2017, Vol.25, No.2

The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.57

pISSN : 1226-4822
https://journal.kci.go.kr/socioling

This paper investigates the discourse marker OK in 911 emergency calls, paying special attention to how its use is embedded in the context of the request-offer sequence through which the caller and the dispatcher display distinctive orientations in terms of goals, rights, and responsibilities. In line with previous research, it was found that the use of this marker displays multifunctionality, which for callers is manifested in the function OK not only as a response token but also as an affiliative signal of cooperation in the acknowledgment and acceptance of directives and updates on the status of the emergency response. For dispatchers, this multifunctionality is found in the activation of a bidirectional looking function of the marker which orients backward in acknowledgment of information elicited and provided in previous turns, while simultaneously orienting forward in anticipation of an impending directive, request for information, or status update in the turn that follows.

From the conversation-analytic perspective, this paper investigates the interactional import of -nun used in assessment activities. The analysis of naturally-occurring interactions suggests that the domain-shifting function of -nun is closely attuned to shifting, or even reversing, the valence of the speaker's evaluative stance in a way that invokes a hitherto unmentioned domain as grounds for soliciting the interlocutor's agreement/affiliation, expressing partial agreement, or marking oblique disagreement. Often formulated as an overstatement to be retracted and/or as a move to solicit the interlocutor's collaborative uptake through claiming knowledge (or lack thereof), the nun-utterance furnishes the speaker with a resource for obliquely implementing face-threatening actions, pursuing common ground, or upgrading affect. Embodying the speaker's ‘exploratory’ stance, the use of -nun conveys the sense that the speaker is going beyond the ‘appearance’ of the matter at hand (e.g., a sub-domain from which a new generic feature may be drawn and attributed to the referent). This practice, which is further supported by the nun-marked adverbials formulated as a ‘logical guidepost expression’, provides for the basis on which the speaker organizes assessment activities in an other-attentive way, e.g., through upgrading affiliation and downgrading disaffiliation vis-à-vis the interlocutor's prior action, while sustaining his/her baseline stance and epistemic independency.

This study aims to examine the relationship among cooperative learning, L2 learning, and learning styles. To that end, I utilized Slavin's Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) and investigated how learners perceive the effect of STAD on second language (L2) learning and how the effect of STAD is associated with their learning styles. I implemented STAD in two college English conversation classes during a semester, with 44 learners completing two questionnaires and six participating in interviews. Three key findings emerged: 1) L2 learners perceived STAD as being more useful than lecture-centered classes in improving their conversational skills, promoting more active participation and interaction, and developing higher self-confidence and lower anxiety, 2) while avoidant learning styles had a significant negative correlation with students' perception, a significant positive correlation resulted with the majority of learning styles, and 3) collaborative and independent learning styles had a more significant effect on L2 students' perception of STAD than other learning styles. The results show that through cooperative learning, L2 learners are scaffolded to improve conversational skills, and STAD accommodates diverse learning styles by giving learners equal opportunities for success. This study implies that L2 learning can be maximized when teachers employ a strategy that allows learners with different learning styles to participate.