The facilitative use of learner-initiated translanguaging in Japanese EFL contexts

Abstract

Abstract This study explores the facilitative use of learner-initiated translanguaging and teacher responsiveness to its use in 68 dyads of conversational interaction between a teacher and individual students in tertiary Japanese EFL contexts. Adopting conversation analysis as an analytical framework, it aims to extend our understanding of the use of learner-initiated translanguaging and teacher responsiveness to translanguaging as an important interactional resource for learners to achieve interactional goals. The study identifies eight facilitative uses of L1. On the one hand, these uses contribute to the progressivity of talk as self-addressed translanguaging. On the other, they support intersubjectivity as co-constructed translanguaging in L2 interaction. These uses include (1) connectives for topic management; (2) floor-holding devices; (3) explicit word searches; (4) lexical gap fillers; (5) understanding displays; (6) clarification requests; (7) confirmation checks; and (8) explicit request for assistance. The study also reveals that learners’ self-initiated repair using L1 was frequently observed and that its use was intertwined with translanguaging in its functionality in discourse for meaning-making as a discursive practice. This study suggests that the use of translanguaging in the L2 classroom can be an indispensable tool to optimise learners’ classroom interactional competence.