Teaching Foreign Language Conversation: A Conversation Norms Approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGE CONVERSATION: A CONVERSATION NORMS APPROACH by © Rebekah M. Donaldson 2011 Master of Arts in Teaching International Languages California State University, Chico Spring 2011 Being able to converse is an essential part of a complete foreign language education. However, the teaching of conversation is often equated with the teaching of speaking, leaving language learners unprepared for target language interaction with members of the target culture. A Conversation Norms Approach to teaching conversation incorporates aspects of authentic native speaker (or expert speaker) conversation, such as spoken grammar and pragmatics, into instruction. This paper takes a closer look at conversation and its pedagogic history, and examines issues connected with the effective teaching of conversation. An informal inquiry of the foreign language conversation classroom also provides insight into the reality of teaching and allows for a practical application of the theory found in the literature.