Participant Orientations in German Conversation‐for‐Learning

Abstract

This article explores some roles for conversation analysis (CA) as an approach to second and foreign language learning by examining the initial segment of a Gesprächsrunde, a dyadic conversation‐for‐learning conducted between a beginning learner of German as a foreign language and a native speaker of German. The analysis focuses on the situated identities, comprising social membership categories as well as interaction‐internal participant statuses that the co‐participants made relevant to each other as their interaction unfolded. Although the complementary membership categories of target language novice and expert were demonstrably omnirelevant in the setting, they were predominantly invoked by the novice, and only on particular occasions. In these metalingual exchanges, code switching worked as one device by which the novice requested a target language action format from the language expert. Although the metalingual exchanges stood out for their salient acquisitional potential, microanalytic scrutiny is also required for other kinds of interactional conduct in order to assess their capacity for second language learning.