Article published in:
Dialogue in Multilingual and Multimodal Communities
Edited by Dale Koike and Carl S. Blyth
[Dialogue Studies 27] 2015
► pp. 25–48

The complex nature of Language-related Episodes

| St. Edward’s University
This chapter exposes the complex nature of language-related episodes (LREs) that occur in the course of native-nonnative interactions. Our current understanding of these sequences is limited by research either not specific to second language acquisition (SLA) (e.g. Schegloff, Jefferson and Sacks 1977) or based on SLA paradigms that depict L2 learning as an autonomous cognitive process unencumbered by factors such as history and identity (e.g. Mackey 2007). Contemplating the social dimension of LREs through a social learning theory perspective (Wenger 1998) reveals that their features are not homogenous, but rather shaped by circumstances particular to the interlocutors who produce them. Once we see LREs as inherently complex and variable, then we understand that they impact different learners in different ways, times and circumstances.
Published online: 10 July 2015
https://doi.org/10.1075/ds.27.01lyl
References
Adams, Rebecca
2007 “Do Second Language Learners Benefit from Interacting with Each Other?” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 29–51. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Aston, Guy
1986 “Troubleshooting Interaction with Learners: The More the Merrier?” Applied Linguistics 7: 128–143. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Basturkmen, Helen, Shawn Loewen, and Rod Ellis
2002 “Metalanguage in Focus on Form in the Communicative Classroom.” Language Awareness 11(1): 1–13. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Blake, Robert J., and Eve C. Zyzik
2003 “Who’s Helping Whom?: Learner/Heritage-Speakers’ Networked Discussions in Spanish.” Applied Linguistics 24(4): 519–544. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Block, David
2003 The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Bowles, Melissa A
2010 The Think-Aloud Controversy in Second-Language Research. New York and London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Dobao, Ana Fernández
2012 “Collaborative Dialogue in Learner-Learner and Learner-Native Speaker Interaction.” Applied Linguistics 33(3): 229–256. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Doughty, Catherine
2001 “Cognitive Underpinnings of Focus on Form.” In Cognition and Second Language Instruction, ed. by Peter Robinson, 206–257. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Egi, Takako
2007 “Recasts, Learners’ Interpretations, and L2 Development.” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 249–360. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ellis, Rod
2007 “The Differential Effects of Corrective Feedback on Two Grammatical Structures.” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 311–330. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Firth, Alan, and Johannes Wagner
1997 “On Discourse, Communication, and (some) Fundamental Concepts in Second Language Acquisition Research.” Modern Language Journal 81(3): 285–300. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Foster, Pauline, and Amy Snyder Ohta
2005 “Negotiation for Meaning and Peer Assistance in Second Language Classrooms.” Applied Linguistics 26(3):402–430. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, Robert C., Paul F. Tremblay, and Anne Masgoret
1997 “Towards a Full Model of Second Language Learning: An Empirical Investigation.” The Modern Language Journal 81(3): 344–362. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gass, Susan M
1997 Input, Interaction, and the Development of Second Languages. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Gass, Susan M., and Kim Lewis
2007 “Perceptions about Interactional Feedback: Differences between Heritage Language Learners and Non-heritage Language Learners.” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 79–99. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gass, Susan M., and Alison Mackey
2006 “Input, Interaction and Output: An Overview.” AILA Review 19: 3–17. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gass, Susan M., and Evangeline M. Varonis
1991 “Miscommunication in Nonnative Speaker Discourse.” In “Miscommunication” and Problematic Talk, ed. by Nikolas Coupland, 
Howard Giles, and John M. Wiemann, 121–145. Newbury Park: Sage.Google Scholar
Goo, Jaemyung, and Alison Mackey
2013 “The Case Against the Case Against Recasts.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 35(1): 127–165. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hatch, Evelyn
1978 “Discourse Analysis and Second Language Acquisition.” In Second Language Acquisition, ed. by Evelyn Hatch, 401–435. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Johnson, Marysia
2004 A Philosophy of Second Language Acquisition. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Kim, Youjin
2008 “The Contribution of Collaborative and Individual Tasks to the Acquisition of L2 Vocabulary.” Modern Language Journal 92(1): 114–130. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Koike, Dale A
2010 “Behind L2 Pragmatics: The Role of Emerging Expectations.” In Dialogue in Spanish, ed. by Dale A. Koike, and Lidia Rodríguez-Alfano, 257–282. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Krashen, Stephen D
1981 Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. English Language Teaching Series. London: Prentice-Hall International.Google Scholar
Lafford, Barbara A
2007 “Second Language Acquisition Reconceptualized? The Impact of Firth and Wagner (1997).” Modern Language Journal 91(5): 735–756. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger
1991 Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Leonty’ev, Aleksei Nikolaevich
1978 Activity, Consciousness, Personality. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Larsen-Freeman, Diane, Michael H. Long, and Zukang Jiang
1991 An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Loewen, Shawn, and Jenefer Philip
2006 “Recasts in the Adult L2 Classroom: Characteristics, Explicitness and Effectiveness.” Modern Language Journal 90: 536–556. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Long, Michael H
1996 “The Role of Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition.” In Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, ed. by William C. Ritchie, and Tej K. Bhatia, 413–468. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Long, Michael H., and Robinson, P
1998 “Theory, Research and Practice.” In Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition, ed. by Catherine Doughty, and Jessica Williams, 15–41. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lyle, Cory
2012 The Co-emergence of Spanish as a Second Language and Individual Differences: A Dynamical Systems Theory Perspective. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin). Retrieved from http://​repositories​.lib​.utexas​.edu​/handle​/2152​/ETD​-UT​-2012​-05​-5298)Google Scholar
2014 “Language-related Episodes: Friends or Foes?” Manuscript submitted for publication.
Lyster, Roy, and Leila Ranta
1997 “Corrective Feedback and Learner Uptake: Negotiation of Form in Communicative Classrooms.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 19: 37–66. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mackey, Alison
(ed) 2007 Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mackey, Alison, and Rebecca Sachs
2012 “Older Learners in SLA Research: A First Look at Working Memory, Feedback, and L2 Development.” Language Learning 62(3): 704–740. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, P
(ed) 1999 Learners, Learning and Assessment. London: Paul Chapman.Google Scholar
Pica, Teresa
1994 “Research on Negotiation: What Does it Reveal about Second-language Learning Conditions, Processes, and Outcomes?” Language Learning 44(3): 493. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pica, Teresa, Ruth Kanagy, and Joseph Falodun
1993 “Choosing and Using Communication Tasks for Second Language Instruction and Research.” In Tasks and Language Learning: Integrating Theory and Practice, ed. by Graham Crookes, and Susan M. Gass, 9–34. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Rayati, Rajabali, Baqer Yaqubi, and Rezvan Harsejsani
2012 “L1 Use and Language-Related Episodes (LREs) in an EFL Setting.” The Journal of Teaching Language Skills (JTLS) 3(4): 99–125.Google Scholar
Sachs, Rebecca, and Bo Ram Suh
2007 “Textually Enhanced Recasts, Learner Awareness, and L2 Outcomes in Synchronous Computer-mediated Interaction.” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 197–227. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sagarra, Nuria, and Rebekha Abbuhl
2013 “Optimizing the Noticing of Recasts via Computer-Delivered Feedback: Evidence That Oral Input Enhancement and Working Memory Help Second Language Learning.” Modern Language Journal 97(1): 196–216. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sato, M
2011 “Constitution of Form-Orientation: Contributions of Context and Explicit Knowledge to Learning from Recasts.” Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics / Revue Canadienne de Linguistique Appliquée 14(1): 1–28.Google Scholar
Sato, Masatoshi, and Roy Lyster
2007 “Modified Output of Japanese EFL Learners: Variable Effects of Interlocutor vs. Feedback Types.” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 123–142. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sauro, Shannon
2009 “Computer-mediated Corrective Feedback and the Development of L2 Grammar.” Language Learning and Technology 13(1): 96–120.Google Scholar
Schegloff, Emanuel A., Gail Jefferson, and Harvey Sacks
1977 “The Preference for Self-correction in the Organization of Repair in Conversation.” Language 53(2): 361–382. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, Richard W
1990 “The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning.” Applied Linguistics 11: 206–226. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
1995 “Consciousness and Foreign Language Learning: A Tutorial on the Role of Attention and Awareness in Learning.” In Attention and Awareness in Foreign Language Learning, ed. by Richard W. Schmidt, 1–63. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.Google Scholar
2001 “Attention.” In Cognition and Second Language Instruction, ed. by Peter Robinson, 3–32. New York: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Shintani, Natsuko, and Rod Ellis
2013 “The Comparative Effect of Direct Written Corrective Feedback and Metalinguistic Explanation on Learners’ Explicit and Implicit Knowledge of the English Indefinite Article.” Journal of Second Language Writing 22: 286–306. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Storch, Neomy
2004 “Using Activity Theory to Explain Differences in Patterns of Dyadic Interactions in an ESL Class.” The Canadian Modern Language Review 60(4): 457–480. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Swain, Merrill
1985 “Communicative Competence: Some Roles of Comprehensible Input and Comprehensible Output in its Development.” In Input in Second Language Acquisition, ed. by Susan M. Gass, and Carolyn G. Madden, 235–256. Cambridge, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
1995 “Three Functions of Output in Second Language Learning.” In Principle and Practice in Applied Linguistics: Studies in Honor of H.G. Widdowson, ed. by Guy Cook, and Barbara Seidelhofer, 125–144. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2000 “The Output Hypothesis and Beyond: Mediating Acquisition Through Collaborative Dialogue.” In Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning, ed. by James P. Lantolf, 97–114. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Swain, Merrill, and Sharon Lapkin
1995 “Problems in Output and the Cognitive Processes They Generate: A Step Towards Second Language Learning.” Applied Linguistics 16: 371–391. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
1998 “Interaction and Second Language Learning: Two Adolescent French Immersion Students Working Together.” Modern Language Journal 82(3): 320–337. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Trofimovich, Pavel, Ahlem Ammar, and Elizabeth Gatbonton
2007 “How Effective Are Recasts? The Role of Attention, Memory, and Analytical Ability.” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: A Series of Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 171–195. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tomasello, Michael
1992 “The Social Bases of Language Acquisition.” Social Development 1: 67–87. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wenger, Etienne
1998 Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Williams, Jessica
2001 “The Effectiveness of Spontaneous Attention to Form.” System 29(3): 325–340. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wittgenstein, Ludwig
1953 Philosophical Investigations. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Yang, Yi-Chun Christine
2010 Recasts in the EFL Classroom: A Comparison of Native and Nonnative Teachers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin). Retrieved from http://​repositories​.lib​.utexas​.edu​/bitstream​/handle​/2152​/ETD​-UT​-2010​-05​- 873​/YANG​-DISSERTATION​.pdf​?sequence​=1Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Basterrechea, María & Michael J. Leeser
2019. Language-related episodes and learner proficiency during collaborative dialogue in CLIL. Language Awareness 28:2 ► pp. 97 ff. Crossref logo
Martin‐Beltrán, Melinda, Andrés A. García & Angélica Montoya‐Ávila
2020. “I Know There's Something Like That in Spanish”: Heritage Language Learners' Multifaceted Interactions with Linguistically Diverse Peers. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 30:3 ► pp. 530 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 14 may 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.