Developing Speech Act Performance in Computer Science Majors through Conversation Analysis: Japanese Learners and Oral Requesting

摘要

Performing speech acts is important for language learners in both daily life and in academic contexts. This paper reports on the first stage of an ongoing project at a Japanese computer science university. The study incorporates findings from conversation analysis research into the English language learning classroom in order to develop learners' oral requesting competence in conversation. Two in-tact groups participated in a 7-week program; a control group received no instruction, while an experimental group received a short course of conversation analysis-informed instruction focusing on requesting. Both groups carried out request-based tasks at three points in the study- pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and again after a 2-week delay; tasks included participants' self-assessments of their task performances. Preliminary analysis presented in this report focuses on these self-assessment data, tracking changes in self-assessments across time both within groups, and also comparing control and experimental groups. Results show a significant increase in ratings post-intervention in the experimental group, but not in the control group. Successful completion of this stage of the project allows further development of tasks and an instruction program for the specific needs of learners in a computer science academic context.