talk.