Classroom Discourse in EFL Contexts: The Effects of Vocabulary Instruction on Interactional Competence. The Case of First Year LMD Oral Classrooms at Saida University.

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of vocabulary instruction on developing vocabulary learning environment through interactional competence for first year LMD English students at Saida University. The study determined that vocabulary instruction enriched by context, definitions, and images through interactional competence help the students to have greater vocabulary learning gain and positive retention of the target words. The data indicated that the relationship between vocabulary instruction and vocabulary learning was moderated by interactional competence and that the interaction effect between vocabulary instruction and interactional competence on the students’ vocabulary learning was highly significant. The results also indicated that the relationship between vocabulary instruction and vocabulary learning was positive in all cases and occurred at different levels (low, mean, and high) of interactional competence. In addition, the quantitative and qualitative analyses of qualitative data indicated that interactional competence was mostly featured with more opportunities for negotiation of meaning, more opportunities to have better learning space through extended learner turns, and more balanced teacher and students’ talks amount, which were associated with more questions asked by the teacher and students.