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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 18:2 (1995) ► pp.19–32

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The relationship between content knowledge and practise opportunities in non-native learners’ interaction

 | University Jaume I, Castellón
 | University Jaume I, Castellón
Published online: 1 January 1995
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.18.2.02alc
Abstract
The following study was undertaken to further understand the effect of content knowledge on learners’ participation in interactions between non-native speakers. 120 male students, all of them Spanish, were paired to form 20 dyads whose members had equal content knowledge, but different levels in oral proficiency, 20 dyads in which fluent learners were relative content experts, and 20 dyads in which learners with limited oral skills were the experts. Measures of conversational participation included: amount of talk, conversational fillers, back channels, topic moves, clarification questions, confirmation checks, and comprehension checks. x2 analysis of results indicated that, regardless of learners’ level of proficiency, relative content knowledge can explain different conversational patterns of participation: the relative expert producing more output (number of words), while the relative nonexpert works hard to understand the message. Findings of the study support the relationship between content knowledge and conversational participation in the context of non-native interaction.
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Cited by (3)

Cited by three other publications

Alcón, Eva
2021. The role of conversational interaction in the development of a second language. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. Series S ► pp. 135 ff. DOI logo
Kennedy, Sara
2021. Difficulties understanding L2 speech due to discourse- versus word-level elements. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 7:3 ► pp. 315 ff. DOI logo
Eva Alcón Soler
1996. Interaction, Foreign Language Production and Development. Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies 17 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

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