Abstract:

The advancements of present-day communication technology have enabled geographically dispersed individuals to communicate over distances and such phenomenon has afforded second language (L2) users unprecedented opportunities to engage in authentic interactions where English is more often than not used as a lingua franca (ELF). Although the use of English may be a precondition for engaging in such interactions, it can also be an objective for learning and acquiring the language. Previous studies looked into interactional failures caused by non-native speakers’ linguistic anomalies, viewing them as defective and disfluent communicators due to their inadequate communicative competence. However, a growing body of recent research has shown that intercultural communication engenders language learning opportunities where L2 users can polish and experiment their language use which leads to language development. Building on such literature, the present study investigates a network-based language teaching and learning context utilizing local and global networks that offers authentic interaction. The present study examines a networked English language learning context among the three countries of South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan where English is learned and used as a foreign language. The study attempts to show that L2 users tend to be resourceful as they interact online. With naturally occurring data in synchronous networked interactions in a university course jointly run by universities in three countries, the study investigates how participants in this course engage in online intercultural communication through interactional practices of repair and word search. Informed by Conversation Analysis (CA), the study particularly focuses on how participants who are not physically co-present rely on their interactional competence, use available resources at their disposal (i.e., L1, rephrasing, chat room software tools, internet search, etc.) and show their orientation to sequences that occasion instances of potential language learning opportunities. The study also looks into how participants co-construct and foreground their language expert/novice identities, making differential language expertise relevant within such sequences. Findings indicate that when encountering trouble in producing a linguistic item to continue their talk, the participants made use of various interactional strategies and resources to resolve trouble sources not only on their own but also in many cases with the assistance of peers, making language learning collaborative in nature. The study suggests that it is through the participants’ preference for both intersubjectivity and progressivity that enables them to stretch the boundaries of what they can do with language, which naturally generates language learning opportunities. Despite their varying levels of competency in English, participants in the study are interactional competent individuals who are capable of compensating for their lack of linguistic competence with the use of interactional practices. They were also taking charge of their own learning as agents and bringing about achieving mutual understanding with their peers while making progress in their task at hand. Finally, the importance of language learning as social accomplishments in networked contexts is discussed.

Keywords:

L2 talk, conversation analysis, network-based language learning opportunities, online intercultural communication.