SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This study reported on the research findings in a Japanese EFL context focusing on learner-initiated translanguaging practices by intermediate Japanese EFL learners at the tertiary level. The persistent issue of East Asian learners’ silence in the L2 learning context has been widely discussed for the past few decades and recent studies (King & Harumi, 2020) have illustrated multifaceted and complex dimensions of learner silence from multiple research perspectives. However, the way Japanese EFL learners self-initiate L2 interaction by using available interactional resources such as their first language (L1) is under-explored. Adopting Conversation Analysis (CA) (Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson, 1974), this study focussed on analysing how Japanese EFL learners use their L1 as translanguaging practices to initiate and maintain conversation in L2 interaction with a teacher during conversational practice sessions.