Interaction Analysis in the Foreign Language Classroom.

TLDR: The last few years have seen considerable changes in the teaching of foreign languages both in England and the United States as mentioned in this paper, with the development of a wide variety of new and interesting teaching materials, particularly visual ones, and an increasing tendency to base teaching on real situations, such as shopping, family life, travel and leisure.

Abstract: T HE last few years have seen considerable changes in the teaching of foreign languages both in England and the United States. With the development of a wide variety of new and interesting teaching materials, particularly visual ones, and an increasing tendency to base teaching on real situations, such as shopping, family life, travel and leisure, foreign language teachers have begun to devote much more of their lessons to the development of oral skills than was previously the case. It is not unusual to find classes of comparative beginners able to sustain simple conversations without strain, and many teachers deliberately build up to a situation where interaction for 10, 15, 20 minutes or longer will be entirely in the foreign language. Many teachers postpone any form of writing or reading in the early stages, and even those who introduce their classes to these skills from