In chapter 5 of Saville-Troike there is a discussion about the Zone of Proximal Development under which they bring up the idea of scaffolding. According to Saville-Troike:
Scaffolding is a method by which an expert or someone who better understands the language being learned, gives the L2 learner chunks of talk that the learners can then use to express concepts which are beyond their independent means.
I found this to be an interesting way of teaching an L2 learner. My first thought was that doing something like this doesn't make any sense since the learner is only given chunks of information to use without really understand why they are using it. This being my initial reaction, I have found that maybe my reaction was a bit off base. The idea of scaffolding can actually be helpful in that the L2 learner is, later in their learning, able to relate to what they learned early on. Maybe they didn't quite understand it at the time but as their learning continues they are then able to connect it all together.
Another side to scaffolding could be having the individual work in a group to come up with something that they could not come up with on their own. My initial reaction to this was positive and I stick by that. In this sense, working with others helps the individual learn parts of the L2 they did not understand or know before they grouped together. They are given a chance to gain knowledge from their peers, thus improving their own language.
This can, of course, backfire for those who may be more advanced in the L2 or if they are the most advanced of the group then they are no longer learning new things, they are teaching. This maybe a good leadership opportunity but I don't see it as a good way to learn more of a language. It may even further confuse the L2 learner since they are having to teach something they may not fully understand.
Anyway, I shall stop my rambling. Those were just my thoughts.
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