What does it consist of?

This technique consists of the teacher structuring and directing interaction between students, rather than leading the conversation directly.
The teacher:

• Assigns who asks and who answers.
• Specifies the exact question or structure to use.
• Monitors the interaction.
• Requests reformulation or follow-up from another student.
• Gradually reduces control as students gain confidence.
• The conversation is therefore guided by the teacher, but produced by the learners.

This technique aligns with communicative classroom interaction patterns described by Jeremy Harmer and Jim Scrivener, where increasing Student Talking Time (STT) is prioritised over teacher-led IRF cycles.
It moves from controlled speaking towards freer production in a scaffolded way.

What do we achieve with this technique?

• increasing Student Talking Time (STT)
• ensuring structured practice of target grammar within communication
• developing listening accuracy between peers
• encouraging active processing of answers
• reinforcing different verb forms through reformulation
• preparing learners for more autonomous speaking tasks

Pedagogical foundation:

• Output Hypothesis (Swain): learners develop language through producing it.
• Scaffolding (Vygotsky): support is gradually removed.
• Communicative competence development.

This technique is particularly effective at A1–B1 levels, but can be adapted for higher levels using reported speech, conditionals or modal nuance.

Example:

Target: Past simple

• Teacher:
  “Student A, ask Student B when he bought his glasses.”
• Student A:
  “When did you buy your glasses?”
• Student B:
  “I bought them two years ago.”
• Teacher:
  “Student A, when did he buy his glasses?”
• Student A:
  “He bought them two years ago.”

In this short sequence, students practise:

• question formation
• past simple
• pronoun shift
• listening comprehension
• immediate reformulation

The teacher controls the structure but students generate the language.