The organization of classroom talk-in-interaction: social control, reproduction, co-construction

Abstract

This review article presents and discusses the main organizational features of classroom talk-in-interaction that make it a distinctive speech-exchange system in contrast with ordinary conversation, the bedrock of sociality. The Initiation-Response- Evaluation (IRE) sequence of turns described in the literature as the hallmark of classroom talk-in-interaction is discussed in terms of the interactional consequences it may engender. The opportunity for correction on the talk produced by the participant uttering the second turn in the sequence is highlighted. An occurrence of what could be termed in Freirean terms an ethical transgression on the part of the participant acting as the teacher during an extended IRE sequence is analyzed. The possibility of non-transgressive classroom talk-in-interaction organized by alternative methods to the chaining of IRE sequences is entertained, and a long excerpt of classroom talk-in-interaction from a public school is examined for its realization of such a possibility.

Key words: classroom, talk, interaction.