Does Student-to-Student Dialogue Matter? An Investigation of Exercises in Notetaking in the ESL Classroom

In order to assess the value of student-to-student dialogue as part of listening and notetaking exercises in the teaching of English as a second language, this study analyses student interaction closely. The four-step pedagogic sequence developed by Joseph Siegel (2019) was implemented in the teaching of a group of upper secondary school students, level B2, in Swedish adult education. The discussions of a few pairs of students were recorded for transcription and their notes collected. The data shows that the interactive activity encouraged students to reflect on different aspects of the activity, including their own listening and notetaking skills, thereby stimulating meta-cognitive processes. In addition, it offered them the opportunity to learn from models provided by successful peers. Finally, the data confirms Siegel's assumption that student interaction may serve du reduce stress as the dialogue allowed students to share reactions and empathize with each other's struggle. The findings thus suggest that the interactive activity is indeed a valuable complement to Siegle's four-step pedagogic sequence,