Conversation analysis as a method for explicating work practices by researchers, trainers and assessors

Conversation analysis has been used as a research method within a number of disciplinary areas to gain understanding of how work practices are constituted. These areas include medicine, law, education, journalism and international trade. However, currently, there appears to be little application of conversation analysis within the vocational education and training research literature. This paper is intended to begin to address this gap. Firstly, an overview of the basic principles relating to the analysis of conversation, as developed by Sacks (1992), and more recently applied, is presented. Secondly, several examples of the institutional talk integral to the role of level three administrative trainees is analaysed to show how this method can be an effective tool for researchers, trainers and assessors within the vocational education and training field