Pacing and time allocation at the micro- and meso-level within the class hour: Why pacing is important, how to study it, and what it implies for individual lesson planning

The topic of pacing at the level of the individual class hour has received relatively little coverage in research literature. In order to provide a research-based take on the issue, the current work surveys the existing literature, develops terminology and draws a key distinction between macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of pacing, sequencing, grading, and transitioning. In order to focus on one of pacing’s constituent sub-topics—the allocation of classroom time—this article presents a case study of a first semester college-level introductory German class at a top-tier American university. The data come from two hours of class, one each from the beginning and end of the semester, in an attempt to discover not only how pacing affects teaching synchronically but also how it might change diachronically. Utterances and gestures were transcribed in order to segment the class into activities and sub-activities, and a model for using verbal and gestural cues to perform this kind of segmentation is proposed. The paper also discusses how the teacher allocates time to different kinds of activities, considering pacing strategies that help keep students focused and “on plan” and how these pacing strategies can allow for more time and activities spent on communicative, pair-based work. It is argued that because of the case study teacher’s focus on pacing and use of various strategies to pace the class, not only researchers but also teachers might be able to generalize the micro- and meso-pacing model described in this study to the pacing of individual lessons in their own classrooms.-------------------------------------------------------------------- L’anàlisi detallada del pacing en una hora de classe és un aspecte poc tractat en la literatura científica. Per garantir una perspectiva basada en resultats empírics, aquest estudi es proposa fer un repàs a la literatura ja publicada sobre el tema, desenvolupar-ne la terminologia i distingir clarament entre els nivells macro-, meso- i micro- de pacing, grading, seqüenciació i transicions. Per tal de centrar-nos en un dels subtemes principals del pacing, la distribució del temps de l’hora de classe, presentem un estudi de cas basat en una assignatura d’introducció a l’alemany impartida en una prestigiosa universitat nord-americana. Les nostres dades provenen de dues hores de classe gravades en dos moments diferents del semestre (inici i final), per intentar esbrinar com afecta el pacing a la docència no només sincrònicament, sinó també diacrònicament. S’han transcrit tots els enunciats i gestos per tal de segmentar cada ses