Over the past decade, a growing effort has been made toward the practical application of findings and insights from Conversation Analysis (CA) in second language (L2) teaching, with the goal of better reflecting actual usage patterns of linguistic and other semiotic resources in real talk. Among key interactional practices described by CA, conversational repair – managing communication troubles as they arise in ongoing interactions – is particularly relevant for beginning L2 learners who frequently encounter problems in hearing, understanding, and speaking. Although L2 textbooks commonly introduce requests such as 'please say it slowly', repair initiation techniques prevalent in everyday communication are typically absent. Moreover, existing pedagogical approaches rarely provide hands-on training in these techniques beyond structured drills and role-plays. This study examines a novel approach to teaching conversational repair that engages students in interactional moments through simulated and spontaneous interactions, in which they practice responding to communication difficulties in a timely manner. Teaching conversational repair early not only enables novice learners to participate and negotiate meaning in unrehearsed conversations but also fosters a view of language as a co-constructed, interactionally situated social phenomenon.
Michiko Kaneyasu (2025) studied this question.