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
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