ENHANCING ACTIVE CLASSROOM INTERACTION: THE ROLE OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN INQUIRY-BASED INSTRUCTION

Abstract

This qualitative case study explores the roles and strategies of English teachers in promoting active speaking interactions among fourth-grade students at an International Elementary School in Bandung, Indonesia. The study aims to uncover how teachers employ inquiry-based instruction to engage students in speaking activities and identify patterns of classroom interactions that encourage active speaking. The research includes observations and interviews with two English teachers, focusing on their methods to enhance speaking skills among 18 multicultural students. The findings indicate that teachers primarily use inquiry-based instruction, incorporating memory, cognitive, metacognitive, affective, and social strategies to encourage student participation. Identified interaction patterns include Teacher-Student, Student-Teacher, and Student-Student interactions, with Teacher-Student interactions being the most frequent. This study highlights the importance of inquiry-based instruction in fostering active speaking interactions and underscores the critical role of teachers in creating a dynamic and interactive classroom environment to enhance English speaking proficiency. Findings revealed that the teachers effectively promoted three types of interactions: teacher-student (71%), student-teacher (17%), and student-student (12%). The study concludes that English teachers play a crucial role in enhancing students' speaking interactions through inquiry-based instruction.