‘Tú no eres española’
Teasing of L2 learners in host family communities of practice
Teasing has been defined as a humorous speech genre in which a co-present participant is the target of joking (Boxer and Cortés-Conde 1997). Research on teasing in everyday conversation has revealed a range of functions, including social influence, identity negotiation, conflict resolution, bonding, and amusement (e.g. Mills and Babrow 2003). While teasing has long been studied from ethnographic and conversation-analytic perspectives, the insights and methods from this research have heretofore not been applied to teasing involving L2 learners. The present study addresses this topic, analyzing teasing in conversations between L2 learners studying abroad in Spain and their Spanish host families and applying a communities of practice framework to examine teasing practices.
References (51)
References
Adelswärd, Viveka, and Britt-Marie Öberg. 1998. “The Function of Laughter and Joking in Negotiation Activities.” Humor 11: 411–429. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Alberts, Jess. 1992. “Teasing and Sexual Harassment: Double-Bind Communication in the Workplace.” In Constructing and Reconstructing Gender: The Links Among Communication, Language, and Gender, ed. by Linda A. Perry, Lynn H. Turner, and Helen M. Sterk, 185–196. Albany: State University of New York Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Alberts, Jess, Yvonne Kellar-Guenther, and Steven Corman. 1996. “That’s Not Funny: Understanding Recipients’ Responses to Teasing.” Language and Social Psychology 25: 153–177.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ardila, John. 2004. “Transition Relevant Places and Overlapping in (Spanish-English) Conversational Etiquette.” Modern Language Review 3: 635–650. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Arundale, Robert. 2006. “Face as Relational and Interactional: A Communication Framework for Research on Face, Facework, and Politeness.” Journal of Politeness Research 2: 193–216. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bell, Nancy. 2011. “Comparing Playful and Nonplayful Incidental Attention to Form.” Language Learning 62: 236–265. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boxer, Diana, and Florencia Cortés-Conde. 1997. “From Bonding to Biting: Conversational Joking and Identity Display.” Journal of Pragmatics 27: 275–294. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Broner, Maggie, and Elaine Tarone. 2001. “‘Is It Fun?’ Language Play in a Fifth-grade Spanish Immersion Classroom.” The Modern Language Journal 85: 363–379. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Brown, Penelope, and Steven Levinson. 1987. Politeness. Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cook, Guy. 2000. Language Play, Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Drew, Paul. 1987. “Po-Faced Receipts of Teases.” Linguistics 25(1): 219–253. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
DuFon, Margaret, and Eton Churchill (eds). 2006. Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dunn, Judy, and Jane Brown. 1996. “Affect Expression in the Family, Children’s Understanding of Emotions, and Their Interactions with Others.” Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 40: 120–137.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dynel, Marta. 2008. “No Aggression, Only Teasing: The Pragmatics of Teasing and Banter.” Lodz Papers in Pragmatics 4(2): 241–261. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Eder, Donna, Catherine Evans, and Steven Parker. 1995. School Talk: Gender and Adolescent Culture. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Eisenberg, Ann. 1986. “Teasing: Verbal Play in Two Mexicano Homes.” In Language Socialization Across Cultures, ed. by Bambi Schieffelin, and Elinor Ochs, 182–198. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Firth, Alan. 2009. “Doing Not Being a Foreign Language Learner: English as a Lingua Franca in the Workplace and (Some) Implications for SLA.” IRAL 47: 127–156. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Geyer, Naomi. 2010. “Teasing and Ambivalent Face in Japanese Multi-Party Discourse.” Journal of Pragmatics 42: 2120–2130. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Glenn, Phillip. 2003. Laughter in Interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Goffman, Erving. 1967. Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior. Garden City: Anchor.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Grindsted, Annette. 1997. “Joking as a Strategy in Spanish and Danish Negotiations.” In The Languages of Business: An International Perspective, ed. by Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini, and Sandra Harris, 159–182. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Haneda, Mari. 2006. “Classrooms as Communities of Practice: A Reevaluation.” TESOL Quarterly 40: 807–817. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hay, Jennifer. 2000. “Functions of Humor in the Conversations of Men and Women.” Journal of Pragmatics 32: 709–742. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Holmes, Janet. 2000. “Politeness, Power and Provocation: How Humor Functions in the Workplace.” Discourse Studies 2: 159–185. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Holmes, Janet, and Meredith Marra. 2002. “Having a Laugh at Work: How Humor Contributes to Workplace Culture.” Journal of Pragmatics 34: 1683–1710. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Keltner, Dacher, Lisa Capps, Ann Kring, Randall Young, and Erin Heerey. 2001. “Just Teasing: A Conceptual Analysis and Empirical Review.” Psychological Bulletin 127: 229–248. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kinginger, Celeste. 2008. Language Learning in Study Abroad: Case Studies of Americans in France. Oxford: Blackwell.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kinginger, Celeste. 2009. Language Learning and Study Abroad: A Critical Reading of Research. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kowalski, Robin. 2000. “‘I was only kidding!’: Victims’ and Perpetrators’ Perceptions of Teasing.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26: 231–241. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger. 1991. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lennox Terrion, Jenepher, and Blake Ashforth. 2002. “From ‘I’ to ‘We’: The Role of Putdown Humour and Identity in the Development of a Temporary Group.” Human Relations 55: 55–88. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Michell, L., and P. West. 1996. “Peer Pressure to Smoke: The Meaning Depends on the Method.” Health Education Research 11: 39–49. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Miller, Peggy. 1982. “Teasing: A Case Study in Language Socialization and Verbal Play.” The Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition 4: 29–32.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mills, Carol, and Austin Babrow. 2003. “Teasing as a Means of Social Influence.” Southern Communication Journal 68: 273–286. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mullany, Louise. 2004. “Gender, Politeness and Institutional Power Roles: Humour as a Tactic to Gain Compliance in Workplace Business Meetings.” Multilingua 23: 13–37. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Norrick, Neal. 1993. Conversational Joking: Humor in Everyday Talk. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ochs, Elinor, and Bambi Schieffelin. 2012. “The Theory of Language Socialization.” In The Handbook of Language Socialization, ed. by Alessandro Duranti, Elinor Ochs, and Bambi Schieffelin, 1–21. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pawluk, Cheryl. 1989. “Social Construction of Teasing.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 19: 145–167. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pichler, Pia. 2006. “Multifunctional Teasing as a Resource for Identity Construction in the Talk of British Bangladeshi Girls.” Journal of Sociolinguistics 10: 225–249. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schieffelin, Bambi. 1986. “Teasing and Shaming in Kaluli Children’s Interactions.” In Language Socialization Across Cultures, ed. by Bambi Schieffelin, and Elinor Ochs, 165–181.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schnurr, Stephanie. 2009. “Constructing Leader Identities through Teasing at Work.” Journal of Pragmatics 41: 1125–1138. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schnurr, Stephanie, and Angela Chan. 2011. “When Laughter is Not Enough. Responding to Teasing and Self-Denigrating Humour at Work.” Journal of Pragmatics 43: 20–35. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Serrano, María José. 2001. “The Socio-Communicative Function of Two Discourse Markers in Spanish.” Estudios de Sociolingüística 2: 101–122.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Shapiro, Jeremy, Roy Baumeister, and Jane Kessler. 1991. “A Three-Component Model of Children’s Teasing: Aggression, Humor, and Ambiguity.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 10: 459–472. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Shively, Rachel L. 2008. Politeness and Social Interaction in Study Abroad: Service Encounters in L2 Spanish. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Spencer-Oatey, Helen. 2005. “(Im)politeness, Face and Perceptions of Rapport: Unpackaging Their Bases and Interrelationships.” Journal of Politeness Research, 1: 95–119. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Straehle, Carolyn. 1993. “‘Samuel?’ ‘Yes, dear?’ Teasing and Conversational Rapport.” In Framing in Discourse, ed. by Deborah Tannen, 210–230. Oxford: Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tholander, Michael. 2002. “Cross-Gender Teasing as a Socializing Practice.” Discourse Processes 34: 311–338. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tocalli-Beller, Agustina, and Merrill Swain. 2007. “Riddles and Puns in the ESL Classroom: Adults Talk to Learn.” In Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition: Empirical Studies, ed. by Alison Mackey, 143–167. Oxford: Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wenger, Etienne. 1998. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Shively, Rachel L.
2022.
Discourse Analysis in Study Abroad Research. In
Designing Second Language Study Abroad Research,
► pp. 313 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 january 2025. 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.