Betydningen av elevers muntlighet: Elevperspektiver på klasseromssamtaler i engelsk- og franskfaget i England, Frankrike og Norge

Policy and research promote students’ classroom talk as beneficial for language development. However, few studies have investigated student perspectives on student talk in language classrooms, and even fewer have compared those perspectives across L1 or L2/L3 subjects and countries. To address this gap, this article presents findings from the European project LANGUAGES. We interviewed 94 secondary school students in English and French classes in England, France and Norway, where these languages have different statuses in society and in school. Through reflexive thematic analysis, we identified two main themes that captured students’ voices and perspectives on enabling and constraining aspects of classroom talk in their language lessons. The first theme, “student talk as a pathway to progression in L1 and L2/L3”, includes perspectives on classroom talk as a means to language learning. The second theme, “dynamics of collaborative student talk”, discusses peer influence on student talk and students’ need for a safe classroom environment to feel confident to talk. Across contexts, students placed high value on participation in classroom talk and articulated their views on the learning benefits of such talk. However, differences between contexts also emerged, particularly in relation to aspects of classroom talk that students perceived as constraining. The study highlights the importance of ensuring varied and plentiful opportunities for student talk in all language classrooms, but also the need to create a classroom environment as a safe space to support the dynamics of oral interaction.