An Action Research Of Peer Interaction In Secondary Vocational English Teaching Based On Scaffolding Theory

Peer interaction,which constitutes a central part of Second Language Acquisition(SLA),has been widely investigated.However,within the related literature,it is find that the studies of peer interaction are still insufficient.The research subjects of peer interaction are mostly college learners and children,with little attention to secondary vocational learners.The research methods of peer interaction mainly focus on descriptive research,experimental research,qualitative research,mixed research,lacking action research.The theoretical framework of peer interaction involves sociocultural theory,cognitive theory,and social cognitive theory.The above theories can be used to explain peer interaction,but scaffolding theory is essentially to help learners to complete the task,which fits with secondary vocational English peer interaction.The preliminary study reported that English teaching in secondary vocational school was still dominated by traditional teaching methods and the application of peer interaction was fragmented.Therefore,this study used the action research to explore how to play the advantages of peer interaction in secondary vocational English teaching,under the guidance of scaffolding theory.This study attempted to address the following four questions:(1)What are the learners’ status of peer interaction in English classroom teaching of secondary vocational school?(2)What studies on peer interaction are suitable for secondary vocational English classroom?(3)What roles do secondary vocational learners play in providing peer scaffolding?(4)What roles does secondary vocational teacher play in providing instructional scaffolding based on peer interaction?This study was conducted in a secondary vocational school located in the central part of China.The research instruments of action research included questionnaire,semi-structured interview,recording and reflection were triangulated to improve reliability and validity of the study.There are several conclusions regarding peer interaction that can be drawn from the action research.(1)Learners were enthusiastic about peer interaction,but they also had their difficulties and scruples in language learning.The main reasons were lack of confidence,low peer familiarity and weak foundation.(2)The lower difficulty studies were more suitable for secondary vocational English learners with weak foundation,for instance dialogue practice in speaking.(3)Secondary vocational learners could actively build scaffolding during peer interaction.The seven functions of peer scaffolding were providing opinions,correcting wrong usages,task maintenance,explaining to simplify tasks,providing words and expressions,increasing participation and frustration control.(4)Instructional scaffolding was indispensable in secondary vocational English peer interaction,which mainly involved planning scaffolding and interactional scaffolding.The five functions of interactional scaffolding were frustration control,increasing participation,task maintenance,explaining to simplify tasks and providing opinions.This study explores the specific manipulation of the scaffolding theory in peer interaction.The action research provides the basis for peer interaction in real teaching situations,and also provides a reference for the future English teaching research in secondary vocational English teaching.