The effect of coteaching on EFL secondary school students’ engagement

Abstract

It is generally agreed that learner engagement is a key factor for successful language learning and that coteaching increases instructional options for all students. However, it is still to be confirmed if supportive coteaching strategies can enhance active learner engagement in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, which is guided by a communicative approach. This article explores the level of engagement of a group of students involved in a series of activities conducted by co-teachers in an EFL classroom at a secondary school in Catalonia, and reports on some strategies co-teachers use to promote students’ interaction in English and their commitment to the task. Video recordings and transcripts were analysed in terms of a) students’ level of engagement and b) potentially related coteaching strategies. Findings indicate that engagement is present in the classroom in various ways, and that the differentiated supportive actions of the co-teachers contribute to higher levels of engagement when compared to the actions of an individual teacher. We argue that coteaching should be promoted in EFL classrooms in secondary education and included in teacher development programmes as a complement to other school practices.