Article In: Language, Interaction and Acquisition: Online-First Articles
‘I’ll tell you about it later’
Achieving first-topic in student tellings during Arabic conversation-for-learning
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Abstract
The study of tellings (i.e. stories) by second language (L2) learners
has gained increased attention recently (Kim, Y., & Carlin, A. P. (2022). Story appreciation in conversations-for-learning: Stories and gestalt-contextures. In A. Filipi, B. T. Ta & M. Theobald (Eds.), Storytelling practices in home and educational contexts: Perspectives from conversation analysis (pp. 201–223). Springer. ; Wong, J., & Waring, H. (Eds.). (2021). Storytelling in multilingual interaction: A conversation analysis perspective. Routledge. ), yet studies of L2 tellings in one-on-one interactions outside the classroom
remain limited. Our study uses conversation analysis (CA) to examine tellings in the
opening moments of conversation-for-learning (CfL) sessions and their role in establishing
first-topic. The data studied were taken from a corpus of 100 hours of CfL sessions in
Arabic recorded during a study abroad program in Jordan. We show that after greeting
sequences, participants demonstrate a preference for achieving first-topic through
student-produced tellings solicited by a speaking partner (SP). We also show how
complications to the normative pattern may be managed. In CfL, learners and SPs often take
on the roles of learner and teacher/interaction manager ( (2024). Topical talk and repair practices through embodied and multilingual resources in L2 Arabic conversation-for-learning. Critical Multilingualism Studies, 11(1), 326–350. ; Kasper, G. (2004). Participant orientations in German conversation-for-learning. The Modern Language Journal, 88(4), 551–567. ), but the interactional mechanics by which these roles emerge early in CfL
remain understudied. We argue that the student-telling-first structure is a central
practice to understanding how learner-expert roles form, mirroring classroom practices in
an ostensibly non-classroom space. Ultimately, we highlight how proffering topics through
tellings can shape the didactic teacher-student dynamic and play a central role in
establishing the CfL session’s first topic.
Résumé
‘Je t’en parlerai plus tard’: l’établissement du premier thème dans les conversations d’apprentissage de
l’arabe à travers les récits des étudiants
L’étude des récits (i.e des histoires) produits par des apprenants
de langue seconde (L2) a suscité un intérêt croissant ces dernières années (Kim, Y., & Carlin, A. P. (2022). Story appreciation in conversations-for-learning: Stories and gestalt-contextures. In A. Filipi, B. T. Ta & M. Theobald (Eds.), Storytelling practices in home and educational contexts: Perspectives from conversation analysis (pp. 201–223). Springer. ; Wong, J., & Waring, H. (Eds.). (2021). Storytelling in multilingual interaction: A conversation analysis perspective. Routledge. ). Toutefois, les recherches portant sur les
récits en L2 dans des interactions en dyade en dehors de la salle de classe demeurent
limitées. Notre étude mobilise l’analyse conversationnelle (AC) afin d’examiner les récits
produits dans les premiers instants des séances de conversation à visée d’apprentissage
(conversation-for-learning, CfL) et leur rôle dans l’établissement du
premier thème. Les données proviennent d’un corpus de 100 heures de séances de CfL en
arabe, enregistrées dans le cadre d’un programme d’études à l’étranger, en Jordanie.
Nous montrons qu’après les séquences de salutations, les
participants manifestent une préférence pour l’établissement du premier thème au moyen de
récits produits par l’étudiant et suscités par un partenaire de conversation (SP). Nous
montrons également comment les complications de ce schéma normatif peuvent être gérées
dans le cadre de l’interaction. Dans les séances de CfL, les apprenants et leurs
partenaires de conversation (SP) adoptent souvent les rôles d’apprenant et
d’enseignant/gestionnaire de l’interaction ( (2024). Topical talk and repair practices through embodied and multilingual resources in L2 Arabic conversation-for-learning. Critical Multilingualism Studies, 11(1), 326–350. ; Kasper, G. (2004). Participant orientations in German conversation-for-learning. The Modern Language Journal, 88(4), 551–567. ).
Toutefois, les mécanismes interactionnels par lesquels ces rôles émergent dès les premiers
moments de la CfL restent peu étudiés. Nous soutenons que la structure dans laquelle le
récit de l’étudiant constitue le premier thème représente une pratique centrale pour
comprendre la formation des rôles d’apprenant et d’expert, en reproduisant des pratiques
caractéristiques de la salle de classe dans un espace qui, en apparence, ne relève pas du
contexte scolaire. En définitive, nous montrons que la proposition de thèmes au moyen de
récits contribue à façonner la dynamique didactique enseignant-étudiant et joue un rôle
central dans l’établissement du premier thème de la séance de CfL.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Background
- 2.1Tellings in interaction
- 2.2Tellings in an additional language
- 2.3CfL as a site of investigation
- 3.Methods
- 3.1Participants and data collection
- 3.2Data analysis procedure
- 4.Findings
- 4.1Students normatively proffer a topic via a telling
- 4.2Student telling may be negotiated but not easily avoided
- 5.Discussion and conclusion
- Considerations for study abroad and L2 Arabic learning
- Acknowledgements
- Statement of AI Use
- Author contributions
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