Interaction in conversation groups: The development of L2 conversational styles (original) (raw)
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The developmental outcomes of interaction in conversation groups
This exploratory study examines the potential learning opportunities of interactions in the naturalistic setting of a German conversation group. Eleven intermediate L2 German learners participated in weekly conversation groups, which were recorded and then transcribed. In addition, information regarding learners' perceptions, con dence, and willingness to communicate was obtained by means of self-report surveys and interviews. A discourse analytic approach indicated that learners' styles were more passive or active depending on their ability to identify and use, consciously or unconsciously, German conversational style in the group interactions.
2020
During the last 15 years, the concept of second language interactional competence (L2IC) has evolved considerably, based on empirical findings from conversation analysis (CA). Another closely related product of applied CA is the development of CA-based materials and activities for teaching, therapy and other interventions designed to improve interactions in various sites, including the improvement of L2IC among learners of second and foreign language. As part of an ongoing project applying CA to L2IC, this paper presents a brief overview of recent literature on applied CA, L2 talk-in-interaction and L2IC, and existing proposals and materials for applying CA to the teaching of L2IC. The paper concludes with some reflections and tentative suggestions.
Review: Conversational interaction in second language acquisition: A collection of empirical studies
2008
Mackey, A. (Ed.). (2007). Conversational interaction in second language acquisition: A collection of empirical studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-019-4422249-9. 496pp. Applied linguists working within the mainstream of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research owe a considerable debt to Stephen Krashen. His bold claim that comprehensible input and a low affective filter were necessary and sufficient condition for language acquisition gave rise to a rich research agenda that is still alive and kicking. Among those who challenged his "hypotheses" can be numbered Merrill Swain, who has for twenty years developed her argument for the importance of comprehensible output, Manfred Peinemann whose Teachability Hypothesis has led to some interesting studies, and Michael Long, who over the years has refined his Interaction Hypothesis, which, in its current version, includes elements of a hypothesis (an idea that needs to be tested about a single phenomenon), elements ofa model (a description of processes or a set of processes of a phenomenon), as well as elements of a theory (a set of statements about natural phenomena that explains why these phenomena occur the way they do (Gass & Mackey, 2006, p. 174, cited in the present book, p. 5). Certainly, Long's Interaction Hypothesis has generated a very large number of published reports and many more unpublished theses and dissertations.
Learning a language in a formal context is not the same as learning a language in a natural setting, in that the goal of one of the participants in the communicative events that occur in the classroom, the teacher, is to teach a language. For this reason, the majority of the actions undertaken by the participants are directed at achieving that goal. That is why observing and analyzing interaction in the classroom becomes a key element in understanding how we learn. In this chapter we set out how this issue is approached through conversation analysis.
Conversation Analysis, Applied Linguistics, and Second Language Acquisition
Language Learning, 2004
So far in this monograph I have explicated the organization of L2 classroom interaction using a CA methodology applied to an extensive database. Although I have considered some issues related to the theory and practice of L2 teaching, I have not so far attempted to relate the study to broader research paradigms, which is the focus of this chapter. The overall aim of this chapter is to consider how CA can be located in and contribute to the research agendas of AL and SLA. Following Larsen-Freeman (2000), SLA is seen as a subfield of AL: AL draws on multidisciplinary theoretical and empirical perspectives to address real-world issues and problems in which language is central. SLA draws on multidisciplinary theoretical and empirical perspectives to address the specific issue of how people acquire a second language and the specific problem of why everyone does not do so successfully. (p. 165
Developmental issues in second language conversation
Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2004
Th is article contributes to the discussion of how second language learning can be studied in a conversation analytic framework. Conversation analysis (CA) as a fi eld has demonstrated how meticulous analysis can shed light on how talk-in-interaction works. In recent years CA has been applied to a number of areas of inquiry, including interactions in second languages. So far, CA researchers have mainly studied second language use, while a systematic approach of how to study the process of second language learning still needs to be developed. To this end, we propose methodological procedures for the study of second language learning by bringing together two frameworks: CA and the theory of situated learning. As an empirical basis, this entails a systematic gathering of longitudinal data consisting of naturally occurring interactions, and analytic procedures managing the longitudinal character of the data, in particular the issue of interactants' change in conduct over time.