The participation of Chinese primary students in classroom decision making during a PFL lesson

Abstract

Classroom is a space where knowledge is acquired in the interaction. However, this interaction is not always symmetric. Teachers and pupils have different rights and obligations, which make them play different roles during the lessons. However, even in very typical hierarchical situations, such as those in institutions, there is always room for improvisation and changes that break the ritual, altering the expected manner by which participants are supposed to interact. These changes cause negotiation of the institutionally imposed roles and reorganize the classroom interactive space. In this article, we discuss data collected from a Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) class in a Luso-Chinese primary school in Macau, southeast China. By using ethnographic microanalysis, moment-by-moment data is interpreted, identifying aspects that reorganize the classroom interactive space. The results indicate that even being the central figure of the interaction, the teacher cannot have total control of her discourse and sometimes loses her role of gatekeeper. Many verbal and nonverbal elements present during the interaction exercise infl uence over the (re)organisation of the interactive space, enabling the students to negotiate the power usually delegated only to the teacher. This kind of participation makes power less teacher-centred once it is not limited to the rules imposed by a traditional teaching system. It also casts doubt on the social determinism that is present in studies carried out in Chinese teaching/learning settings.

Keywords: reorganization of interactive space, participation framework, Portuguese as a foreign language, Chinese learners.