Effects of Classroom Instruction on the Development of L2 Interactional Resource for Joint Stance Taking: Use of Japanese Interactional Particle Yo in Spontaneous Peer Conversation

Abstract

Abstract The present study examines the development of L2 interactional competence (Hall et al. 2011) focusing on JFL learners’ use of a Japanese interactional particle yo in spontaneous conversation with native speaker peers. More specifically, this study aims to investigate the instructional effectiveness for the learners’ ability to use the particle yo as an epistemic marker for joint stance taking (Morita 2015, 2018) in interaction. The study implements pragmatics-focused instruction, incorporating awareness-raising and conversational activities, in a third-semester Japanese class for one semester. Qualitative analysis focused on the learners’ ability to deploy yo in activity-relevant participation including an assessment activity (Goodwin and Goodwin 1992) and evidence for their use of yo that extends beyond the instructional content. The findings revealed that the instructed learners increasingly became able to use yo in various stance-indexing activities such as assessment, news telling, highlighting epistemic gap between participants toward the ongoing topic. Learners’ emerging interactional competence reflects their ability to use yo as an interactional resource for co-constructing stance and intersubjectivity as they engage in conversation with NS peers.