Reported Categorization in the Second Language Classroom

• In Event: 40207 - Research in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis

Abstract

Reported speech and categorization have been rich research topics in the field of EMCA. Though categorization is often implicated in speakers’ reporting of prior talk, categorization that comes in the form of reported speech—i.e., “reported categorization”—is underexplored. Within the frameworks of conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis, this paper considers how reported categorization unfolds in one institutional setting where category work can often become a point of discussion and disagreement: the second language (L2) classroom. Drawing on data from a corpus of video-recorded adult English L2 classes in the United States, I consider the design and position of reported category work along with the action it helps its producer achieve. The analysis shows how attributing category work to various impartial others can help the speaker come off as an objective, informed, and thoughtful categorizer, ulitimately fostering support for their previously resisted categorial claims. Findings contribute to EMCA research on reported speech, categorization, and institutional L2 classroom talk.

Author

• Nadja Tadic, Georgetown University