A conversation analytic study of error correction outside of the second language classroom

Abstract

This study investigates repair sequences between two nonnative speakers of English while they engaged in naturally occurring talk outside of the second language classroom. Eight hours of naturally occurring talk between native and nonnative speakers were collected and analyzed. The present study reports on one hour of the data which shows two types of repair: Self-initiated and other-corrected and other-initiated. The analysis of the repair sequences shows that the self-initiated and other-corrected repair sequences follow a distinct pattern of asking for confirmation on the production of a language item and receiving a correction, while the other-initiated repair is done differently from the ones found in the literature on repair and do not follow the rules of preference for self-correction described by some researchers in the Conversation Analysis literature. In addition, the other-initiated repair analyzed in this study does not appear to be modulated, that is, the person initiating the correction does not offer a candidate solution by asking a question and displaying uncertainty, as researchers found. The repair sequences show a particularly interesting expert-novice relationship in which one nonnative speaker relies on a more expert nonnative speaker to communicate with a native English speaker.