The role of "silence" in child second language interaction

Abstract

Tato disertacni prace se zabYva otazkami interakce v druhojazycnem prostredi z pohledu dvou rozdilnych, presto ale spriznenych oboru- teorie druhojazycne akvizice a konverzacni analYzy. Hlavni pozomost je venovani roli 'mlceni' v druhojazycne interakci ditete. Problematikou osvojovani druheho jazyka se zabYva siroky okruh lingvistickych oboru, ktere jsou ovsem spiSe zamereny na generativni jazykove aspekty. Proto je obdobi predchazejici nastupu reCi, ktere je obecne nazYvano 'obdobim mlceni', spiSe opomijeno. Kognitivisticky a psycholingvisticky pohled na problematiku osvojovani druheho jazyka tak vyzkumne metodologie tradicnich disciplin omezuje na generativnf pohled. Tento prfstup nahlizf na jedince v ranem obdobf osvojovani druheho jazyka jako na pasivnf mluvci s nedostatkem komunikativni kreativity, kterf zaviseji na imitaci a rutinnim pouzfvanf jazykovych prostredku. Vyzkum ukazuje, ze metodologie konverzacnf analyzy, ktera prihlizi spiS ke kontextu jako k nede1itelnemu faktoru ovliviiujicimu komunikaci nez k jazykove funkci, nabfzi vhodne prfstupy k vyzkumu jevu 'mlceni' v druhojazycne interakci. Tato dizertacni prace nahlizf na 'mlceni' jak z pohledu etnometodologicke konverzacnf analyzy, ktera venuje hlavni pozomost interakcnimu radu a kontextu, tak z pohledu neverbaInich projevU, jejich vyznamu i...

This dissertation elaborates on the topic of second language interaction while addressing dilemmas of the relationship between the two distinctive, yet interdependent disciplines - second language acquisition (SLA) and conversation analysis (CA). The main attention is devoted to the role of 'silence' in child SLA. While the acquisition of second languages has been a prominent topic of research across linguistic disciplines, most SLA oriented studies are primarily focused on the learner's language development. The time preceding the onset of talk, generally called the 'silent period', thus, has received only a minor attention. It is predominantly the methodology based on cognitive and psycho linguistic traditions that restricts the SLA research to generative views, that is, focused on linguistic issues in isolation from other contextual aspects. Such an approach misinterprets a 'silent' learner as a rather passive, uncreative, routine or an imitating communicator. Conversation analysis (CA) methodology, on the other hand, focused on contextual aspects of talk-in-interaction than on the language itself, can take the notion of 'silence' within the SLA out of its linguistic isolation. This project shows that seen through the lens of CA, 'silence' can serve as an efficient and resourceful child second language...