Small talk plays an important role in building social relationship with others in our everyday interaction (e.g., Malinowski, 1923; Coupland, 2000). Studies on small talk have demonstrated that, while particular expressions/phrases are often ?recycled?, engaging in small talk in a meaningful way requires creative, collaborative and culturally appropriate use of a wide range of linguistic, paralinguistic and nonverbal resources in online interaction. Incorporating such interactional aspects in L2 poses a challenge for language learners (e.g., Tateyama, 2001; Yoshimi, 2001). A pragmatics-focused instruction, which assists learners effectively handling such interactional demands, seems crucial in order for learners to engage in small talk in a meaningful way in Japanese (e.g., Kasper & Rose, 2002).
This paper reports on an exploratory classroom study of the pragmatics-focused instruction of small talk in the intermediate JFL classroom where the teacher incorporated 1) awareness-raising of L1/L2 similarities and differences of small talk, 2) models of small talk in Japanese, and 3) opportunities to practice small talk with their peers and teacher. I examine, using a microanalytic approach, students? oral performance which took place in the middle and the end of the semester in order to see the development of their ability to engage in small talk.
I will demonstrate learners' development of interactional skills from their use of idiosyncratic strategies to more culturally meaningful ways in Japanese. Specifically, I will show the way in which learners handle a wide range of linguistic, paralinguistic, and non-verbal resources, which are directed towards such conversational activities as identifying areas of mutual interest, showing alignment with others, and eliciting other?s involvement in one's own talk. Thus, a pragmatics-focused instruction can facilitate learner development of skills for building interpersonal rapport and displaying involvement with others in the JFL classroom. Some pedagogical implication of incorporating small talk will be also discussed.