STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN THE ESL CLASSROOM OR SOME IMPERFECTIONS IN PRACTICE

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between student participation in the ESL classroom and proficiency in English, use of the target language outside the classroom, and field sensitivity. The 58 subjects, mainly from Asia, were studying ESL in an intensive program in Honolulu. Their classroom participation, which, for the purposes of the study, was defined as responses to teachers’general solicits and self‐initiated turns, was coded during the beginning and end of an eight‐week term. The subjects were also asked to fill out a questionnaire on their use of English outside of the classroom. In the sixth and seventh weeks of the term, the subjects were given an English cloze test and a measure of field dependence/independence; in addition, 26 subjects were administered an oral interview. The results indicate that there was no significant relationship between classroom participation and scores on either the oral interview or the cloze test, between classroom participation and use of the target language away from the classroom, and between classroom participation and field sensitivity. These findings are discussed with respect to the work of others who have conducted similar research.

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