Function of Repetition in the Talk of EFL Learners at the Computer

Abstract

This study investigated the function of repetition of English in the talk of Korean primary school students who worked in dyads on English learning software. Data were taken from the interactions of three pairs of students in the fourth grade. Their interactions at the computer were videotaped and then all the talk produced by the students and the computer was transcribed. It 'was shown that repetition of the utterances emanating from the computer was the most predominant feature of the students' use of English. Based on the view that language use serves not only social communication but also represents cognitive activity, a qualitative discourse analysis was conducted to uncover how the students used repetition of English words and phrases in the context of the unfolding interaction at the computer. The analysis shows that repetition, serving both communicative functions and cognitive ones, facilitated the students' interaction with each other and with the computer. In particular, some distinctive functions of repetition indicate that students' use of repetition might contribute to their learning of English; the students used repetition as a locus for the creative use of English in a new context to communicate in English, as a means for practicing and memorizing English and for assessing their learning of English, and sometimes as a scaffold to support their cognitive work in solving problems.