Patricia A. Klinck
Published: 1987
Total Pages: 102
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A study of self-correction, or repair (the righting of the trouble source) among bilingual secondary students differed from most repair studies in three ways. It: (1) examined results in the form of description rather than in quantifiable analyses; (2) defined errors as trouble sources (hearable errors, breaks in communication such as word searches, and changes made by the speaker when no error was heard) rather than errors in form only; and (3) examined error and repair in peer conversations and in oral tests rather than under experiment conditions. Subjects were grade nine students from late immersion (French study begun in grade seven) and continuing bilingual (French study begun in kindergarten or in grade one) programs. Videotapes of peer interactions among the students were analyzed for evidence of turn-taking and repairs; in addition, the inter-relationship of turn-taking and repairs in different contexts were examined. The analysis, produced a "grammar" of repair and its accomplishment in students' practices. Results corroborate earlier findings of a preference for self-initiated self-repair within the same turn. Students were also found to be clearly proficient in their use of initiator techniques and the placement practices of repair regardless of their years of study or the context of the interaction. (MSE)