Facilitating an L2 Book Club: A Conversation‐Analytic Study of Task Management

Abstract: This study employs conversation analysis to examine a facilitator's interactional practices in the post‐expansion phase of students’ presentations in the context of a book club for second language learning. The analysis shows how the facilitator establishes intersubjectivity with regard to the ongoing task and manages students’ task performance. The empirical data suggest that the facilitator's orientation to the task was achieved in 3 important ways: through (a) task resumption (Excerpts 1 and 2), (b) task summary (Excerpts 3 and 4), and (c) task mediation (Excerpts 5–7). As the data presented in this study demonstrate, the facilitator's task orientation practices created opportunities for the students (and herself) to gain more understanding of the presenters’ task answers, which was one of the fundamental pedagogical goals of the book club activity. By providing insights into the way the facilitator managed students’ task performance in this book club context, the study expands our understanding of the intricate maneuvers involved in task interactions. I conclude by addressing the study's pedagogical implications for language teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]