The Internal Structure of Extended Turn-at-talk within an Academic Context: Native Graduate Spanish, Non-native Graduate Spanish, and Non-native Beginning Spanish Speaker Data

Abstract

within an Academic Conte : Native Graduate Spanish, Non-native Graduate Spanish, and Nonnative Beginning Spanish Speaker Data * Christina Makara, Southeastern Massachusetts University Turn-taking is an importa t discursive skill that speaker accepts, evaluates, agrees, disagrees, or fo eign la guage learners must ma ter f they are fights back, where s in pro pective metat be able to inter ct succes fully outside comment, speaker uses co trast, ampl fication, classroom. A turn can consi t of a ngle u t rexemplification, exp anat on, evaluation, or ex ance in response to a previous utterance. If one is ploration of causes to relate what is to come with to engage in deeper, more involved conversawhat has gone before (20). tion, however, then one must be able to take the Communication tasks inherent within the floor and extend an utterance through context of a prospective metacomment have amplification, contrast, causes, consequences, been discussed by Gumperz (9) as a way of alternatives, and evaluation. According to examining oral discourse. Several second lanKramsch (24) there are four components of the guage rhetorical studies have been conducted internal organization of a turn-at-talk within a that use communication tasks such as contrast, natural discourse setting: amplification, explanation, evaluation, and ex1. Metacomment and paraphrase ploration of causes to discriminate between the 2. Expanding through amplification; generaliwritten performance of native speakers and that zation; restrictionlcontrast examples; of non-native speaking students (Jacobs; Connor; examination of causes, consequences, Scarcella; Connor and McCagg). As yet, no alternatives research has explored to what extent non-native 3. Internal linking and structuring by announcleamers of Spanish use these types of tasks ing future points or by returning to during extended talking. Data from such reprevious points search could suggest areas for curriculum devel4. External linking to a previous point made by opinent, oral assessment, and strategy panner. improvement during extended turn-taking. Kramsch distinguishes between retrospective d prospective metacomments used within Purpose of t e Study a turn-at-talk. In a retrospective metacomment a The study was designed to examine extended *Members are invited to send material to: Dr. Douglas K. turn-at-talk across three different levels of colBenson, Dept. of Modern Languages, EisenhowerHall 104, lege Spanish speakers in order to yield inforKansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506. Maximum mation about performance ability in a foreign length is 15 double-spaced pages, in either 1985 MLA or language on a variety of communicative tasks: linguistics format. Please send a typed original and a copy for each paper submitted, and include a self-addressed elaboration, background, circumstance, restateenvelope and loose stamps to cover return mailing of the ment (descriptive tasks), and purpose, manuscript. evaluation, cause, and metacommunication (in-