Getting and keeping Nora on board: A novice elementary ESOL student teacher's practices for lesson engagement

This study describes how a novice ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) student teacher successfully navigates an instructional path in a one-on-one tutoring session with a second grade student. We document the student teacher's strategies to both engage and disengage her student, who alternately resists and cooperates throughout the lesson. In particular, we demonstrate, through conversation analysis, how the student teacher fine-tunes her moment-by-moment decision-making in order to maintain forward momentum through a series of transitions by negotiating with her student, avoiding power struggles, and incorporating student interests while at the same time keeping her teaching objectives in mind. The findings illuminate the complexities involved in implementing a seemingly mundane task such as transitioning in teaching. The various resources for managing resistance can contribute to detailing teacher education in important ways. We conclude by addressing the methodological advantages of combining conversation analysis and ethnographic insights in examining educational interaction.

► We show how a novice ESOL teacher manages to accomplish lesson engagement.
► She aligns with the learner's world, maximizes learner participation, and mitigates opposition.
► We experiment with combining conversation analysis and ethnographic insights.