ABSTRACT
For a long time, the belief existed that a scientific approach to second language learning meant looking outside classrooms to 'natural' situations, classrooms being institutional, unnatural, subject to educational planning and teachers' decisions. The intellectual stimulus for investigating language classroom interaction came from two rather different influences, the logical de-coupling of the search for 'natural' second language acquisition from concentrating on investigating learning situations other than the classroom, and the opening up of new ways of actually observing that classroom interaction. The search for natural processes was given great impetus by the introduction of sophisticated linguistic theories and the use of the analogy with first language acquisition. Methods of capturing the riches and complications of classroom interactive learning have evolved slowly. While it is necessary to recognize the weakness of the [classroom] research to date, it is also important to acknowledge its achievements.
