%0 Journal Article
%T What counts as ¡°responding¡±? Contingency on previous speaker contribution as a feature of interactional competence
%A Daniel M. K. Lam
%J Language Testing
%@ 1477-0946
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0265532218758126
%X The ability to interact with others has gained recognition as part of the L2 speaking construct in the assessment literature and in high- and low-stakes speaking assessments. This paper first presents a review of the literature on interactional competence (IC) in L2 learning and assessment. It then discusses a particular feature ¨C producing responses contingent on previous speakers¡¯ contributions ¨C that emerged as a de facto construct feature of IC, oriented to both candidates and examiners within the school-based group speaking assessment in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) English Language Examination. Previous studies have, similarly, argued for the importance of responding to or linking one¡¯s own talk to previous speakers¡¯ contributions as a way of demonstrating comprehension of co-participants¡¯ talk. However, what counts as such a response has yet to be explored systematically. This paper presents a conversation analytic study of the candidate discourse in the assessed group interactions, identifying three conversational actions through which student-candidates construct contingent responses to co-participants. The thick description about the nature of contingent responses lays the groundwork for further empirical investigations on the relevance of this IC feature and its proficiency implications
%K Classroom-based assessment
%K conversation analysis
%K group format
%K interactional competence
%K speaking assessment
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0265532218758126