Reconstructing miscommunications for the language classroom

Miscommunications appear to offer powerful L2 learning opportunities. In particular, they often arouse emotions that facilitate event recall, and may motivate learners by providing implicit evidence of the communicative importance and personal relevance of underlying language features. This article reports on a pedagogical approach to utilizing learners’ miscommunications, and illustrates how communicative problems can become the basis of effective micro-lessons that highlight the often complex ways in which elements of the language system combine to create meaning. Miscommunication also provides a suitable platform to introduce the mechanisms of repair, through which learners can better manage communicative difficulties. Suggestions are made for how to establish a miscommunication focus in lessons