The project brings new data to the long-standing questions of language acquistion, advancing knowledge in the fields of psychology and linguistics. The researchers propose to analyze an existing video data from learners with little or no formal education as they move into the realm of formal learning in language classrooms. The researchers will use qualitative, video-based methods of analysis with the goal to understand how particular socio-interactional moves in tasks for language acquisition lead to success in learning in formal educational settings. Working together with the LIFE Center (Learning in Informal and Formal Environments), the researchers will compare measures of program advancement and language proficiency of the students in two groups (more and less succesfull students with low level of prior educational experience) to socio-interactive measures from students' participation in classroom activities as captured by the classroom video recordings.
