How non-native speakers make do with words when doing things with words : an analysis of communication strategies in storytelling by Mandarin-speaking learners of English
type: CreativeWork
description: This study employs a conversation analysis (CA) approach, which is concerned with the analysis of closely transcribed examples of actual talk recorded in naturally occurring settings. The study aims to describe and analyse sequences of actions generated by Native Speakers( NS) and Non-Native Speaker( NNS) in the course of telling a story. Emergent communication problems during the talk-in-interaction were engaged with and resolved through the application of communication strategies (CS). The storyteller and her/his co-participants utilized CS in an attempt not only to overcome communication difficulties so as to reach mutual understanding, but also to co-ordinate their actions with each other, or to enhance sufficient participant engagement in order to accomplish communication goals. In addition, the range of CS used by NS and NNS during ongoing discourses are identified, illustrated, and analysed. The differences and similarities in the way NS and NNS approach interactional tasks are examined. In addition, CS descriptions from the literature and this study are compared. CS categories and functions in the present study are shown to be more diverse and broader in shape. The conceptualisation of CS proposed in this study is thus richer than that proposed in the previous CS literature. The empirical investigation undertaken in this study shows that CS function not only as problem-solving devices or meaning-negotiation strategies, but also as meaning-creating and communication-enhancing strategies.
abstract: This study employs a conversation analysis (CA) approach, which is concerned with the analysis of closely transcribed examples of actual talk recorded in naturally occurring settings. The study aims to describe and analyse sequences of actions generated by Native Speakers( NS) and Non-Native Speaker( NNS) in the course of telling a story. Emergent communication problems during the talk-in-interaction were engaged with and resolved through the application of communication strategies (CS). The storyteller and her/his co-participants utilized CS in an attempt not only to overcome communication difficulties so as to reach mutual understanding, but also to co-ordinate their actions with each other, or to enhance sufficient participant engagement in order to accomplish communication goals. In addition, the range of CS used by NS and NNS during ongoing discourses are identified, illustrated, and analysed. The differences and similarities in the way NS and NNS approach interactional tasks are examined. In addition, CS descriptions from the literature and this study are compared. CS categories and functions in the present study are shown to be more diverse and broader in shape. The conceptualisation of CS proposed in this study is thus richer than that proposed in the previous CS literature. The empirical investigation undertaken in this study shows that CS function not only as problem-solving devices or meaning-negotiation strategies, but also as meaning-creating and communication-enhancing strategies.
author: Jin-Yueh, Yang
language: en
date published: 2006
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:43:48Z
provider: Oxford Brookes University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Oxford Brookes University