Achieving Understanding: Discourse in Intercultural Encounters

by Broeder; Peter

• ISBN13: 9780582086449
• ISBN10: 0582086442
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1996-01-19
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This is a detailed study of understanding in a second language, related to the actual lives of minority workers. The focus is on everyday interactions between these workers and the bureaucrats of the society in which they are now resident. It provides an important contribution to the debate about the function of language as a social practice, adding a new perspective to the psycholinguistic and experimental paradigms, currently existing in second language acquisition research.

Table of Contents

Background to the understanding project

A social perspective on understanding: some issues of theory and method

Introduction

Identifying understanding and problems of understanding

Understanding and interaction

Understanding and context

Data analysis

Issues of variability

Causes of understanding problems

Introduction

Understanding problems triggered by a single, identifiable element

Understanding problems caused by relative degree of difficulty

Understanding problems caused by indirectness and implicit discourse norms

Managing understanding from a minority perspective

Introduction

The types of problems with understanding

Options the minority interactant can take: avoiding or indicating the problem with understanding

Managing procedures for indicating non-understanding

Face and the management of understanding

Potential for learning

Conclusion

Case studies

Introduction

Berta (Spanish-French)

Tino (Italian-German)

Ergun (Turkish-Dutch)

Santo (Italian-English)

Preventing problems of understanding

Introduction

Some options to prevent non-understanding

Resolving of ignoring problems of understanding: the interviewer's point of view

Joint negotiation of understanding: procedures for managing problems of understanding

Introduction

Classification following unspecific indication or 'symptoms' of non-understanding

Classification following specific indication: explication of lexical meaning

Maximal use of procedures-an example

Taking stock: contexts and reflections

Introduction

Facing upto our methods

Social and discoursal perspective on second language development

A critical perspective

Context and contextualisation

Institutional discourse

Some practical implications

Appendices, References, Index

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