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university students in a very different learning context (Busse andWilliams, 2010). Mercer’s exploration of the role oftransition periods should also not be skipped (one could add a reference to Manzi et al., 2010).

The final chapter is divided into two broader sections, the first one aims at informing FL teaching and the secondone looks at implications for future studies. While not wishing to lessen the achievements of this otherwise insightfulvolume, I must say that the concluding chapter offers few thought-provoking impulses. I am not sure, for instance,what language teachers will actually make of the very generic pieces of advice offered: “On the whole, the findingshighlight the importance for educators of viewing their learners (.) as unique, complex, psychological beings withdistinct, defined self-views in each separate FL domain” (p. 169). Practitioners will readily agree that encouraginglearners “to develop positive but realistic FL self-concepts” (p. 169) is important but more could have been said onhow this can be achieved. Nevertheless, Mercer’s book stands out for its comprehensive literature review and itsoriginal exploration of FL self-concept. It will undoubtedly make a valuable contribution to self-research and I canwholeheartedly recommend it to experienced and novice researchers working in the field.

References

Bandura, A., 1997. Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. W.H. Freeman, New York.

Busse, V., Williams, M., 2010. Why German? Motivation of students studying German at English universities. Language Learning Journal 38,

67e85.

Dornyei, Z., Ushioda, E. (Eds.), 2009. Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. Multilingual Matters, Bristol.

Jarvinen, H.-M., 2010. Language as a meaning making resource in learning and teaching content: analysing historical writing in content and

language integrated learning. In: Dalton-Puffer, C., Nikula, T., Smit, U. (Eds.), Language Use and Language Learning in CLIL Classrooms.

John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam.

Manzi, C., Vignoles, V.L., Regalia, C., 2010. Accommodating a new identity: possible selves, identity change and well-being across two life-

transitions. European Journal of Social Psychology 40, 970e984.

Marsh, H.W., 1986. Verbal and math self-concepts: an internal/external frame of reference model. American Educational Research Journal 23,

129e149.Marsh, H.W., Shavelson, R., 1985. Self-concept: its multifaceted, hierarchical structure. Educational Psychologist 20, 107e123.

Taylor, F., 2010. A quadripolar model of identity in adolescent foreign language learners. Nottingham, Unpublished doctoral thesis; University of

Nottingham.

Vera BusseUniversity of the Basque Country, SpainE-mail address: vera.busse@gmail.com

doi:10.1016/j.system.2011.10.003

Exploring Classroom Discourse: Language in Action, Steve Walsh, Routledge, London and New York (2011). 239 pp.

The central thesis of this book is that “language teachers can improve their professional practice by developinga closer understanding of classroom discourse and, in particular, by focusing on the complex relationship betweenlanguage, interaction and learning” (p. 1). With the aid of a framework for coding classroom discourse e the SelfEvaluation of Teacher Talk or SETT model e and a well worked-out conception of Classroom InteractionalCompetence (CIC), SteveWalsh demonstrates how this can be brought to fruition. In my view, this book is an exampleof a relatively rare genre: a work by an academic author which has strong potential to connect with a teacherreadership.

The book consists of an introductory chapter, seven topic-based chapters, and a set of conclusions. Theintroduction alludes to various terms and propositions which the author develops at greater length later. Forinstance, he first mentions CIC on page one, and there are also references to such matters as the “asymmetrical”nature of classroom discourse (with teachers managing “who speaks, when, to whom, and for how long”, pp.

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4e5) and the socialization of learners into relatively passive followers of teacher initiations (p. 22). In Walsh’sview, one desirable change in the language classroom would be for learners to assume “a more equal role inclassroom discourse” (p. 22). For him, classroom interaction should be more “jagged”, more similar to everydayconversations, with more interruptions, requests for clarification and opportunities for the co-construction ofmeaning. But, Walsh argues (p. 22), for things to move in this direction, teachers “would need a far moresophisticated understanding of classroom discourse in order to be able to manage the interaction.” The book asa whole attempts to show how teachers can begin to achieve this.

Chapter Two looks at the relationship between classroom discourse and teaching. Here Walsh stresses (p. 35) that“successful teaching entails using linguistic resources that are ‘fit for purpose’, that enable pedagogic goals andlanguage use to coincide.” This is a point he develops further in Chapter Six through the use of the terms ‘modeconvergent’ and ‘mode divergent’ e explained below. Walsh also indicates some means by which teachers canencourage longer and more frequent learners’ ‘turns’ in classroom discourse e including lengthening the wait timeafter asking a question; improving questioning strategies (including the use of fewer display and more referentialquestions); and the provision of teacher feedback (sometimes) on the content of learners’ contributions, rather thantheir linguistic form.

Chapter Three examines the relationship between interaction and language learning. Walsh refers here to bothearlier and later versions of Long’s interaction hypothesis, and seems to be broadly in agreement with Long’s (1996:pp. 451e452) formulation that negotiating meaning with a more competent interlocutor facilitates acquisition becauseit draws the learner’s attention to differences between input and output. Walsh ends the chapter by stating that“interaction in the second language classroom is fundamental to language acquisition” and that “the prime respon-sibility for creating interaction-centered learning opportunities lies with the teacher” (p.66). This chapter alsoemphasizes the vital role of the teacher in providing ‘scaffolding’e briefly defined here as “linguistic support given bya tutor to a learner” (p. 64) e and a primarily social or socio-cultural view of learning, stressing the importance ofinterpersonal aspects, and the role of dialog.

Chapter Four (Approaches to Studying Classroom Discourse) begins with consideration of various ways ofrecording what goes on in classrooms (audio, video, written narrative and so on) and examines the pros and cons ofeach. There is discussion of early work by such researchers as Flanders and Bellack in coding classroom discourse,and e as throughout e of the Initiation Response Feedback (IRF) exchange structure which derives, of course, fromthe work of Sinclair and Coulthard (1975). Walsh argues that conversation analysis (CA), unlike discourse analysis,does not impose a pre-constructed framework on classroom data and instead “attempts to account for the practices atwork that enable participants in a conversation to make sense of the interaction and contribute to it” (p. 86). It istherefore, in his view, well suited to the description of classroom discourse as it seeks to explain the structure of a giveninteraction by examining it from the standpoint of the participants.

Chapter Five considers alternative approaches to the study of classroom discourse, and contains a substantialsection on corpus linguistics. It is argued that combining a corpus linguistics approach with a conversation analysisapproach (CLCA!) might be a productive way of analyzing classroom discourse, as the latter can be used to look atfine detail (such as turn-taking), while the former provides the bigger picture via comparison with norms of languageuse.

In Chapter Six that we reach the real ‘meat’ of this book: the SETT model referred to earlier. That we onlyencounter SETT at this point (and indeed extended discussion of CIC only in Chapter Eight) is due to the innovativeapproach of the series editors (Ronald Carter and Guy Cook) in asking their authors to proceed “from problems,through intervention, and only finally to theory” (Series Editors’ Introduction, p. viii). There is no space here to dealwith SETT in detail, but I will cover some of its main points. It labels teacher classroom activity via four modes(managerial mode; materials mode; skills and systems mode; and classroom context mode). These can be brieflyglossed respectively as organizing the learning environment/introducing an activity; providing language practicearising from a piece of material; helping learners to produce accurate forms or to manipulate the target language; andpromoting oral fluency. Each mode is associated with particular interactional features (‘interactures’) e for instance‘direct repair’ by the teacher is most appropriate in a skills and systems phase of a lesson when attention is on accuracyof form. Where there is a good match between mode (signifying teaching/learning purposes) and interactures,teaching is said to be ‘mode convergent’; where there is not, it is ‘mode divergent’. Walsh is quick to make the pointthat the SETT framework “is intended to be representative rather than comprehensive” (p. 129) e in other words it

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cannot be used to label everything in a lesson transcript. Nevertheless it seems to be sufficiently extensive and explicitto be of considerable value to teachers, and Walsh provides examples of it in use.

In Chapter Seven the author makes the simple but telling point that teachers are often encouraged to “reflect on theirpractice”, but receive little advice on how to do it! In his view, in order to be reflective practitioners, teachers requirea tool, a metalanguage and the opportunity for dialog with a supportive colleague. Walsh argues persuasively thatdiscussing transcripts of parts of their lessons (using the SETT framework) can result in productive contemplation ofin-class habits and behavior and the motivations which lie behind them. He also suggests that this form of reflectionhas the potential to promote sustainable professional development as teachers notice and work to change aspects oftheir interactional behavior.

Chapter Eight deals with the key concept of CIC. Interestingly, although Walsh does not offer a detailed rationalefor doing so, and indeed in general looks at classroom discourse from the point of view of either the teacher or theresearcher, he defines CIC as teachers’ and learners’ ability to use interaction as a tool for mediating and assistinglearning” (my emphasis), quoting from his own 2006 book (Walsh, 2006). In this chapter, Walsh offers an interestingdiscussion of work by Markee (2008) and a helpful tabulation of differences between Interactive Competence andCommunicative Competence. In keeping with his essentially social/socio-cultural standpoint, he sees interaction asthe key to learning e and argues that as teachers study their own interactive practices and refine their CIC they willcreate more and better learning opportunities for their students.

Under ‘Conclusions’, Walsh notes the continuing prevalence of the IRF (or IRE) exchange structure in manyclassrooms and suggests that it offers “little scope for creativity and spontaneity” (p.184). He argues that teacherswho examine lesson transcripts will discover “instances in the discourse where a particular interactional decisionappears to either facilitate or hinder learning” (p. 185). In his view, teachers should facilitate the ‘jagged’classroom interaction referred to earlier, and learners must be encouraged to resist their socialization as attentivenon-initiators.

Not everything here is earth-shatteringly new, but what strikes one is the genuine interlinking of theory andpractice, and the great potential of the framework presented in this book to support productive self-scrutiny andreflective practice among language teachers e or teachers more widely. It is impossible to capture in a briefreview the many insights which this book contains, so I would simply say that “Exploring Classroom Discourse”has much to offer both pre- and in-service teachers, as well as researchers into classroom discourse, and post-graduate students in various areas of applied linguistics. It is notable for clarity of expression, and distils materialfrom a wide range of academic studies into a brew which should prove more than palatable for both teachers andteacher educators.

References

Long, M.H., 1996. The Role of the Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition. In: Ritchie, W.C., Bhatia, T.K. (Eds.), Handbook of

Second Language Acquisition. Academic Press, San Diego.

Markee, N., 2008. Towards a learning behavior tracking methodology for CA-for-SLA. Applied Linguistics 29 (3), 404e427.

Sinclair, J., Coulthard, M., 1975. Towards an Analysis of Discourse. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Walsh, S., 2006. Investigating Classroom Discourse. Routledge, London.

Brian PooleEnglish Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS), Ministry of Education,

Block P, Level 1/2, 2 Malan Road,Singapore 109433, Singapore

E-mail address: brianqpoole@gmail.com

doi:10.1016/j.system.2011.10.004