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Article published In: Language, Interaction and Acquisition
Vol. 16:2 (2025) ► pp.199–228

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The road of second language discovery

ORCiD logo with link | University of Southern Denmark
Published online: 6 January 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lia.23046.esk
Abstract
The point of departure for this position paper is that social interaction is the primordial scene of human social life (Schegloff, E. A. (1987). Analyzing single episodes of interaction: An exercise in conversation analysis. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50(2), 101–114. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). It follows from this observation that it is also the primary setting for learning a second language (L2), which implies that studying the complexities of L2 learning necessitates an understanding of social interaction on its own terms with methodological rigour (Pekarek Doehler, S., & Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Emergent L2 Grammars in and for Social Interaction: Introduction to the Special Issue. Modern Language Journal 106 (Supplement), 3–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Drawing on conversation analysis and usage-based models of language, I examine the local-social worlds of L2 speakers’ daily lives and map out their L2 learning processes and practices. This article reports on findings from one L2 speaker, and one conclusion that emerges is that the interactional histories she co-constructs and shares with her friends are crucial to understanding the history of her learning — what I will describe as her road of L2 discovery. My data come from recordings of L2 Danish students’ real-life social activities with friends and service encounters with strangers.
Résumé
Le point de départ de cette étude est que l’interaction sociale représente la scène primordiale de la vie sociale humaine (Schegloff, E. A. (1987). Analyzing single episodes of interaction: An exercise in conversation analysis. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50(2), 101–114. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Il découle de cette observation que l’interaction est également le lieu principal de l’acquisition d’une langue seconde (L2), ce qui implique que comprendre la complexité de l’acquisition d’une L2 présuppose de comprendre l’interaction sociale, et cela sur la base d’instruments méthodologiques rigoureux (Pekarek Doehler, S., & Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Emergent L2 Grammars in and for Social Interaction: Introduction to the Special Issue. Modern Language Journal 106 (Supplement), 3–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). En m’appuyant sur l’analyse conversationnelle et les modèles linguistiques basés sur l’usage, j’explore les mondes sociaux locaux de la vie quotidienne des locuteurs de L2, j’étudie et cartographie leur acquisition de la L2. Cet article présente les résultats obtenus dans une étude de cas d’une locutrice L2, et l’une des conclusions qui en ressort est que les histoires interactionnelles qu’elle co-construit et partage avec ses amis sont essentielles pour comprendre l’histoire de son acquisition, ce que je décrirais comme sa route de découverte de la L2. Mes données proviennent d’enregistrements d’activités sociales réelles d’étudiants du danois L2 avec des amis et avec des étrangers lors d’échanges de services.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.CA-SLA
  • 3.Usage-based SLA
  • 4.Combining UBL and CA
  • 5.The road of L2 discovery: Data and evidence
    • 5.1Routinization in service encounters
    • 5.2A shared interactional history
      • 5.2.1The diversification of ‘I’d like to X’
      • 5.2.2The evolution of words
      • 5.2.3Pronunciation work as interactional history
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (68)
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