Chapter 8

Recurring patterns of language alternation practices by EFL novice teachers in Vietnam

This study adopts the methods of conversation analysis to track the recurring patterns in the language alternation practices of three English as a Foreign Language (EFL) novice teachers’ in a Vietnamese tertiary context. The analysis focused on alternation from English (the L2) to Vietnamese (the L1) during their teaching. Findings show that in instructional elicitation sequences when teachers pursued students’ comprehension and response, there was a gap before the teachers switched to the L1. Also, when teachers provided the students with quickly stated instructions, checked and confirmed their comprehension and further elaborated their own instructions, the L1 was the medium of choice. Such switches to the L1 were frequently conducted without a gap.