Full Description
How do language learners interact with those who already speak the language they are learning? It is more than just a question of learning vocabulary and grammars - learners also need to learn how to put together conversations in their new language and to vary the way they interact across different contexts. This book shows, using millions of words of data, how this happens. It is the first large scale, corpus-based exploration of the discourse macro-structures in conversational interaction between L1 and L2 speakers, and explores three corpora to show, in spoken interaction with L1 speakers across a range of tasks, the dynamics of discourse construction. Considering factors including cultural background, task and proficiency, it characterises the repertoire of discourse functions used in these interactions and shows how they vary according to a range of variables. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.
Contents
List of Figures; List of Tables; Acknowledgements; 1. Exploring Learner Discourse: Context, Data and Methods; 2. Testing Short Text Multi-Dimensional Analysis - Approaching Learner Corpus Data at the Micro-structural Level; 3. Investigating Discourse Units - Approaching Learner Corpus Data at the Macro-structural Level; 4. Exploring Discourse Units and Interaction - Context, Co-operation and Scaffolding; 5. Comparing L1 and L2 Production in the Trinity Lancaster Corpora; 6. Describing Discourse Functions in General Spoken Conversation; 7. Understanding L1 Speech, L2 Speech and Context of Production; 8. Beginning the Study of Narrative; 9. Exploring Narratives in Learner Language; 10. Summing Up and Looking Ahead; References; Appendix A: The Feature Sets and Decisions for Pooling; Appendix B: The Full Tagset.
