Young Learner ESL Classroom: Talk, Talk and More Talk?

Abstract

Teacher talk is a tricky business which often invites more negative remarks rather than positive ones. The issue of ‘too much’ talk or ‘too little’ talk is one such debate that often arises. Then, there is the infamous ‘quality’ versus ‘quantity’ dispute. These issues generally arise when what constitutes good teacher talk should be characterized by who the learners are and in what context does learning occur. This article seeks to discuss characteristics of teacher talk in two rural young learner Malaysian ESL classrooms and also provide an insight into why teacher talk is a major constituent in these classrooms. Two teachers with two different classrooms participated in the study where interviews with the teachers were carried out. Classroom observations were also carried out which were later transcribed to glean most of the data on teacher talk. Stimulated recall interviews were then carried out with the teachers to gain more insight into their classroom practices. This article seeks to proffer a look into what constitutes good teacher talk in a rural young learner L2 classroom taking into account who the learners are and the context of L2 learning present in these classrooms.