Child interaction in task-supported EFL/CLIL contexts

Resumen

The present chapter focuses on the benefits of task-supported interaction among child foreign language learners. It reviews research carried out in English as a foreign language (EFL) and content and language integrated learning (CLIL) contexts, and highlights the affordances of child–child interaction in settings where access to input is restricted. The chapter provides a rationale for the increasing interest in research with the underexplored population of young learners in foreign language contexts. It also features a summary of the main findings from research carried out to date within two frameworks, namely, interactionist (Long, 1996) and sociocultural (Vygotsky, 1978). The children in the studies are in the so-called middle childhood stage, a developmental stage characterized by their becoming more logical in their thinking. The studies chosen for this chapter have considered the importance of negotiation of meaning and the impact of repeating a task on interactional patterns, attention to language form, complexity, accuracy and fluency of production and the use of the first language. The contribution ends with several suggestions for further research with young learners