Research project Developing an L2 grammar-for-interaction: Elaborations on interactional competence
How do L2 speakers' interactions shape their evolving grammar? This project explores how changes in interactional practices influence grammar-for-interaction over time. Analyzing 80 hours of L2 French conversations, we reveal the role of linguistic resources in developing interactional competence, offering fresh insights into SLA dynamics.
The project investigates how changes in second language (L2) speakers' interactional procedures over time involve shifts in grammar-for-interaction.
Recent Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research emphasizes interactional competence—the ability to interact effectively in an L2—but the role of linguistic resources in this process is underexplored. We focus on multi-word expressions (e.g., "je sais pas", 'I don't know') and lexically open constructions (e.g., pseudo-clefts) used in managing the "infrastructure" of social interaction like turn-taking and repair. Combining methods from Interactional Linguistics and Conversation Analysis, as well as selective quantification, we analyze 80 hours of conversational data from adult L2 French speakers to track the development of L2 grammar-for-interaction.
The project aims to deepen our understanding of L2 interactional competence and the developmental trajectories of SLA. It is led by Simona Pekarek Doehler at the Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Neuchâtel
Project description
Over the past two decades, second language acquisition (SLA) research has shifted focus from individual cognitive and linguistic aspects to the dynamics of second language (L2) use and learning in social interactions. In conversation analytic SLA (CA-SLA), L2 learning is now seen as the ability to interact in an L2, or interactional competence. Studies have shown that L2 speakers change their interactional procedures, such as turn-taking and repairing, over time. However, the role of linguistic resources in these changes remains underexplored, despite their established importance in first language (L1) speaker interactions.
This project aims to bridge this gap by investigating how changes in L2 speakers' interactional procedures involve changes in grammar-for-interaction over time. We explore how L2 speakers use linguistic resources to manage the "infrastructure" of social interaction like turn-taking and repair, and how this use evolves. Our focus is on two types of linguistic resources: multi-word expressions with complement-taking predicates (e.g., "je sais pas," 'I don't know'; "comment on dit", 'how do you say') and lexically open constructions (e.g., clefts and pseudo-clefts). These were chosen because they have been observed to serve precise interactional functions in first language (L1) talk and pose challenges for L2 learners.
Methodologically, we combine Interactional Linguistics with CA-SLA for a longitudinal study, analyzing 80 hours of naturally occurring conversations involving adult L2 French speakers. This allows us to track the development of L2 grammar-for-interaction over time. Additionally, we collaborate with a partner to incorporate quantitative analyses of multi-item strings in the same L2 French corpora.
The project aims to deepen our understanding of L2 interactional competence, shed light on the developmental trajectories of SLA, and offer theoretical advancements by highlighting how interaction-functional distribution drives the development of L2 grammar-for-interaction.
Financer
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), grant no. 10001F_200539 / 1.
Project members
Project managers
Simona Pekarek Doehler
Professor
Members
Sophia Fiedler
Post doc.
Fanny Forsberg Lundell
Professor
Melissa Juillet
PhD student
Klara Skogmyr Marian
Docent, Universitetslektor
