EFL UNDERGRADUATES’ ATTITUDES TOWARD THE SOCRATIC SEMINAR TO BUILD ACTIVE STUDENT-LED ENGLISH DISCUSSION

Abstract

The focal point of teaching and learning has shifted from the features of talking to the understanding of the talking process. This case study aimed to investigate attitudes toward Socratic Seminar in student-led discussions in the classroom. Twenty-one of the first year EFL undergraduate students majoring in English language teaching in a Thai university participated in the dialogues. This contemporary method involved an active discussion as an instructional tool to improve learning and comprehension of text in order to examine insights in the context of a ten-week Advanced Listening and Speaking course. This study followed qualitative designand contributed to students’ attitudes from interacting with their peers and teacher, using supporting opinions and arguments to gain new perspectives. The data collection involved three Socratic Seminar observations and pre and post group interviews. The analysis showed that students had positive attitudes to this method. Discussions undertaken by the students resulted in significantly better performance when students were engaged in quality critical exchanges about the assigned text.