Negotiating knowledge bases in pedagogical discourse: relevance of identities to language classroom interactions

Abstract

AbstractIdentities are about how people position themselves in their social surroundings individually and collectively. Research in applied linguistics shows how identities seem multifaceted, emergent, and constantly changing. The present study finds its analytic resources in conversation analysis (CA) and describes how access to particular knowledge can make different identities relevant in the contingent choices during real-time classroom interaction. Based on transcribed questioning sequences taken from English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom, the analysis demonstrates the intricate negotiation between classroom teachers and their non-native students in determining what knowledge is relevant among multiple possibilities. What underlies these sequences is the work of managing asymmetries in the knowledge base between teachers and their students as they come to terms with various competing knowledge bases, whether about content knowledge, target language, or personal experience. The findings suggest that participants deploy a far greater variety of identities than the pre-set categories of native/non-native speakers and that the presence of multiple identities is a central analytic resource as it shows the process by which the participants establish the relevant knowledge bases for the task at hand.