Training Learners to Negotiate for Meaning: An Exploratory Case Study

This paper reports on an exploratory case study investigating the possibility of training second language learners to be effective interlocutors in second language learning tasks. The study followed a pre-test, instruction, post-test design. Four learners completed a picture difference task, then received instruction on negotiation for meaning, and finally completed a different version of the picture difference task. Learners also participated in stimulated recall sessions at each stage of the experiment and completed a questionnaire at the end. Findings suggest that learners are receptive to instruction on negotiation, that such instruction has the potential to enrich the quantity and quality of negotiation between learners, and that instruction on negotiation for meaning may also enhance learners ’ motivation for learning. Second language learners often engage in negotiation for meaning with their instructors or with their peers while carrying out second language learning activities (or tasks). By negotiation for meaning, we refer to “a process in which a listener requests message clarification and confirmation and a speaker follows up these requests, often through repeating, elaboration, or simplifying the original message ” (Pica, 1994, p.497). The tools learners and instructors use in negotiating for meaning include discourse strategies such as repetitions, confirmation checks, clarification requests, and reformulations or recasts