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A comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Scaffolding Practices

Received: 13 March 2014     Accepted: 16 April 2014     Published: 20 April 2014
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Abstract

Despite a seemingly infinite variety of classifications, there is no generally-accepted instrument for the scrutiny of EFL teachers’ scaffolding practices. This study endeavored to provide a sound model based on which teachers’ SFs (i.e. Scaffolding Functions) and SSs (i.e. Scaffolding Strategies) could be collated. To this end, a mixed approach was employed and earlier models along with teachers’ practices were investigated. The result was a checklist comprising 55 SS items classified into linguistic, cognitive, metacognitive, social, cultural, and affective SFs. To develop a comparative analysis, 90 instruction hours of 30 teachers were recorded and transcribed. Short-Focused Conversations (SFCs) formed the basic unit of analysis according to which teachers’ qualification, high-support and low-support scaffolding, and negotiation type were examined. The findings of the study strongly supported the notion of fading and the timely withdrawing of assistance to enhance learners’ growth of autonomy.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 2, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14
Page(s) 154-164
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Scaffolding Strategies, Scaffolding Functions, Short-Focused Conversations, Fading

References
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    Parviz Birjandi, Sepideh Jazebi. (2014). A comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Scaffolding Practices. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(3), 154-164. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14

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    Parviz Birjandi; Sepideh Jazebi. A comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Scaffolding Practices. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2014, 2(3), 154-164. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14

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    Parviz Birjandi, Sepideh Jazebi. A comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Scaffolding Practices. Int J Lang Linguist. 2014;2(3):154-164. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14,
      author = {Parviz Birjandi and Sepideh Jazebi},
      title = {A comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Scaffolding Practices},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {2},
      number = {3},
      pages = {154-164},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20140203.14},
      abstract = {Despite a seemingly infinite variety of classifications, there is no generally-accepted instrument for the scrutiny of EFL teachers’ scaffolding practices. This study endeavored to provide a sound model based on which teachers’ SFs (i.e. Scaffolding Functions) and SSs (i.e. Scaffolding Strategies) could be collated. To this end, a mixed approach was employed and earlier models along with teachers’ practices were investigated. The result was a checklist comprising 55 SS items classified into linguistic, cognitive, metacognitive, social, cultural, and affective SFs. To develop a comparative analysis, 90 instruction hours of 30 teachers were recorded and transcribed. Short-Focused Conversations (SFCs) formed the basic unit of analysis according to which teachers’ qualification, high-support and low-support scaffolding, and negotiation type were examined. The findings of the study strongly supported the notion of fading and the timely withdrawing of assistance to enhance learners’ growth of autonomy.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    T1  - A comparative Analysis of Teachers’ Scaffolding Practices
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    Y1  - 2014/04/20
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    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20140203.14
    AB  - Despite a seemingly infinite variety of classifications, there is no generally-accepted instrument for the scrutiny of EFL teachers’ scaffolding practices. This study endeavored to provide a sound model based on which teachers’ SFs (i.e. Scaffolding Functions) and SSs (i.e. Scaffolding Strategies) could be collated. To this end, a mixed approach was employed and earlier models along with teachers’ practices were investigated. The result was a checklist comprising 55 SS items classified into linguistic, cognitive, metacognitive, social, cultural, and affective SFs. To develop a comparative analysis, 90 instruction hours of 30 teachers were recorded and transcribed. Short-Focused Conversations (SFCs) formed the basic unit of analysis according to which teachers’ qualification, high-support and low-support scaffolding, and negotiation type were examined. The findings of the study strongly supported the notion of fading and the timely withdrawing of assistance to enhance learners’ growth of autonomy.
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • Deptartment of Language and Literature, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

  • Deptartment of Language and Literature, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

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