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A Reveiw of “Second Language Interaction”

The objective of this book is to investigate second language talk. The focus is on how mutual understanding is achieved in a context of asymmetrical access to linguistic resources. This is done in order to discuss the extent to which the nativeness/non-nativeness of participants is made relevant and interactionally consequential. Although the title could suggest a broader theoretical and methodological scope (encompassing, for instance, a panorama on varied studies on the matter), the approach to second language which is followed throughout is specifically adherent to the tradition of Conversation Analysis (CA). The volume is organised in six chapters. Following the introduction, a brief review is offered of the main theoretical aspects to be tackled in the book. The core analytical chapters follow, in which the author presents and analyses her own data, and a final chapter closes off the discussion. The data, which include both everyday and institutional settings, comprises 16 hours of videoand audio-recorded interactions in Finnish. In Chapter 1, the theoretical affiliation with CA and the author’s position in relation to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research are presented. In referring to cognitively oriented SLA approaches, Kurhila points out that they restrict their focus to an internal, mental perspective on language, targeting mainly test situations and employing predetermined linguistic categories (of NS and NNS). In contrast, she argues that a CA approach can give SLA research a wider perspective, looking beyond individual linguistic productions (i.e., considering interaction as a dynamic process, co-constructed by participants as the interaction unfolds), venturing into naturally-occurring encounters and critically questioning the centrality of NS and NNS categories (which would be a result of analysis, rather than a starting point). While recognizing differences between CA and SLA in terms of research questions and methodologies, Kurhila’s book, aligned with a growing interest in combining these research traditions, is aimed at presenting contributions to both areas and bridging these two fields to show ‘how SLA research could profit from interactionally oriented second language research’ (p. 9). However, this attempt at addressing two distinct readerships (CA and SLA) poses difficulties in dealing with a number of issues. The identification of participants in transcripts, for example, reveals such difficulties. The categories of NS and NNS are used in transcripts and analyses throughout the book, despite the author admitting they are problematic since they convey a view of identities as static and omnirelevant. This choice undermines one of the aims of the book – to investigate whether nativeness becomes relevant – and, from a CA point of view, it makes a concession on a point obstinately argued in relevant contemporary literature (Firth & Wagner, 1997; Markee & Kasper, 2004; Wagner, 1996). In this chapter, Kurhila also discusses the status of research