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4. Lee, L. Y. W.,
& Littlewood, W. (1999). What makes interactive learning work? Hong
Kong Baptist University Papers in Applied Language Studies, 4, 80-92. Many recent developments in educational thought and policy involve a shift from transmission-oriented conceptions of teaching and learning towards more learner-centered approaches which emphasize the active role of the students in processing and constructing knowledge. An important element in many of these approaches is interactive learning in which knowledge is processed through social interaction. The success of these approaches is contingent on the tutor's success in establishing contexts in which students feel able and willing to participate in classroom interaction. This paper reports on a project which investigates the factors which make interactive learning work in tertiary contexts. It has four main sections. First, it describes and defines the term"interactive learning": a form of learning which occurs as students interact with each other (without or without the teacher) in processing information and exploring ideas. Second, it looks at some of the reasons why we should want interactive learning to work. Third, it presents some of the results of our investigation (through interviews and observation) into factors which make interactive learning work. Finally, based on these results, it offers recommendations to teachers who would like to make interactive learning work more effectively in their classes at tertiary level. A key factor in implementing interactive learning is the creation of a non-threatening atmosphere in which the students feel respected and do not perceive the tutor as the sole possessor of knowledge. The second author has published a number of works on the learning of second languages, including: "Foreign and Second Language Acquisition: Language Acquisition Research and its Implications for the Classroom".Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984. In the same issue of the above journal, Littlewood reports a provocative questionnaire study conducted with students in eight East Asian and three European countries. His findings call into question the common belief that Asian learners want to be "obedient listeners". Instead, he found that "there is less difference between the 'average' student in Asia and in Europe than between individual students within each country." This is important information to take into account when considering the cultural variables involved in implementing CL. 5.
Matthews, M. W., ecerwm@langate.gsu.edu,
& Kesner, J. E., This article focuses on a shy first grade student who is a weak reader and is sometimes ignored by peers during group activities. The authors make suggestions for enhancing the involvement of all the members of a group:
 
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