Turn design in talk-in-interaction in a foreign language – Collaborative turn constructions and ellipses in casual conversations among German high-school learners of English

This study explores the ability of advanced adolescent German learners of English to optimize turn design for talk-in-interaction, focusing on collaborative turn constructions and ellipses. Data deriving from recorded conversations conducted in the foreign language among German learners of English are compared to conversations between native speakers of British English and integrated into a diagnostic approach that helps identify deficits in the field of interactional skills. The results show that the two syntactic formats occur less frequently in learner conversations, which indicates that learners are less likely to use syntactic resources to bind their contribution immediately to prior talk or to the situational context. It is argued that this has a negative effect upon the sequential fit of turns and that conversational practice targeted toward a syntax for conversation would help learners achieving a more fluid interplay of conversational moves.