Clarification request in ELF conversation: A discourse analytical study of conversation between Indians and Japanese business persons

This discourse-analytical case study focuses on clarification request by Japanese participants in experimental social talk between unacquainted people in nine ELF conversations between Japanese business persons and Indian business persons. The Japanese participants are business persons and engineers working in India. The Indian business persons work for Japanese companies as engineers and interpreters. The data were collected in a city in Southern India. Two of the groups have four participants (two Japanese and two Indians). The participants were instructed to have 30 minutes first conversations with new acquaintances. Both Japanese participants and Indian participants claim in the follow-up interviews that they have listening comprehension problems because of each other's strong accent. Sometimes word orders and choice of words are different from the standard English they have learned at school. It seemed very difficult to follow what the other interlocuter said. I selected the part in the conversation data when Japanese participants show that they realize their lack of understandings. The analysis focuses on 1) verbal and non-verbal behaviors when the Japanese participants realize their lack of understandings, 2) the way participants adjust interaction.  It is found that clarification did not work very well. Japanese tended to consider the meaning by themselves without using clarification questions. Indian participants showed that they were perplexed by the Japanese participants behavior. The presentation also discusses what discourse skills will be required in ELF social talk interactions when facing the misunderstandings and non-understandings from the point of view of English teaching.