Strauss and Kawanishi (1996) examined the phenomenon of assessments as conversational strategies in three different languages: Japanese, Korean, and American English. They found that when an interlocutor responds to the primary speaker's talk, assessments appear to be achieved more directly in Japanese than in the other two languages. The present study investigates whether L2 learners of Japanese (JFL) utilize native-like assessment strategies in their interactions with Japanese native speakers. Two types of JFL learners were evaluated: 1)JFL learners with extensive contact with Japanese native speakers (NSs), and 2) JFL learners not exposed to interaction with Japanese NSs. A follow up interview confirmed that all JFL learners had not received classroom instruction in assessment strategies. The database for this study consists of four video-taped conversations between JFL learners and NSs. Analysis of the conversations showed that assessment strategies were more frequently observed in the speech of JFL learners who have frequent contact with Japanese NSs than in the speech of the JFL learners who have no contact with Japanese NSs. Following Goodwin and Goodwin (1997), three distinct assessments are identified in the data: 1) agreement, 2) understanding, and 3) topic closure. The JFL learners who had contact with Japanese NSs appeared to show metapragmatic development and to have learned assessment activities through social interaction with Japanese native speakers. The conclusion is that a learner's environment seems to play an important role in the acquisition of assessment strategy.
Based on this study, it appears that assessment strategies can be learned in naturalistic situations without explicit instruction. The question for future study will be whether the same assessment strategies can also be explicitly taught in the classroom.