Constructing Communicative Interaction in an Elementary EFL Program: A Case Study of ‘A Day With A Native Speaker’ in Indonesia
Abstract
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning at the elementary school level requires authentic opportunities for interaction to support students' communicative competence. However, opportunities to use English in real-world communication remain relatively limited in EFL contexts. This study aims to explore how communicative interactions are constructed through the A Day with Native Speaker program at SDS Labschool UPI Purwakarta, Indonesia. This qualitative case study involved 362 bilingual students from Grades 1–6, aged 6–13 years, who participated in the two-day program conducted for approximately five hours per day, along with one native speaker and one bilingual program coordinator. Data were collected through observations of program activities, semi-structured interviews with two upper-grade students, one native speaker, and one bilingual program coordinator, and documentation, and were analyzed using the interactive analysis model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña through data condensation, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that communicative interactions were constructed through five interrelated components: active participation, comprehensible input, negotiation of meaning, interactional feedback, and confidence development. Students participated actively in authentic communication, while comprehensible input was supported through language adjustment, gestures, intonation, and contextual support. Negotiation of meaning occurred through clarification and confirmation, while interactional feedback supported continued communication without disrupting the interaction. These processes were dynamically interconnected and were associated with students' confidence in using English. Based on these findings, a context-specific cyclical conceptual model was developed to illustrate the dynamic relationships among the five components that support communicative interaction and students' communicative competence.