Interactional routines as a mechanism for L2 acquisition and socialization in an immersion context

Language learning cannot be separated from the setting in which it is used, and language socialization research has shown that children acquire sociocultural knowledge of their native language (L1) through participation in language mediated activities in the home and community. How do young children with already established sociocultural competence in L1 acquire competency in second language (L2) interactional skills? This study examines how kindergartners are socialized to initiate and respond to L2 discourse sequences in a Japanese immersion classroom. Using video-taped naturalistic data of classroom interactions, children's performance of three daily routines is analyzed qualitatively, noting scaffolded help provided by the teacher, peers, and changes in content and participant structure over several months. Data reveal increasing autonomy in initiating and responding roles and spontaneous incorporation of a routine in a novel situation, demonstrating that routines provide a framework and mechanism for L2 competence beyond the level of creative L2 output, which basically remained at the word-level throughout the first year. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.