This paper reports on a case study which explored Chinese L2 learners＇ conversational involvement in NS-NNS interaction in a study-abroad context. In particular, the study investigated the possible link between topic...This paper reports on a case study which explored Chinese L2 learners＇ conversational involvement in NS-NNS interaction in a study-abroad context. In particular, the study investigated the possible link between topic initiation and conversational involvement examined under the commonly identified topic genres in casual conversations, including ＂observation＂, ＂opinion seeking/providing＂, ＂story-telling＂, ＂chat＂ topics and ＂gossip＂. The findings show differences in the choices of topic initiation between the NS English group and the NNS Chinese group. Further analysis found that the participants＇ topic initiations did not necessarily lead to their active conversational involvement and suggests that the mere fact of getting involved in a topic does not always produce a sense of shared common ground between/among the conversationalists. The positive link between topic initiation and conversational involvement （such as in ＂observation＂）, and its impact upon L2 learners are also discussed in this study, confirming the social constructionist view that social roles and interpersonal relations are created and recreated at a micro-level in everyday discourse.展开更多
文摘This paper reports on a case study which explored Chinese L2 learners＇ conversational involvement in NS-NNS interaction in a study-abroad context. In particular, the study investigated the possible link between topic initiation and conversational involvement examined under the commonly identified topic genres in casual conversations, including ＂observation＂, ＂opinion seeking/providing＂, ＂story-telling＂, ＂chat＂ topics and ＂gossip＂. The findings show differences in the choices of topic initiation between the NS English group and the NNS Chinese group. Further analysis found that the participants＇ topic initiations did not necessarily lead to their active conversational involvement and suggests that the mere fact of getting involved in a topic does not always produce a sense of shared common ground between/among the conversationalists. The positive link between topic initiation and conversational involvement （such as in ＂observation＂）, and its impact upon L2 learners are also discussed in this study, confirming the social constructionist view that social roles and interpersonal relations are created and recreated at a micro-level in everyday discourse.
