1. Presenter: Leonora L. Mingo, Ph.D.
Research Title: The Negotiation of Meaning in the Talking Circle in the Tertiary ESL Context
Presenter:
Leonora L. Mingo, Ph.D.

2. KEY CONCEPTS Negotiation of Meaning Classroom Interaction
Language Learning Tasks

3. KEY CONCEPTS
Communication Strategies
Interpersonal Values
Group Work

4. INTRODUCTION
The discipline known as Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has gone a long way in terms of identifying what processes an individual has to undergo in acquiring one or more second or foreign languages. - Nunan (2000)

5. INTRODUCTION
SLA researchers are interested in both product (i.e., language used by the learners) and process (i.e., the mental process and environmental factors) that influence the acquisition process.

6. INTRODUCTION
A growing body of research has been conducted with regard to - learning processes,
- types of classroom tasks, - kinds of classroom organizations that appear to facilitate SLA

7. INTRODUCTION
This implies that research in SLA considers the different factors in the classroom and finds out how these factors contribute to second language acquisition.

8. INTRODUCTION
In English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom, for example, the major concern of the second language (L2) teachers is how to generate rich and meaningful interactions that will aid SLA.

9. INTRODUCTION
The essence of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is the engagement of learners in communication in order to allow them to develop their communicative competence.
- Murcia (2006)

10. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the use of group work in ESL classrooms has become a widespread practice.

11. INTRODUCTION
In the Philippine setting, Bautista (1996) and Genuino’s (2000) studies on group work offered a host of research possibilities that learner-learner interaction may offer, one of them is negotiation of meaning.

12. INTRODUCTION
For more than a decade now, group work has been widely used by the teachers in Notre Dame of Dadiangas University (NDDU) in General Santos City not only in the ESL classrooms, but also in the classrooms of the other disciplines.

13. INTRODUCTION
The idea of considering group work as one of the variables in the present study lies in the fact that:

14. INTRODUCTION
First, this type of classroom organization is commonly used by L2 teachers in the locale of the study, yet there has not been any empirical study that unravel the dynamics of group work

15. INTRODUCTION
Second, there is that inquisitiveness in finding out what processes students undertake when they are asked to accomplish a task.

16. INTRODUCTION
Within the goals of this study, it is deemed necessary that at the outset, the use of Talking Circle, a term adopted from Ernst (1994), is established to refer to a group of five students engaged in a language learning task in the classroom.

17. DEFINITION OF TERMS 1. Negotiation of Meaning
This study looks at negotiation of meaning beyond incomprehensibility of input.

18. DEFINITION OF TERMS
It extends its scope by looking at negotiation of meaning as a collaborative work which second language learners undertake to achieve mutual understanding.

19. DEFINITION OF TERMS In this manner, this study takes note of:
the emerging patterns on how students negotiate
how they employ communication strategies while negotiating

20. DEFINITION OF TERMS
what nature of interaction takes place in the Talking Circle
how students’ interpersonal values may shape group interaction

21. DEFINITION OF TERMS
2. Talking Circle
Talking Circle (a.k.a. group work) pertains to a classroom event composed of five members who are engaged in a language learning task in an ESL classroom.

22. DEFINITION OF TERMS 3. ESL Context
This pertains to the classroom context of an English 1 course where the teacher and the students are part of the community.

23. DEFINITION OF TERMS 4. Communication Strategies
The way communication strategies are referred to in
this paper is anchored on the idea that they are elements of interaction.

24. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Its working definition is taken from Corder (1981) which says that communication strategies are systematic techniques employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty.

25. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Only those verbal and nonverbal strategies used by the speaker which have direct contribution to negotiation of meaning are taken into consideration.

26. DEFINITION OF TERMS 5. Interpersonal Values
They pertain to certain critical values involving the individual’s relationships to other people or the people’s relationships to him.

27. DEFINITION OF TERMS
The interpersonal values mentioned in this study were derived from the Survey of Interpersonal Values (SIV), a standardized instrument developed by Leonard V. Gordon, Ph.D. in 1960.

28. DEFINITION OF TERMS
In his instrument, he only highlighted the following interpersonal values which
are:
Support
Conformity

29. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Recognition
Independence
Benevolence
Leadership

30. DEFINITION OF TERMS 6. Ethnographic Research
This is a qualitative research approach used to examine in depth the negotiation of meaning which involves personally attending, observing, and audio-video taping interactions.

31. DEFINITION OF TERMS
This ethnographic study employs other ways of gathering data i.e., by document analysis, survey of interpersonal values, focus group discussion, journal writing, and the use of playback sessions.

32. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.Describe the emerging pattern on how students negotiate meaning in the Talking Circle

33. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
2. Identify the communication strategies students employ as they engage in the negotiation of meaning

34. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
3. Find out how the identified interpersonal values may have influenced students’ involvement in the Talking Circle

35. A SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM SHOWING THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

36. THE NEGOTIATION OF MEANING IN THE TALKING CIRCLE IN THE TERTIARY ESL
CONTEXT
SECOND
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
THEORIES
PRAGMATICS
AND
SPEECH ACT THEORY
SOCIOCULTURAL
LEARNING THEORY
Monitor Model
(Krashen, 1979)
Discourse Model
(Hatch, 1978)
Interaction
Hypothesis
(Long, 1978)
Linguistic/
Cognitive
Focus
Interactive
(Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969)
(Vygotsky, 1978)

37. A SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM SHOWING THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

38. Second Language Acquisition Theories
ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY A
MODEL OF
NEGO-
TIATION
MEANING IN
ESL
CONTEXTT
Second Language Acquisition Theories
Socio-
cultural Theory
Pragmatics
and Speech Act Theory
I N T H E T A L K I N G C I R C L E
N A T U R E O F I N T E R A C T I O N
Support
Conformity
Recognition
Benevolence
Independence
Leadership
E S L
C O N T E X T
VERBAL STRATEGIES
NONVERBAL
STRATEGIES
NEGOTIATION

39. METHODOLOGY Research Method
Ethnographic research method was used in the study.

40. METHODOLOGY
In using ethnographic research method the primary concern is to analyze the data as they are, rather than to compare them to other data to see how similar they are. Therefore, generalizability of findings is not the concern of this study Van Lier (1988)

41. METHODOLOGY The Participants
The participants of the study were 45 first year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students enrolled in the English 1 (Communication Arts and Skills 1) course.

42. METHODOLOGY The Setting
The study was conducted in Notre Dame of Dadiangas University, a Marist school in General Santos City.

43. METHODOLOGY
As a classroom-based research, the English 1 classroom located in Bro. Henry Ruiz Building, Room
203 served as the setting of the study.

44. METHODOLOGY The Talking Circle
A total of nine (9) Talking Circles having five members
in each group was organized.

45. METHODOLOGY The Language Learning Tasks
This study had used two-way information gap tasks or the so-called required information gap tasks as well as jigsaw tasks.

46. Phase I (Pre-Classroom Interaction)
METHODOLOGY
Data Collection
Phase I (Pre-Classroom Interaction)
Document Analysis
Survey of Interpersonal Values (SIV)

47. Phase II (Actual Classroom
METHODOLOGY
Phase II (Actual Classroom
Interaction)
Audio-Video Taping
Students’ Journals

48. Phase III (Post Classroom Interaction)
METHODOLOGY
Phase III (Post Classroom Interaction)
Play back Sessions (PBSs)
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

49. METHODOLOGY
The transcript of the videotaped interaction was the main source of the data. The other sources such as students’ journals, playback session notes, and focus group discussion transcripts were used for triangulation purposes only.

50. METHODOLOGY Micro-level Analysis
The transcripts were analyzed by episodes for the negotiation of meaning and communication strategies.

51. METHODOLOGY Macro-level Analysis
Summation of the micro-level analysis, together with the results on how students’ interpersonal values might have influenced their involvement in the Talking Circle.

52. FINDINGS The emerging pattern on meaning negotiation is shown
in Figure 1.

54. FINDINGS
The recurrent adjacency pairs in the 90 episodes showed that clarification requests and confirmation checks were frequent, agreeing with Long (1983) and Scarcella and Higa’s (1981) claims on learner-learner interaction.

55. FINDINGS
In some cases, allocating a turn to the next speaker or introducing the next item/phrase/picture to be negotiated signaled that mutual understanding was reached between the speaker and the interlocutors.

56. FINDINGS During the negotiation process, the following occurred:
-To make input comprehensible to the interlocutors, it was evident that speakers made language modifications.

57. FINDINGS
- When a certain item was not available in the speakers’ interlanguage, they tried to admit their inadequacy but worked hard to put the message across to keep the communication line open.

58. FINDINGS
-When the speakers felt uncertain of their ideas, they tended to conform to the ideas of the interlocutors, a manifestation of the influence of a student’s interpersonal value.

59. FINDINGS
-When faced with language difficulty, the speaker opted the easiest way out of the difficulty, i.e., to give out the correct answer or information.

60. FINDINGS
Speech acts under the categories of representatives, directives, and expressives were predominantly used.

61. FINDINGS
Instances of metacognition occurred, i.e., when students talked about the procedures of the task or expressed their emotional reactions to the task.

62. FINDINGS 2. Communication Strategies
The verbal strategies commonly used by the speakers were ranked as follows:

63. FINDINGS (3) filled pauses (4) self-repair (1) message abandonment
(2) code-switching
(3) filled pauses
(4) self-repair

64. FINDINGS the utterance (6) association and direct appeal for help;
(5) repetition of words within
the utterance
(6) association and direct
appeal for help;

65. FINDINGS (7) circumlocution (8) giving out the correct item or phrase
(9) indirect appeal for help
(10) unfilled pauses and other-
repair.

66. FINDINGS
The nonverbal strategies frequently used by the speakers in both task types were ranked as follows:
gestures;

67. FINDINGS
(2) nodding one’s head
(3) shaking one’s head
(4) eye contact

68. FINDINGS
The frequent use of message abandonment as a communication strategy allowed interlocutors to provide scaffolds leading to meaning negotiation.

69. FINDINGS
The use of code-switching (i.e., from English language to Cebuano, Ilonggo, or Filipino language) enabled speakers to compensate for an unavailable item in the target language to convey the message and to carry on a conversation.

70. FINDINGS 3. Interpersonal Values Influencing the Interaction in
the Talking Circle
The male members’ high value, support, tended to influence their involvement in the Talking Circle.

71. FINDINGS
This is manifested by giving and sharing ideas, confirming one’s ideas, reminding the group of what to do, cooperating and participating
to finish the activity fast.

72. FINDINGS
The low value, leadership, might have influenced the male members’ involvement in the Talking Circle since nobody from the male members wanted to lead the group.

73. FINDINGS The female members’ high values, conformity and
support, were likely to
influence their involvement in the Talking Circle.

74. FINDINGS
Several occasions showed during interaction where female members conformed to the group mates’ ideas.

75. FINDINGS
Female members’ support was not only confined to assisting each other to finish the task, but also to reminding the group of their schedules on playback sessions and focus group discussions.

76. FINDINGS
The female members’ low value (leadership) tended also to shape the group’s interaction as manifested by their anxieties to lead, lack of leadership skills, and distressing experiences on leadership.

77. CONCLUSIONS
1. Most of the episodes generate a pattern of asking for clarification-clarifying, asking for confirmation-confirming, inquiring-answering, guessing-rejecting/agreeing, co-constructing-agreeing/disagreeing, and giving the correct phrase-confirming.

78. CONCLUSIONS
2. In the negotiation of meaning, students experience comprehensible input and undergo interactional modifications to produce comprehensible output.

79. CONCLUSIONS
3. L2 learners resort to communication strategies like message abandonment, code-switching, filled pauses, self-repair, etc. in order to finish an utterance as they grappled for words in their interlanguage.

80. CONCLUSIONS
4.The ‘unobservable’ aspect (i.e., the interpersonal values such as support, conformity, and leadership) students may bring with them as they participate in group work seems vital in shaping the interaction.

81. CONCLUSIONS
5. A picture emerges of L2 learners conforming to others’ ideas and supporting one another not only during small group interaction in the classroom but also even outside classroom activities.

82. CONCLUSIONS
6. The use of other data gathering techniques such as students’ journals, play back session notes, and focus group discussion transcripts provides information crucial to understanding Filipino second language learners.

83. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The role of task is very significant in meaning negotiation. Therefore, ESL teachers should design language learning tasks which can elicit negotiation of meaning for the students to experience interactional modification, essential for second language acquisition.

84. RECOMMENDATIONS
2. Since L2 learners are communication strategy users, students should be taught on how to cope with communication failures. Teachability of communication strategies is encouraged and should receive support from ESL teachers.

85. RECOMMENDATIONS
3. Students should also be taught socioaffective strategies on how to request for clarification, ask for repetitions, slow down, and explain.

86. RECOMMENDATIONS
5. For future researchers, the following are suggested:
-To explore other variables like gender and L1 background to find out their effects in the negotiation of meaning

87. RECOMMENDATIONS to learn in an ESL context
-To conduct more research in L2 classroom using ethnographic research method to give an accurate picture of what it is like
to learn in an ESL context

88. A Model of Negotiation of Meaning in the ESL Context

89. TRIGGER INFLUENCE PROCESS OUTPUT Support Conformity Leadership
LANGUAGE LEARNING
TASKS
TRIGGER
Support
Conformity
Leadership
COMMUNICATION
STRATEGIES
Verbal:
Message abandonment
Code-switching
Fillers
Self-repair
Repetition of words within the utterance
Association
Appeal for help (direct/indirect)
Circumlocution
Giving out of the correct item/phrase
Other repair
Accentuation
Approximation
Comprehension
Confirmation
Outright admission of not knowing
Substitution
Non-verbal:
Gestures
Nodding of head
Shaking of head
Eye contact
RECURRENT
ADJACENCY PAIRS
Asking for clarification – making a clarification
Asking for confirmation – confirming
Co-constructing – agreeing
Co-constructing – disagreeing
Abandoning – co-constructing
Inquiring – answering
Guessing – rejecting
Guessing – agreeing
Giving the correct item/phrase/sentence –
confirming
INFLUENCE
PROCESS
NEGOTIATED MEANING
OUTPUT
INTERPERSONAL VALUES

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100. Thank you and God bless to everyone!