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The development of other-related conversational skills: A case study of conversational repair during the early years

Michael A. Forrester

University of Kent, m.a.forrester{at}kent.ac.uk

Sarah M. Cherington

Lassell College, Massachusetts

The analysis of conversational repair provides one route into understanding how young children learn the skills required for participating in talk. One key aspect of repair is the ability to respond appropriately to other participants. Employing a longitudinal case study approach, this article examines in detail the conversational repair skills of one child during the period where she is acquiring core conversational abilities and competencies (from 1;0 to 3;10). Focusing on the development of other-related conversational repair skills, 163 instances of other-related repair were examined and analysed. Extracts highlight the skills the child employed in self-repairs in response to others, as well as when repairing or correcting other people's conversation. The findings indicate that during the early years other-initiated self-repair is a more common occurrence than repairing others' talk. The findings provide insights into the significance of conversational repair for language development during the preschool years.

Key Words: (Conversation) analysis • conversational development • developmental pragmatics • early language development • self-repair

First Language, Vol. 29, No. 2, 166-191 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0142723708094452
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