Using authentic spoken language across all levels of language teaching: Developing discourse and interactional competence

Abstract This journal issue contains a number of papers/teaching units that are dedicated to the review and analysis of some ways in which authentic language materials can be used for the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese from the beginning to advanced levels. We first describe the rationale for the expanded use of authentic language data in classroom instruction, and then we present four exploratory units to showcase some of the effective classroom teaching procedures that are useful to make learners aware of (and eventually use) important features of language interaction in Chinese. The units use two types of authentic materials: natural conversations and entertainment media (TV and movies). Some of the materials, due to the nature of the communicative settings associated with them, raise important theoretical questions about norms and expectations of (intercultural) communication and goals of language learning. This introduction provides a brief review of the theoretical foundations of the sample units and an overview of the units presented here.