Panel Title

Second Language Acquisition Panel: 日本語学習者の談話運用ストラテジーの使用と未使用に関する判断過程の分析 (The analysis of decision-making processes in the use of oral production strategies by L2 learners of Japanese)

Paper Title

日本語学習者の電話会話における談話運用能力と認知力 (L2 learners' performance and perception during a phone conversation)

Author's Name, Institution and E-mail Address

Akiko Hagiwara, University of Iowa, akiko-hagiwara@uiowa.edu

Abstract

Previous studies show that native speakers and L2 learners are found to benefit from nonverbal cues including facial expressions or gestures during face-to-face conversations, and L2 learners' use of gestures is tied to what they are struggling to express (McCafferty, 1998). In phone conversations, however, such cues are unavailable. Szatrowski (1993) reports that native Japanese speakers take turns more frequently and use a variety of probing questions during a phone conversation to infer the interlocutor's intentions. Then, how will L2 learners manage conversations in the same circumstance? Will they be able to use the similar sort of strategies that native speakers do? What kind of difficulties do they encounter during the conversation, and how will they cope with linguistic limitations without nonverbal cues? To my knowledge, no previous studies have ever examined these issues, and the present study is the first attempt to do so. In this study, intermediate-level students in a major mid-western university are asked to call Japanese students who have recently come to the US, talk with them, and decide whether they are good candidates for their roommates. Immediately following the conversation, learners are given retrospective interviews and are asked to describe the difficulties they encounter while engaging in the conversation. Data used for this study consist of transcripts of recorded conversations and retrospective interviews, along with a task sheet that is used to facilitate learners' recollection of their conversations. Qualitative data analysis is employed to discover any issues or challenges that recur both within and across cases. This study argues that lexical knowledge and the ability to use negotiation techniques such as clarification requests are crucial for successful communication when nonverbal cues are not available. The researcher also discusses pedagogical implications based on the results of this study.
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