The development of L2 interactional competence in Arabic: The case of multiple requests

Abstract

AbstractThis study explored the development of L2 learners' interactional competence in Arabic when making requests. Combining a longitudinal and cross‐sectional design, it closely examined how learners' language proficiency affected their use of multiple requests in daily‐life interactions. Participants included L2 learners (n = 40) and Saudi Arabic native speakers (NSs) (n = 10). L2 learners were evenly divided into two groups (low‐level and high‐level). They each completed three interactive role‐plays in Phase 1 and three similar scenarios in Phase 2 6 months later. The findings showed that multiple requests can be vertically (e repair) and horizontally (i.e., recapitulation) organized in the talk. Multiple requests in a vertical arrangement occurred due to L2 learners' violation of sequence organization rules. L2 learners with lower proficiency levels were more likely to make multiple requests vertically. However, as their proficiency improved, their use of vertically arranged multiple requests reduced. On the other hand, multiple requests in a horizontal arrangement occurred with increasing L2 learners' linguistic and interactional competence. At native‐like linguistic and interactional competence levels, L2 learners tended to decrease this interactional practice and adhered firmly to turn‐taking and adjacency pair rules. Furthermore, it was found that L2 learners, no matter what their proficiency level, relied heavily on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) while Arabic NSs tended to use the Saudi dialect. Therefore, it was concluded that learners' proficiency plays a crucial role in the production of multiple requests in interaction and their reliance on MSA in daily interactions reflects their incomplete pragmatic competence.