Appeals for Assistance and Incorporation of Feedback in Foreign Language Interaction: The Role of Age and Proficiency Level

Abstract

Appeals for assistance are a cooperative communication strategy that foreign language (FL) learners may resort to when they experience problems in production. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which learners of different ages and proficiency levels appeal for help while performing a narration task, how they do it, and how their interlocutor assists them. The study also examines whether the learners incorporate the help provided into their subsequent discourse. Results show significant differences in the use of direct and explicit indirect appeals on the part of older and more proficient learners as well as an increase in the learners’ incorporation of help in proportion to their proficiency. The results obtained are taken as evidence for the role of age and proficiency level in the interactional skills of FL learners.