Classroom research: Classroom interaction and language learning from a Conversation Analysis perspective

Abstract

In the last ten years or so, CA studies of second language talk, both inside and outside educational institutions, have opened up the possibility that CA might contribute towards our understanding of how second languages are learnt through interaction. CA brings a fresh view of the nature of language in conversation and interaction, and also of the interplay between language, culture and interaction. In this paper, however, I will focus on cognition in interaction, and new lines of research that can potentially throw light on language learning processes as they are played out in real time interaction and displayed as participants' concerns: an empirical locus for investigating cognition.