The primary purpose of this study was to explore conversational repair strategies employed by elementary level ESL students in their classroom. This study investigated repair strategies that were employed by ESL students and determined if there were differences in the usage of repair strategies by class types and grade levels. This study examined how elementary ESL students’ repair strategies dealt with communication breakdown in their ESL classroom from a conversation analysis perspective. The data were collected from five participants who were in two different types of ESL classes: (1) instruction centered class; and (2) language related game-playing class. In order to investigate the variable of grade levels, first and second grade students’ ESL class and third and fourth grade students’ tutoring class were chosen. Twenty-four class hours were observed with a video camera. The data were transcribed following the transcription conventions of conversation analysis. The results derived from the study were following; 1. In this study the elementary ESL students used nine types of repair strategies. They were: 1) unspecified, 2) interrogatives, 3) (partial) repeat, 4) partial repeat plus question word, 5) understanding check, 6) requests for repetition, 7) request for definition, translation or explanation, 8) correction, and 9) nonverbal strategies. The elementary ESL students used understanding check and partial repeat more frequently. 2. The findings indicated that both class types and grade levels influenced the types and distribution of the students’ repair strategies. 3. Instruction class produced more amounts of conversational repair than game-playing class. However, in both types of classes, first/second grade students employed understanding check the most frequently, and third/fourth grade students partial repeat the most. 4. In the first/second grade students’ repair practices, understanding check was observed in the teacher’s direction. In the third/fourth grade students’ repair practices, however, understanding check was observed in the content of instruction. Request for repetition and request definition, translation, or explanation were not observed in the first/second grade students’ class but used in the third/fourth grade students’ class. 5. Students’ decisions on the types and frequency of their repair strategies were influenced by their familiarity with the native speakers.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore conversational repair strategies employed by elementary level ESL students in their classroom. This study investigated repair strategies that were employed by ESL students and determined if there were differences in the usage of repair strategies by class types and grade levels. This study examined how elementary ESL students’ repair strategies dealt with communication breakdown in their ESL classroom from a conversation analysis perspective. The data were collected from five participants who were in two different types of ESL classes: (1) instruction centered class; and (2) language related game-playing class. In order to investigate the variable of grade levels, first and second grade students’ ESL class and third and fourth grade students’ tutoring class were chosen. Twenty-four class hours were observed with a video camera. The data were transcribed following the transcription conventions of conversation analysis. The results derived from the study were following; 1. In this study the elementary ESL students used nine types of repair strategies. They were: 1) unspecified, 2) interrogatives, 3) (partial) repeat, 4) partial repeat plus question word, 5) understanding check, 6) requests for repetition, 7) request for definition, translation or explanation, 8) correction, and 9) nonverbal strategies. The elementary ESL students used understanding check and partial repeat more frequently. 2. The findings indicated that both class types and grade levels influenced the types and distribution of the students’ repair strategies. 3. Instruction class produced more amounts of conversational repair than game-playing class. However, in both types of classes, first/second grade students employed understanding check the most frequently, and third/fourth grade students partial repeat the most. 4. In the first/second grade students’ repair practices, understanding check was observed in the teacher’s direction. In the third/fourth grade students’ repair practices, however, understanding check was observed in the content of instruction. Request for repetition and request definition, translation, or explanation were not observed in the first/second grade students’ class but used in the third/fourth grade students’ class. 5. Students’ decisions on the types and frequency of their repair strategies were influenced by their familiarity with the native speakers.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Supervisor: Carl Blyth. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

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This dissertation is about “getting to know you” conversation, a form of conversation prevalent in everyday interactions. It has been defined (Garner 2004: 181) as an interaction in which participants, usually of equal social status, make initial contact and establish friendly relations, and in which they are largely concerned with finding neutral topics through which they can establish common ground—shared experiences, opinions, interests, and the like. This doctoral research was based on extensive recordings and transcription of such conversations in English between university students (both native with native and native with non-native speakers), in a relatively naturalistic setting. The analysis was conducted in two steps. The first step was to identify and describe the recurrent patterns of the data, through well-established methods of Conversation Analysis. The second was to classify identified structures within a pragmatic framework: in other words, to label utterances and sequences according to their functional properties, and to specify their roles in building relationships between the interactants. Three major sequences were identified and discussed in detail in terms of their forms, functions and distributions in a “getting to know you” conversation. Differences in usage and pragmatic effectiveness between native and non-native speakers were also identified. The research makes a new contribution to the relatively small but growing body of work in the field of conversational pragmatics. The findings of this PhD work can, and it is hoped will be, made available for EFL classroom use in China. Drawing on the present study, a potential model is proposed for an instructional unit on sequences in GTKY conversations. The suggested approach would result in a change to the typical roles of teacher and textbooks currently occurring in Chinese education, which is outlined at the end of this dissertation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-196).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-60). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-169) and index.

This thesis utilises Discourse Analysis to explore argumentation as a discursive tool in the construction of social life. Focusing upon family argumentation, an indepth empirical analysis is performed upon the single case study of the researcher's own family. Discourse Analysis has traditionally assumed that argumentation is generally avoided by speakers. In this thesis, the enthusiastic, creative, and sociable pursuit of argument is highlighted. Disagreement and argument are seen to initiate topics and topic change and to impassion interaction. Furthermore, sociable argument is celebrated for its conflict-handling abilities.

This three-article dissertation study examines one-on-one conversations between Japanese students of English and American English-speaking instructors in a semi-institutional setting. These students, who were in the U.S. for one month on a short-term study abroad program, engaged in weekly conversations with instructors as part of an ESL center's Student Help Hours Program. The SHH is a conversation program held in the student lounge, and it is designed to make trained native speakers available to answer questions about homework and hold discussions on language, culture, and various other topics. Specifically, this study combines the frameworks of Conversation Analysis (CA) and scaffolding theory in conjunction with student surveys to shed light on students' strategies to negotiate for meaning (NfM), instructors’ focus on form (FonF), and overall perceptions of program efficacy. The aim of the first article is to understand how low-intermediate to intermediate level Japanese students use confirmation checks, clarification requests, and comprehension checks, known as 3C, to successfully initiate repair on semantic, phonetic, and morphosyntactic trouble sources in conversation. A critical aspect of this analysis is the paralinguistic features students use to first identify the existence of trouble and the role of nonverbal behavior and gaze as they impact repair initiation. The second article explores how NS instructors of American English use self- and other-modification in addition to initiation, response, feedback/evaluation (IRF/E) to scaffold students on gaps and holes in their understanding of English. While three-turn sequences such as IRF/E and other predetermined instructional sequences have been criticized as inauthentic (Hall, 1995; Ohta, 1995; Kasper, 2001), my research shows higher incidences of reduced forms used in the context of semi-casual conversation. Two-turn, initiation-response (IR-only) sequences as well as self- and other-modifications of vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar were used as more subtle instructional techniques. These data reflect persisting orientations to institutional roles as participants engage in discussions of repair, but they also show the relevance of IR and IRF/E techniques to SLA via modified output. The third article uses a combination of student responses on exit surveys and conversational excerpts to evaluate the efficacy of the SHH program. It reveals mainly positive conceptions of the program and makes recommendations for improvements. The findings of this research provide a complete picture of the complex relationship between student, instructor, and institution. It has implications for second language acquisition (SLA), pedagogy, and program administration.