This book is the first study to examine how interactional style develops within the walls of a foreign language classroom in the first two years of language study. Results show learners to be highly sensitive to pragmatic information and that learners can move toward an appropriate interactional style through classroom interactive experience.
The book shows how learners are most often sources who offer assistance and correction, with errors serving most often to stimulate further thinking about what form is correct. Analysis shows learners to be active in seeking corrective information...

Language learners in the classroom are not passive isolated receptacles for grammar and vocabulary but active - and interactive - participants, each internalizing lessons and sharing their insights with others (whether intentionally or not). This book provides a window onto the process of learning a second language through a longitudinal study of seven adult learners of Japanese in a classroom setting. The research is grounded in a socio-cognitive framework based on Vygotsky's theory, which allows for analysis of both the interactions between individuals in the learning situation and the...