Teacher as a Mediator in Foreign Language Speaking Fluency Development: A Case Study of an Advanced-Placement Chinese TBLT Classroom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1603.01Keywords:
mediation, teacher as a mediator, speaking fluency, Chinese as a second language, Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)Abstract
This action research case study will help educators conceptualize the mediator’s role by investigating how mediation is used under the guidance of Reuven Feuerstein’s Mediated Learning Experience theory to aid learners’ fluency development in an Advanced-Placement Chinese high-school Task-Based Language Teaching classroom in America. Findings from this mixed-methods action research study first suggest what types of mediation might influence fluency development after finding mediation of intentionality and mediation of feeling of competence were practiced most and much more frequently than other mediation types during the whole mediation period. Second, this study indicated that teachers can use questioning techniques to implement different mediation types in their classrooms. Furthermore, the findings suggest that two possible factors might affect mediation quality. One factor is whether teachers can modify lesson plans; the other is the influence of the teachers’ personalities on their mediation strategy choices.
References
Allen, H. W. (2010). Language-learning motivation during short-term study abroad: An activity theory perspective. Foreign Language Annals, 43(1), 27–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2010.01058.x
Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. (1999). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms with a new introduction by the authors. ASCD.
Brown, D. N. (2002). Mediated learning and foreign language acquisition, Asp, 35-36, 167-182. https://doi.org/10.4000/asp.1651
Bygate, M. (2001). Effects of task repetition on the structure and control of oral language. In P. Skehan & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 23-48). Routledge.
Bygate, M. (2015). Domains and directions in the development of TBLT: A decade of plenaries from the international conference. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
College Board. (2021). AP Chinese language and culture free-response questions. Retrieved March 21, 2021, from https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap19-frq-chinese-language.pdf
Dörnyei, Z., Csizér, K., & Németh, N. (2006). Motivation, language attitudes and globalization: A Hungarian perspective. Multilingual Matters.
Ellis, N. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 143-188.
Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246.
Ellis, R. (2018). Reflections on task-based language teaching. Multilingual Matters. Bristol.
Ellis, R., Skehan, P., Li, S., Shintani, N., & Lambert, C. (2020). Task-based language teaching: Theory and practice. Cambridge University Press.
Feuerstein, R. (1990). The theory of structural cognitive modifiability. In B.Z. Presseisen (Eds.), Learning and thinking styles: Classroom interaction (pp. 68-134). Washington, DC: National Education Association.
Feuerstein, R., Feuerstein, R. S., & Falik, L. H. (2010). Beyond smarter. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Feuerstein, R., Krasilovsky, D. & Rand, Y. (1978). Modifiability during adolescence. In J. Anthony (Eds.), The Child and His Family: Children and Their Parents in a Changing World (pp. 197-217). London: Wiley.
Feuerstein, R., & Lewin-Benham, A. (2012). What learning looks like: Mediated learning in theory and practice, K-6. Teachers College Press.
Feuerstein, S. (2015). Questioning as a basic mechanism of Mediated Learning Experience. In R. Feuerstein, L. H. Falik & R. S. Feuerstein (Eds.), Changing minds and brains: The legacy of Reuven Feuerstein (pp. 183-188). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Greenberg, K. (2014). Cognitive enrichment advantage (CEA). In L. Green (Eds.), Schools as thinking communities (pp. 141-159). Van Schaik Publishers.
Hasson, N. (2018). The dynamic assessment of language learning. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Hill, K., & Sabet, M. (2009). Dynamic speaking assessments. TESOL Quarterly, 43(3), 537–545. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2009.tb00251.x
Kemmis, R., & McTaggart, R. (1988). The action research planner (3rd ed.). Deakin University Press, Geelong.
Kozulin, A. (2004). Vygotsky’s theory in the classroom: Introduction. European Journal of Psychology of Education, EJPE (Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada), 19(1), 3-7.
Kozulin, A., & Presseisen, B. Z. (1995). Mediated Learning Experience and psychological tools: Vygotsky’s and Feuerstein’s perspectives in a study of student learning. Educational Psychologist, 30, 67-75.
Liang, J. & Apedoe, X. (2025). Mediating language fluency development: An action research study in a high-school Chinese classroom. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 15(1), 1-13.
Lidz, C. S. (1991). Practitioner’s guide to dynamic assessment. The Guilford Press.
Lynch, T., & Maclean, J. (2001). ‘A case of exercising’: Effects of immediate task repetition on learners’ performance. In P. Skehan & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 141-162). Routledge.
Mahmoudi, T., & Zamanian, M. (2018). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ personality and their teaching preference. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8(6), 686-693. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0806.20
Mayer, R. E. (2004). Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? The case for guided methods of instruction. American Psychologist, 59(1), 14-19.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
Piaget, J., & Cook, M. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. W.W. Norton & Co.
Presseisen, B. Z., & Kozulin, A. (1992). Mediated learning –The contributions of Vygotsky and Feuerstein in theory and practice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA. Retrieved October 21, 2020 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED347202.pdf
Rolin-Ianziti, J. (2010). Teachers’ task implementation: A longitudinal case study. FULGOR: Flinders University Languages Group Online Review, 4(2), 56-72.
Rubtsov V. V. (2020). Two approaches to the problem of development in the context of social interactions: L.S. Vygotsky vs J. Piaget. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 16(3), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2020160302
Samuda, V. (2001). Guiding relationships between form and meaning during task performance: the role of the teacher. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan, & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks, second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 110-140). Harlow: Longman.
Schmidt, R. W. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 129-158.
Segalowitz, N. (2010). Cognitive bases of second language fluency. London: Routledge.
Selepe, C., & Moll, I. (2016). Are teachers facilitators or are they mediators? Piaget, Vygotsky and the wisdom of the teacher. The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning, 11(1), 6–16.
Van den Branden, K. (2009). Mediating between predetermined order and chaos: the role of the teacher in task-based language education. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3, 264-285.
Van den Branden, K. (2016). The role of teachers in task-based language education. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 164-181.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
