Exploring Dialogic Teaching in Malaysian Higher Education: Enhancing Interaction in the Malaysian Classroom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/Keywords:
Dialogic interaction, Dialogic teaching, Group discourse, Higher learning, Interactional competenceAbstract
This study explored the use of dialogic teaching to enhance interaction skills among Malaysian university students learning English as a second language. Driven by national initiatives such as the English Language Roadmap and CEFR, this research focuses on instructors’ perspectives and the challenges they face in implementing dialogic teaching strategies. Three instructors from a government university received training and integrated dialogic pedagogy into their undergraduate proficiency classes. Through systematic classroom observations and comprehensive video-stimulated recall interviews, this study captures authentic dialogic teaching experiences. The findings demonstrated that instructors valued dialogic teaching and believed it increased student participation and assisted in language acquisition. However, challenges such as students’ limited vocabulary and hesitation to engage with peers have hindered the effectiveness of group discourses. This study makes a substantial contribution to expanding dialogic teaching research in Malaysian tertiary ESL contexts which is underrepresented in the existing field while highlighting the critical need for continued investigation in tertiary-level ESL environments particularly within Southeast Asian educational contexts.
References
Abu Bakar, A. L., Mohd. Esa, S., Ationg, R., & Jawing, E. (2021). The English language in the Malaysian education system. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling, 6(43), 122–130. https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEPC.643011
Alexander, R. (2018). Developing dialogic teaching: Genesis, process, trial. Research Papers in Education, 33(5), 561–598. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2018.1481140
Alexander, R. (2020). A dialogic teaching companion. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351040143
An, J., & Thomas, N. (2021). Students’ beliefs about the role of interaction for science learning and language learning in EMI science classes: Evidence from high schools in China. Linguistics and Education, 65, 100972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2021.100972
Bai, J. (2024). The discussion of communicative language teaching in language classrooms. Frontiers in Sustainable Development, 4(2), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.54691/jckqrt49
Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays (M. Holquist, Ed.; C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.). University of Texas Press.
Boyd, M. P. (2023). Teacher talk that supports student thinking and talking together: Three markers of a dialogic instructional stance. Learning, Culture & Social Interaction, 39, 100695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2023.100695
Chow, B. W.-Y., Hui, A. N.-N., Li, Z., & Dong, Y. (2021). Dialogic teaching in English-as-a-second-language classroom: Its effects on first graders with different levels of vocabulary knowledge. Language Teaching Research, 27(6), 1408–1430. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820981399
Consuegra, E., Engels, N., & Willegems, V. (2016). Using video-stimulated recall to investigate teacher awareness of explicit and implicit gendered thoughts on classroom interactions. Teachers and Teaching, 22(6), 683–699. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2016.1158958
Côté, J. E., & Furlong, A. (Eds). (2016). Routledge handbook of the sociology of higher education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315772233
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
Cui, R., & Teo, P. (2021). Dialogic education for classroom teaching: A critical review. Language and Education, 35(3), 187–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2020.1837859
Fomin, K. (2024). Educational dialogue: Several aspects of enhancing preservice teachers’ reflective and proactive readiness for teaching practice. Journal of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, 11(1), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.15330/jpnu.11.1.59-71
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging. Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765
Gillies, R. M. (2014). Dialogic interactions in the cooperative classroom. International Journal of Educational Research, 76, 178–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.02.009
Hajhosseiny, M. (2012). The effect of dialogic teaching on students’ critical thinking disposition. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 1358–1368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.12.073
Hardman, F. (2008). Promoting human capital: The importance of dialogic teaching in higher education. Asian Journal of University Education (AJUE), 4(1), 31–48. http://education.uitm.edu.my/ajue/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Chapter-3-Promoting-Human-Capital-The-Importance-of-Dialogic-Teaching-in-Higher-Education.pdf
Hardman, J. (2019). Developing and supporting implementation of a dialogic pedagogy in primary schools in England. Teaching and Teacher Education, 86, 102908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102908
Hennessy, S., Dragovic, T., & Warwick, P. (2018). A research-informed, school-based professional development workshop programme to promote dialogic teaching with interactive technologies. Professional Development in Education, 44(2), 145–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2016.1258653
Heron, M., & Wason, H. (2025). Developing dialogic stance through professional development workshops. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 62(1), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2271892
Howe, C. (2017). Advances in research on classroom dialogue: Commentary on the articles. Learning and Instruction, 48, 61–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.03.003
Jocuns, K. (2021). Dialogic teaching as a way to promote students’ English language use in EFL classroom. PASAA, 62(1), 173–203. https://doi.org/10.58837/CHULA.PASAA.62.1.7
Kumpulainen, K., & Rajala, A. (2017). Dialogic teaching and students’ discursive identity negotiation in the learning of science. Learning and Instruction, 48, 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.05.002
Lee, R. (2016). Implementing dialogic teaching in a Singapore English language classroom. RELC Journal, 47(3), 279–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688216631171
Ma’dan, M., Ismail, M. T., & Daud, S. (2020). Strategies to enhance graduate employability: Insights from Malaysian public university policy-makers. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 17, 137–165. https://doi.org/10.32890/mjli2020.17.2.5
Manap, M. R., Ramli, N. F., & Mohd Tahir, S. N. B. (2025). Teacher beliefs and approaches to vocabulary teaching in Malaysian ESL primary classrooms. International Journal of Language Education and Applied Linguistics, 15(1), 141–151. https://doi.org/10.15282/ijleal.v15i1.12001
Maine, F. (2025). Building the foundations of dialogic pedagogy with five- and six-year-olds. Education Sciences, 15(2), 251. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15020251
Martinelle, R. (2020). Using video-stimulated recall to understand the reflections of ambitious social studies teachers. Journal of Social Studies Research, 44(3), 307–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssr.2020.03.001
Maryansyah, Y., Syafryadin, S., Badeni, B., & Heli Yenti, E. (2024). Indonesian suburban area EFL teachers’ perspectives on translanguaging. Register Journal, 17(1), 23–48. https://doi.org/10.18326/register.v17i1.23-48
Ruslin, Mashuri, S., Abdul Rasak, M. S., Alhabsyi, F & Syam, Hijrah. (2022). Semi-structured Interview: A Methodological Reflection on the Development of a Qualitative Research Instrument in Educational Studies. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME), 12(1), 22–29. https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jrme/papers/Vol-12%20Issue-1/Ser-5/E1201052229.pdf
Mercer, N., & Howe, C. (2012). Explaining the dialogic processes of teaching and learning: The value and potential of sociocultural theory. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1(1), 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2012.03.001
Michaels, S., & O’Connor, C. (2015). Conceptualizing Talk Moves as Tools: Professional development approaches for academically productive discussions. In L. B. Resnick, C. S. C. Asterhan, & S. N. Clarke (Eds.), Socializing intelligence through academic talk and dialogue (pp. 347–361). American Educational Research Association. https://doi.org/10.3102/978-0-935302-43-1_27
Milliner, B., & Dimoski, B. (2024). The effects of communication strategy training on speaking task performance. RELC Journal, 55(2), 344–363. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221085781
Mohd Don, Z. (2014). English in Malaysia: An inheritance from the past and the challenge for the future. In N. Murray & A. Scarino (Eds.), Dynamic ecologies: A relational perspective on languages education in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 117–133). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7972-3_8
Molinari, L., & Mameli, C. (2010). Classroom dialogic discourse: An observational study. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 3857–3860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.604
Myhill, D. A., Jones, S. M., Lines, H., & Watson, A. (2012). Re-thinking grammar: The impact of embedded grammar teaching on students’ writing and students’ metalinguistic understanding. Research Papers in Education, 27(2), 139–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2011.637640
Myhill, D. A., & Newman, R. (2019). Writing talk. In N. Mercer, R. Wegerif, & L. Major (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of research on dialogic education (1st ed., pp. 360–372). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429441677-30
Newman, R. (2025). Developing metalinguistic understanding in the secondary English classroom: The role of teachers’ framing questions and responsive talk moves in dialogic metalinguistic talk about written text. Research Papers in Education, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2024.2447559
Nguyen, N. T., McFadden, A., Tangen, D., & Beutel, D. (2013). Video-stimulated recall interviews in qualitative research. Australian Association for research in Education.
Nystrand, M., & Gamoran, A. (1991). Instructional discourse, student engagement, and literature achievement. Research in the Teaching of English, 261-290. https://doi.org/10.58680/rte199115462
Prefontaine, I. (2023). The dialogic classroom: Holding the door open for hope. Journal of Hate Studies, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.33972/jhs.228
Qin, K., Wolf, J., & Llosa, L. (2025). From everyday language to disciplinary discourse: Culturally and linguistically sustaining dialogic instruction with multilingual learners. TESOL Journal, 16(1), e913. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.913
Ramasamy, S. A., & Zainal, A. Z. (2023a). Facilitating the construction of knowledge collectively through dialogic discourse: Teachers’ perspectives and practices in English language teaching. Teflin Journal, 34(1), 79–96. https://doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v34i1/79-96
Ramasamy, S. A., & Zainal, A. Z. (2023b). Teachers’ professional development and pedagogical shift towards dialogic teaching in Malaysian lower secondary ESL classrooms. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 22(7), 371–387. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.7.20
Reznitskaya, A., Kuo, L., Clark, A., Miller, B., Jadallah, M., Anderson, R. C., & Nguyen‐Jahiel, K. (2009). Collaborative reasoning: A dialogic approach to group discussions. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(1), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640802701952
Sanchez, S. L., & Athanases, S. Z. (2023). Dialogic teacher inquiry: The case of a preservice teacher learning to facilitate class discussion. Dialogic Pedagogy, 11(1), A1–A38. https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2023.482
Sedova, K. (2021). Is dialogic teaching sustainable? Portrait of a teacher three years after completing a teacher development programme. Dialogic Pedagogy: An International Online Journal, 9, A37–A59. https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2021.423
Sedova, K., Sedlacek, M., Salamounova, Z., Lintner, T., Svaricek, R., Vlcek, J., Malikova, K., & Rozmahel, I. (2025). Let them all talk: Equitable participation in classroom dialogue as a result of an intervention programme. Language and Education, 39(6), 1471–1489. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2025.2454637
Shaari, A., Ismail, H. N., & Hamzah, A. (2018). Describing dialogic teaching and learning in a Malaysian higher learning institution setting: A discussion of its observational findings. Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education, 32, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.21315/apjee2017.32.1
Skidmore, D. (2000). From pedagogical dialogue to dialogical pedagogy. Language and Education, 14(4), 283–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780008666794
Skidmore, D. (2006). Pedagogy and dialogue. Cambridge Journal of Education, 36(4), 503–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640601048407
Skidmore, D., & Murakami, K. (Eds.). (2016). Dialogic pedagogy: The importance of dialogue in teaching and learning (Vol. 51). Multilingual Matters.
Souto-Otero, M., & Enders, J. (2017). International students’ and employers’ use of rankings: A cross-national analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 42(4), 783–810. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1074672
Teo, P. (2016). Exploring the dialogic space in teaching: A study of teacher talk in the pre-university classroom in Singapore. Teaching and Teacher Education, 56, 47–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.019
Teo, P. (2019). Teaching for the 21st century: A case for dialogic pedagogy. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 21, 170–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2019.03.009
Varcasia, C., & Atz, E. (2024). Emergent plurilingualism and metalinguistic awareness in primary school. Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 12(2), XLVI–LI. https://doi.org/10.46364/njltl.v12i2.1293
Vasalampi, K., Metsäpelto, R.-L., Salminen, J., Lerkkanen, M.-K., Mäensivu, M., & Poikkeus, A.-M. (2021). Promotion of school engagement through dialogic teaching practices in the context of a teacher professional development programme. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 30, 100538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2021.100538
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Harvard University Press.
Yang, Z., & Brindley, S. (2023). Engaging students in dialogic interactions through questioning. ELT Journal, 77(2), 217–226. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccac021
Young, R. F. (2008). Language and interaction. Routledge.
Zainuddin, S. Z. B., Pillai, S., Dumanig, F. P., & Phillip, A. (2019). English language and graduate employability. Education + Training, 61(1), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2017-0089
Zhang, Z. (2024). Survey on English speaking anxiety of English majors and analysis of teaching countermeasures. Education Research, 1(2), 28-40. https://doi.org/10.70267/76c9h888
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
