Safdari, Somayeh

An Investigation into the Types and Techniques of Scaffolding used by Iranian EFL Teachers: A Case Study of Two English Institutes in Isfahan

AbstractScaffolding helps students improve their skills and handle complex materials Cloud Genesee Hayaman 2009 Although a number of studies have been doneon scaffolding in Iran few studies have identified the types and techniques ofscaffolding used in English language classes Due to the importance of scaffoldingin the teaching process this study aimed to investigate the extent to which variousscaffolding types were provided in EFL classes in Iran It was also to delineate thetypes and techniques of scaffolding used in the EFL classes Through availabilitysampling technique eight Iranian EFL teachers who teach TOP NOTCH 2 at JahadDaneshgahi academic institutes in Isfahan were surveyed In order to studyscaffolding all of the sections of the classes were transcribed codified andanalyzed using Wu s 2010 framework of scaffolding The results of the studyshowed that the types of scaffolding used by Iranian EFL teachers includedcognitive metacognitive procedural and context scaffolding However Motivational scaffolding was not used in any of the classes The techniques thatteachers used to improve learning included giving instances providing introductionto activate students mind before teaching relating new material to students background knowledge giving hints providing some opportunities to help studentsevaluate their learning i e summarizing and questioning proposing a number ofsteps for teaching dividing vocabularies to its parts relating the concepts topictures and referring students to the resources The extent to which scaffoldingwas used in EFL classes equaled 35 8 of which 6 55 11 71 17 4 and 0 03 were devoted to cognitive metacognitive procedural and context scaffolding respectively The results of the study can help universities and language institutesto instruct and choose the best teachers and material developers to prepare the bestmaterials for teaching Keywords scaffolding cognitive scaffolding metacognitive scaffolding procedural scaffolding context scaffolding motivational scaffolding ZPD vii