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Dropping the devil's advocate: TA follow-up contributions in EFL group discussion tests

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Christopher Leyland

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Abstract

This study employs micro-longitudinal Conversation Analysis (CA) to examine one TA’s follow-up contributions in a series of EFL group discussion tests. By tracking the TA’s interactional practices across 18 groups, we observe how she adapts her turn design by increasingly aligning towards that of the novice English speakers. The TA initially attempts to make use of rhetorical discourse structures, such as by playing devil’s advocate and providing up-shot summaries of the test-takers’ prior talk; however, a detailed sequential analysis of the talk reveals that such strategies do not generate significant follow-up turns from the students. Adopting a micro-longitudinal CA approach demonstrates the way the TA, as a novice language teacher, develops her pedagogical tactics in situ according to the style and level of the students with whom she is interacting. As such, the study provides insight into one novice professional's natural acquisition of teaching skills and more generally into the way that speakers adapt their interactional practices across multiple and subsequent episodes of a given conversation.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Leyland C, Greer T, Rettig-Miki E

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Classroom Discourse

Year: 2016

Volume: 7

Issue: 1

Pages: 85-107

Online publication date: 23/03/2016

Acceptance date: 01/01/1900

ISSN (print): 1946-3014

ISSN (electronic): 1946-3022

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19463014.2015.1100129

DOI: 10.1080/19463014.2015.1100129

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