ABSTRACT |
This paper presents a study of the use of circumlocution strategies by
Spanish learners of English in foreign language interactional contexts.
Adopting a collaborative approach to the analysis of strategic
interaction, attention is here paid to the actions that both learners
and interlocutors take when the target language lexical item desired to
convey an intended meaning is not available and a circumlocution
strategy needs to be used. Evidence is obtained suggesting an active
role of the interlocutor in the strategic communication of meaning
process. With their actions, interlocutors accept or reject learners’
strategic utterances. Sometimes, they even rephrase, expand or complete
these utterances, in such a way that a circumlocution can be actually
co-constructed by two different speakers. The results of these analyses
suggest that the use of a circumlocution strategy in face-to-face
interaction is part of a collaborative process. Successful communication
of meaning in strategic interaction is collaboratively achieved through
the joint and coordinated actions of the learner and their interlocutor. |
