Literature, the Interpretive Mode, and Novice Learners

Abstract

The qualitative study reported in this article analyzes how novice learners develop the interpretive mode (as outlined in Standard 1.2 of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century, 1996, 1999 ) in a classroom setting when reading a literary text in a foreign language (FL). Using unmotivated looking through conversation analysis, we examined transcripts from video‐ and audiorecordings of students' discussions in a teacher‐moderated classroom setting and in small groups of 3 to 4 students. Our findings indicate that novice learners were able to interpret and understand a challenging literary text (in this case, a poem) if they were in the teacher‐moderated group. In addition, our findings suggest that use of the first language was effective in encouraging interpretive talk among students in the teacher‐moderated classroom but not among students in small groups. Ultimately, these findings indicate that the nature of the teacher‐moderated, yet distinctly student‐centered, interaction had a clear impact on developing the interpretive mode in novice learners.