Abstract
Topic management by non-native speakers (NNSs) during informal conversations has received comparatively little attention from researchers, and receives surprisingly little attention in second language learning and teaching. This article reports on one of the topic management strategies employed by international students during informal, social interactions with native-speaker peers, exploring the process of maintaining topic continuity following temporary suspensions of topics. The concept of side sequences is employed to illustrate the nature of different types of topic suspension, as well as the process of jointly negotiating a return to the topic. Extracts from the conversations show that such sequences were not exclusively occasioned by language difficulties, and that the non-native speaker participants were able to effect successful returns to the main topic of the conversations.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 321-342 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Multilingua |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2013 |
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Bibliographical note
© 2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston. Multilingua, Volume 32, Issue 3, Pages 321–342, ISSN (Online) 1613-3684, ISSN (Print) 0167-8507, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2013-0015.Keywords
- informal conversations
- NS-NNS interactions
- side sequences
- topic management
Cite this
}
Topic continuity in informal conversations between native and non-native speakers of English. / Morris-Adams, Muna.
In: Multilingua, Vol. 32, No. 3, 04.2013, p. 321-342.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Topic continuity in informal conversations between native and non-native speakers of English
AU - Morris-Adams, Muna
N1 - © 2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston. Multilingua, Volume 32, Issue 3, Pages 321–342, ISSN (Online) 1613-3684, ISSN (Print) 0167-8507, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2013-0015.
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Topic management by non-native speakers (NNSs) during informal conversations has received comparatively little attention from researchers, and receives surprisingly little attention in second language learning and teaching. This article reports on one of the topic management strategies employed by international students during informal, social interactions with native-speaker peers, exploring the process of maintaining topic continuity following temporary suspensions of topics. The concept of side sequences is employed to illustrate the nature of different types of topic suspension, as well as the process of jointly negotiating a return to the topic. Extracts from the conversations show that such sequences were not exclusively occasioned by language difficulties, and that the non-native speaker participants were able to effect successful returns to the main topic of the conversations.
AB - Topic management by non-native speakers (NNSs) during informal conversations has received comparatively little attention from researchers, and receives surprisingly little attention in second language learning and teaching. This article reports on one of the topic management strategies employed by international students during informal, social interactions with native-speaker peers, exploring the process of maintaining topic continuity following temporary suspensions of topics. The concept of side sequences is employed to illustrate the nature of different types of topic suspension, as well as the process of jointly negotiating a return to the topic. Extracts from the conversations show that such sequences were not exclusively occasioned by language difficulties, and that the non-native speaker participants were able to effect successful returns to the main topic of the conversations.
KW - informal conversations
KW - NS-NNS interactions
KW - side sequences
KW - topic management
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UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.17036/25a4ea35-f0b3-48a0-8e68-877ea1707584
UR - http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/multi_multi.2013.32.issue-3/multi-2013-0015/multi-2013-0015.xml
U2 - 10.1515/multi-2013-0015
DO - 10.1515/multi-2013-0015
M3 - Article
VL - 32
SP - 321
EP - 342
JO - Multilingua
T2 - Multilingua
JF - Multilingua
SN - 0167-8507
IS - 3
ER -