Abstract:
Scaffolding interaction (SI) is relevant to the teaching and learning of English
as a second language as it emphasizes the interactive nature of learning, providing
contingent and collaborative support (Walqui, 2006: Forman, 2008). The study examines
how teachers’ language use provides SI to view learning as a shared activity between
teacher and learners, adopting a qualitative approach that draws data from a larger study to
examine the concept of SI. The finding shows that teacher’s language use mediates joint
construction of learning opportunities and the strategic use of the third turn position and code
switching influenced and helped to maintain contingency and support. It is also revealed
from the finding that SI provides affordance for dialogic discourse that is co- constructed by
the teacher and the learners, facilitating learner participation. The study concluded that the
right kind of SI is required to facilitate learning and also emphasizes that failure in success of
teaching cannot be attributed to lack of language proficiency or fluency, but due to lack of
commitment, confidence and perseverance that is required to provide the right target
language affordance.
