The Effect of Dialogic Mediation on the Development of an Experienced Teacher and Learners' Conceptual Development and Actions in the L2 Classroom

The study investigated the effect of mediation on the development of an experienced teacher using the Vygotskian sociocultural view of learning. The effects of the transformation of the teacher on the development of the learners' emotions and practices were investigated as well. To reach these ends, an experienced teacher with 15 years of experience teaching general English at one of the universities in Iran was selected. To observe the teacher's practices, she was first observed in the first five sessions. To analyze her feelings and attitudes towards teaching before the mediation, she was also asked to narrate orally what she had done and felt during her practices. As some of her practices were based on the traditional techniques like over-reliance on translation and deductive teaching of grammar, the mediator offered the mediations and hints in a face-to-face interaction after the fifth to the twentieth session to help the teacher reshape and recontextualize her practices. Analysis of the findings showed that the teacher could internalize some of the mediations like increasing the students' participation in the class activities. The study concludes with some pedagogical implications like paying attention to the emotions of teachers and learners in different teaching contexts.