Longman Dictionary of

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interaction analysis
interaction analysis n
also interaction process analysis
any of several procedures for measuring and describing the behaviour of
students and teachers in classrooms, (a) in order to describe what happens
during a lesson (b) to evaluate teaching (c) to study the relationship
between teaching and learning (d) to help teacher-trainees learn about the
process of teaching. In interaction analysis, classroom behaviour is
observed and the different types of student and teacher activity are classified,
using a classification scheme. Several such schemes have been proposed.
interactional and transactional functions of language n
a distinction that is sometimes made between uses of language where the
primary focus is on social interaction between the speakers and the need
to communicate such things as rapport, empathy, interest and social harmony
(interactional function), and those where the primary focus is on
communicating information and completing different kinds of real world
transactions (transactional function). Interactional communication is primarily
person-orientated, whereas transactional communication is primarily
message focused. Interactional and transactional language may
differ in terms of such things as conventions for turn-taking, topics, and
discourse management.
interactional function n
see DEVELOPMENTAL FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE
interaction hypothesis n
the hypothesis that language acquisition requires or greatly benefits from
interaction, communication and especially negotiation of meaning, which
happens when interlocutors attempt to overcome problems in conveying
their meaning, resulting in both additional input and useful feedback on
the learner’s own production.
interactionism n
also interactionist position n
(in psychology, linguistics, and research on language acquisition) the view
that language development and social development are associated and
that one cannot be understood without the other. Researchers who take
an interactionist position focus on the social context of language development
and how the relationship between the language learner and the
persons with whom he or she interacts influences language acquisition.
This perspective is sometimes contrasted with a linguistic approach,
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