Repair sequences in ‘off-task’ conversations in an EFL university classroom in Japan: Japanese language resources and learning opportunities

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this article, I use conversation analysis (CA) to focus on how Japanese language resources are used in repair sequences that occur in ‘off-task’ English interactions in a lower-level EFL classroom at a Japanese university, considering how this may create opportunities for learning. While previous research has found that ‘off-task’ peer interactions in EFL classrooms will often be in the L1, I show how the participants in this study can display an orientation to speaking in English, even when ‘off-task’. However, L1 resources were more likely to be used when ‘off-task’ than when on-task. In ‘off-task’ talk, Japanese language resources were made use of in a number of ways: during other-initiated repair to clarify the meaning of an English word; as a placeholder in a word search; and to elicit help in forward-oriented repair sequences, among others. I describe how an orientation to speaking in English combined with some L1-use allowed for repair sequences that involved translation between the L1 and target language, and how ‘off-task’ talk may provide learning opportunities that occur less often in the on-task interactions in my data. I argue in the discussion that ‘off-task’ conversations may have a useful role to play in the EFL classroom.