THE THEORY AND REALIY OF INSTRUCTIONAL CONVERSATIONS FOR ESL CLASSROOMS

Abstract

The primary focus of this article is to review the current literature on instructional conversations and describe how it can be implemented in ESL classrooms. Information on instructional conversation is drawn primarily from three reports issued over the past three years by the National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning whose headquarters is at the University of California, Santa Cruz. These reports operationalize the theory, research, and practice of this instructional method (Tharp and Gallimore 1991; Goldenberg 1991; Rueda, Goldenberg and Gallimore 1992).