Peer talk as a ‘double opportunity space’: The case of argumentative discourse

Abstract

We propose a theoretical view of peer talk as a ‘double opportunity space’, functioning concurrently on the plane of meaning making within childhood culture, as a locus for the co-construction of children’s social world and peer culture, while at the same time affording opportunities for the development of discursive learning (Blum-Kulka, 2005; Blum-Kulka et al., 2004: 308). In the present article, we provide further evidence for this twofold concept by analyzing peer talk in preschoolers’ genre of argumentation in natural interactions. We show that argumentative events, identified in peer talk, indeed display affordances on both planes. On the plane of childhood culture, we pinpoint the ways argumentative events maintain and/or transform the social order and display features of children’s culture. On the developmental plane, we show how children’s argumentative moves and discursive strategies incorporate innovative child-unique strategies, as well as strategies which echo discursive conventions from the adult culture, allowing for the refinement of both types of strategies through interactional display. These findings illustrate the integration of a cultural and a developmental approach within one model of peer talk discursive events.