L2 grammar-for-interaction: Functions of “and”-prefaced turns in L2 students’ collaborative talk




Tůma František, Kääntä Leila, Jakonen Teppo

2023

Modern Language Journal

Modern Language Journal

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12885(external)

https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12885(external)

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/181791598(external)



This article examines how second language (L2) interactional competence is manifested in students’ use of “and”-prefaced turns when doing meaning-focused oral tasks in pairs and small groups. Drawing on video recordings from English-as-a-foreign-language upper-secondary classes recorded in Czechia and Finland, 86 sequences involving “and”-prefaced turns were scrutinized using multimodal conversation analysis, focusing on language, gaze, and material resources. The findings suggest that by producing “and”-prefaced turns, students orient to task progression. These turns have two functions: task managerial and contribution to the emerging task answer. By using task-managerial “and”-prefaced turns, the current speaker invites another student to participate, while in “and”-prefaced contributions to the task answer, a participant adds to, generalizes, or modifies the previous task answer. The analysis shows that students mobilized their L2 interactional competence in producing “and”-prefaced turns in close coordination with embodied resources and with respect to the spatio-material surroundings and the nature of the task. These findings contribute to the multimodal reconceptualization of the grammar–body interface and research on turn-initial particles within L2 interactional competence.


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