Agreeing to disagree: ‘doing disagreement’ in assessed oral L2 interactions

Abstract

While disagreements are often considered dispreferred choices and potentially face-threatening acts due to their oppositional nature, this perception does not adequately reflect the importance of disagreeing for many types of interaction, such as problem-solving and decision-making. Developing ability in performing this speech act therefore becomes relevant for learners of an L2 in order to show achievements in such general language learning targets as expressing and defending opinions and arguments, as well as negotiating consensual decisions. This paper presents a sequential analysis of disagreements in assessed interactions of advanced German-speaking learners of English, observed in three different exam formats, i.e. teacher-led interview, role play with teacher and paired student interaction. Overall, 33 disagreement episodes were identified in 18 oral exams. Findings show that the choice of examination format constrains range and type of disagreement trajectory enacted by the learners, highlighting the influence of minor contextual differences. Moreover, analyses of these exams suggest that linguistic alignment can and does co-exist with oppositional talk, supporting the notion that the purpose of achieving a successful joint performance of L2 interaction carries weight even when there is disagreement on a content level.

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