Developing interactional repertoires in the classroom through dynamic strategic interaction scenarios

Abstract

In this article, we report on the implementation of Dynamic Strategic Interaction Scenario tasks as one approach to developing L2 learners’ interactional repertoires. The tasks involve pre-task planning, a performance, and immediate feedback during a whole-class debriefing discussion. We focus specifically on the appropriation of turn allocation devices within a single class meeting in which three small groups performed the same scenario. We show how the first group’s performance prompted a focus on turn allocation during their debriefing, and how the subsequent groups were able to build on the feedback in their own performances. We discuss our findings and their implications for research and pedagogy along three dimensions: 1) the role of feedback as mediation in the debriefing discussions; 2) the contribution of task repetition from a group-as-collective perspective; and 3) the documentation of interactional repertoire development over time.