A01 cohe4573 01 se fm. Qxd

C H A P T E R 9
Discourse, interaction,
and language corpora
Andrew D. Cohen and Noriko Ishihara
Introduction
T
he chapter will consider the role that two sources of authentic
language data, conversation analysis and electronic corpora, play in
the teaching of L2 pragmatics. We will investigate how naturally occurring
language data can be useful and instructive for the teaching of L2 prag-
matics. We will start by describing and illustrating how conversation analysis
can be used as a means for better understanding the workings of L2 prag-
matics and the organization of L2 discourse. We will also consider how
insights from this approach could be applied to instruction on pragmatics.
We will then provide a brief coverage of how linguistic corpora have con-
tributed to the field of L2 pragmatics and how such corpora could be used in
pragmatics-focused instruction.
The role of conversation analysis in L2 pragmatics
Conversation analysis (CA) is a systematic approach to performing detailed
analysis of both the verbal and nonverbal behavior of people engaged in
social interaction. Building on an ethnomethodological foundation,
1
CA
has demonstrated how what may appear as just ordinary, interactive talk 
is actually achieved through the application of methodical and complex
practices on the part of the participants.
2
Utilizing transcripts of naturally
occurring talk, conversation analysts have described this behavior, providing
1
Garfinkel (1967).
2
Kasper (2007).

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detailed descriptions of how talk is sequentially structured and managed 
in an interactive fashion.
3
CA has examined, for example, how people take
turns in conversation, how these turns overlap, and how conversational
repair takes place.
4
Research has demonstrated, for example, how using a CA
approach to studying a Japanese foreign-language class can help to elucidate
how learners organize their classroom interactions, whether in order to
complete a vocabulary exercise with a classmate or to conduct an interview
with other Japanese speakers.
5
As we can see in natural or simulated dialogues transcribed in other
chapters (e.g., Chapter 8), speech acts are often realized in multiple turns
and a fine-grained analysis of discourse (literally, second-by-second, line-by-
line and word-for-word) can reveal how complexly natural conversations
are structured and how our intentions can be conveyed in a subtle manner.
It has been argued that L2 learners can benefit from the insights CA brings
to the learning of pragmatics and discourse.
6
CA in the study of L2 pragmatics
In recent years, experts have recommended the use of CA in the study of 
L2 pragmatics, since they would say that pragmatic meanings emerge from