Exploring Teacher Dominance and Learner Participation: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Spoken Teacher- Student Interactions in Iranian Online EFL Classrooms

This study explores teacher dominance and learner participation in Iranian online EFL classrooms through a corpus-based analysis of spoken teacher-student interactions. online sessions involving five teachers and ۶۰ intermediate-level students were held and recorded in ۱۰ sessions and the obtained data from transcribed spoken communications were analyzed considering the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) framework and the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) coding scheme. Findings reveal a largely teacher-centered interaction pattern, with teachers producing approximately ۶۰% of the spoken turns. Although most interactions followed the full IRF sequence, a significant portion lacked feedback, limiting deeper learner engagement. Elaborative feedback was found to promote longer and more meaningful student responses compared to evaluative and corrective feedback. Furthermore, student-initiated exchanges were relatively low, indicating limited opportunities for learner-led communication. The study highlights the need to foster more balanced interaction and richer feedback in Iranian virtual EFL classrooms to enhance learner participation and language development

کلیدواژه ها:

Teacher dominance ، Learner participation ، Online EFL classrooms ، IRF framework ، Spoken interaction ، Feedback types