This paper presents a study of EFL classroom talk with the focus on how teachers successfully encourage and elicit student dialogic talk through questioning. It is based on observation data from forty-nine classes involving eleven teaching staff in a university in central China. The findings reveal the difficulty of engaging students to be the first to participate in dialogic interactions in a culture where deeply engrained reserve is the accepted norm. Two teacher questioning patterns are identified that are effective in eliciting students’ first dialogic contribution in each interaction. These patterns can also serve as a profitable investment to elicit subsequent productive talk from students. This study also argues for a situated, contextualized analysis of classroom talk.

The unexpected advent of a global pandemic and, in the UK, as part of the government response to control the spread of the virus, the closure of schools with just 48 hours' notice, meant many English teachers were faced with entirely new pedagogical, curricular and technological demands. This article reflects on the experiences of five English teachers in widely differing contexts, from both state (government funded) and independent (fee paying) schools, with diverse resource and demand, and explores how their classroom practices and understanding of teaching and learning were impacted by the imperative to move to online teaching. It also represents a snapshot of how these teachers' beliefs about English teaching were surfaced, and the commonalities of purpose and values that underpin their work make evident.

Dialogic approaches to pedagogy have received increased attention in educational research in the past decades. Despite the substantial body of research on the quality of classroom talk, the secondary education context still remains less explored. The aim of the paper is to contribute to our understanding of dialogic practices in this context with a particular focus on: (a) the creation of dialogic space, and (b) the enactment of dialogic interactions in this space. The paper presents a case study on a Year 13 Religious Education classroom in the south of England, United Kingdom. Data are drawn from a videorecorded lesson and audiorecorded teacher interviews. A qualitative analysis of the data revealed the importance of certain factors in creating dialogic space, including teacher instructions, activity type, and teacher dialogic strategies. It is argued that being conducive to dialogue, the context of Religious Education can be studied further. With growing evidence coming from this context, pedagogical guidelines can be created for teachers who wish to develop a more dialogic pedagogy.

Despite numerous efforts to align educational practice more closely with findings from educational research, there is little clarity about how educational practitioners can, in principle, use research. We propose a conceptualisation based on how research can contribute to practitioners’ thinking: specifically, our framework proposes that research can inform bounded decision‐making, teachers’ reflection and organisational learning. Practitioners can also use research without being aware that they are doing so. We argue that this conceptualisation of research use has potential to inform researchers and practitioners.

Despite numerous efforts to align educational practice more closely with findings from educational research, there is little clarity about how educational practitioners can, in principle, use research. We propose a conceptualisation based on how research can contribute to practitioners’ thinking: specifically, our framework proposes that research can inform bounded decision-making, teachers’ reflection and organisational learning. Practitioners can also use research without being aware that they are doing so. We argue that this conceptualisation of research use has potential to inform researchers and practitioners.