Connecting EFL Group Discussions to Research

Abstract

While the small group discussion is widely used in the language classroom, little academic attention is paid to this pedagogical practice. The aim of this paper is to connect research and theory to classroom discussions. A literature review of research on small group work is followed by an examination of research frameworks which can be used to investigate group discussions. Second Language Acquisition research, Language Socialization, Sociocultural Theory and Discourse Analysis are briefly discussed. The author suggests that Conversation Analysis is the most effective research methodology for uncovering the basic underlying rules of action in small group discussions. While this methodology is not usually connected with pedagogy, this paper demonstrates that a useful link can indeed be made. Several examples from the author＇s CA research are given.