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How do teachers manage topic and repair?

Whitefields School and Centre

Julie Radford

Institute of Education, University of London, J.Radford{at}ioe.ac.uk

Merle Mahon

University College, London

A case study is presented of a 10-year-old child described as having comprehension difficulties, in conversation with a specialist teacher, a mainstream teacher and a peer. Tape recordings of social talk between the child and the adults and peer were made in the school setting. The data are subjected to detailed sequential analysis, drawing on some of the insights gained into the management of topic and repair by researchers working in the tradition of conversation analysis. We find that both our subject’s specialist teacher and the mainstream peer use some helpful devices to extend the topical material produced by the child and to repair ‘troubles’ in the conversation. We consider the language learning potential of these turns and the implications for classroom teachers working with children with language needs.

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