Genres with exchange structure

[Richard]

Sinclair and Coutlhard's work on the IRF structure in classroom discourse says that the discourse consists of a frequently recurring predictable set of functions (i.e. IRF IRF IRF). Genre analysis, on the other hand, identifies a predictable set of functions but this does not usually recur. Are there any other genres/registers where the same predictable set of functions recurs over and over again?

[Wannapa]

I'm thinking of baby talk. Like when a mother talking to a child, there should be some recurring patterns.

[sgtowns]

Are there any other genres/registers where the same predictable set of functions recurs over and over again?

How about conversations between air traffic controllers and pilots?

[Richard]

Yes, much air traffic control discourse is a highly predictable recurrent sequence of similar functions. It could be an example of where a job mostly consists of having very similar exchanges with a succession of people wanting the same information/having the same problem etc. Much work in government offices is like this. Perhaps contexts where the exchange structure is very predictable and repetitive are those where automation is most likely to have an impact. Much of the more predictable exchanges in banks have been taken over by ATMs - the work of human bank tellers nowadays mostly concerns those exchanges that are not so predictable. Does this mean that robot teachers can take over eliciting transactions in classrooms?

[stevelouw]

I would argue that a teacher's exchanges with students are not nearly as predictable as the IRF structure would make things seem. In a 'perfect' classroom, or one where a teacher has almost dictatorial control over students, students might just answer questions asked. However, in my experience student responses are seldom that predictable. Sometimes they joke, or respond in their L1, ask a question back, or don't respond at all. If the teacher's questions are simply resulting in highly predictable student responses, is it possible that there is no new learning taking place? (Or is my dialogic lens clouding my perspective?)

The analogy that springs to mind after reading about air traffic controllers is the case of air-strewards. They go around and say 'Tea or coffee?' over and over, and respond predictably to the passenger's responses to the question. This could be automated perhaps. But like the bank tellers, they also have non-predicable responses to their questions, like 'Could I have tea and coffee in the same cup please?', and they also need to respond to individual passenger requests like 'My baby's eardrum has burst' or 'Could I move to another seat because the man in 27B is harassing me'. It strikes me that the 'Tea of coffee' question is a small part of their interaction with the passengers. Similarly, the predictable IRF interaction with students is only a very small part of a teacher's communication - especially if they are actually interacting with the students as they are learning rather than just following a script to get through the lesson.

If the elicitation transactions are automated, could that not simply be seen as some form of online testing?