A conversation analysis of self-initiated self-repair structures in advanced Iranian EFL learners

This article reports the results of a study involving the Conversation Analysis (CA) of self-initiated self-repair structures in classroom conversations. The study aimed to cast light on self-initiated repairs practiced by advanced EFL learners. The data were collected in 2018. Forty proficient EFL students participated in the study. 72 hours of videotaped single-sex conversations were collected through classroom observations, and follow-up interviews were conducted, both at three different language institutes in Isfahan, Iran. The CA approach was employed as the theoretical framework for this study. The students’ utterances were analyzed qualitatively. It was found that Iranian EFL learners practice 4 self-initiated self-repair structures, namely, replacing, inserting, deleting and aborting. Finally, the collected data were compared to those used by English native speakers. The results showed that the most frequent self-initiated self-repair structure employed by the participants in both cultures is replacing.