3.4.2 Interactional scaffolds

As suggested above, interactional scaffolds are issued by the leading team and are characterized by their high degree of specificity with respect to addressing learner needs.  In this way, they serve to draw the attention of the learner to narrowly-defined disjuncts in either communication or understanding.

Directed tips (DIRTIPSL) for example, “The signb0ard is hiden am0ng the trees” and “It’s between the veritas and an0ther building”
Directed tips are similar to re-instructions, with the primary exception that effort is made to modulate the original instruction to make it easier to comprehend or attain.  In the examples above, they are, respectively, “the signboard is hidden among the trees” and “it’s between the Veritas and another building”.

Questions seeking elaboration (QSEL) for example “Wat ting yes?”
These are distinct from exploratory questions in that they are asked with reference to preceding comments made by the following team.  In other words, such questions are clarifying in their purpose.  The example above is, “what do you mean by ‘yes’?”

Conditional presentations of alternative (CONDALTL) for example, “If you do not, find the track.” and “Or jus try ur best to find xiao guiling first”
These are instructions which are given as a follow-up to a preceding set.  They serve to give the following team an alternative checkpoint along the same route, should the original checkpoint prove too difficult to locate.  In the examples above, they are, respectively, “if you do not, find the track” and “or just try your best to find Xiao Guilin first”.

<- 3.4.1 Task frames (leading pair)          -> 3.4.3 Acknowledgments