ABSTRACT
Being a good communicator is fundamental to being a good teacher. However, there are structural features of classroom life which make effective communication difficult. This chapter explores the ways in which social interactionist theory, derived from the work of Vygotsky, can help us to understand what factors contribute to the effectiveness of teachers’ communications with children. Learning is seen to be enhanced when teachers successfully ‘scaffold’ children’s performance on tasks within their ‘zone of proximal development’ i.e. on tasks which they can manage with help, but couldn’t manage on their own. Successful scaffolding involves maintaining children’s attention on the task, subdividing the task, if necessary, into more manageable parts, directing attention to relevant features, modelling the processes involved in completing the task and so on. It also involves the skilful use of a repertoire of verbal strategies including instructing, questioning and cognitive structuring. Finally, the chapter discusses issues relating to discontinuities between the communicative environments of the home and the school for some children, about which teachers need to be aware.
