Reflecting on Classroom Communication in Asia

By Thomas S.C. Farrell (2004), Pearson Education South Asia, ISBN 0-13-127534-8, 130 pages

Communication patterns in the classroom are a key area in education research. This book shows how an understanding of classroom communication patterns can lead to more effective teaching practices.

This book deals with the various aspects and types of classroom communication – what it is about, what constitutes communication pattern structures, what influences the underlying structures, why reflecting on classroom communicative activities is important, and what should be examined.

Farrell does not prescribe “best practices” of classroom communication.

Instead, readers are led to reflect on their own teaching practices and classroom communication patterns through the presentation of real-life examples from Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

The last chapter is particularly useful. It outlines the different theoretical approaches and methodology used in classroom discourse studies, and provides a useful overview of the field. The ideas and detailed descriptions of communicative activities are presented in a simple and straightforward manner, making this book interesting and easy to digest. For those interested in classroom discourse, this slim book serves as an accessible and reader-friendly introductory guide.

For more information on this book, click here. Also available in the NIE Library.