The use of complaint letters as an authentic source of input for an interactive task in second language learning

Abstract

This article reports empirical findings from a micro-interactional analysis of the use of complaint letters as an authentic source of input for an interactive task that intermediate level university students performed in the ESL context. The present research study aims to examine whether the tasks of comprehending, responding to, and discussing complaint letters engage students in socially, cognitively and linguistically laden undertakings. Three international students from Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan participated voluntarily in this research study. These participants were asked to comprehend, respond to and discuss complaint letters, which served as an authentic source of input for these tasks. The recorded audio data were transcribed, coded and analyzed through a micro-interactional analysis. The key findings are that the use of complaint letters enabled: passive and active engagement in peer interaction; meaning making of the input content; meaning negotiation; cognitive and emotional responses to the input; prior knowledge or experience activation; and the deployment of discourse markers in dialogic interaction. The findings suggest that the use of appropriate authentic texts as interactional input affords students the opportunity to engage in tasks personally and meaningfully.