Interactive repair among English as a lingua franca speakers in academic settings

Abstract

The paper presents the results of research which studies the use of English as a lingua franca in spoken academic discourse interactions, providing a deeper insight into the interactional practices utilized in the process of achieving the communicative purpose(s) of international university seminars. Drawing on audio-recorded data collected from English-taught seminars at the University of Ostrava and using conversation analytic procedures, the research explores the character and functions of interactive repair and its role in increasing mutual understanding and preventing communication breakdown in lingua franca academic talk. The article discusses strategies of providing language support and/or feedback to one’s communicative partners in negotiating both meaning and form of talk, and offers findings which portray ELF speakers as competent communicators adaptable to different sociopragmatic contexts.