This study examines the range of strategies employed by ESL and EFL students at Eastern Mediterranean University kitchen for oral communication despite learner diversity. The context offers EFL students language learning opportunities outside the class. There appears a range of discourse characteristics utilized to make up for the linguistic shortcomings created by the English language learners’ experience. In implementing the main task (preparation and serving of food) some types of Language Related Episodes (LREs) which are not part of the regular culinary linguistics and food discourse come up. The collaborative desire for successful social interaction dominates miscommunication that occurs sometimes. Using ethnography, we examine the strategies useful for inferring meaning by interlocutors and how they explore repair strategies when there is a breakdown. The time for data collection is two consecutive summer breaks to enable identification of multiple similar events. Thematic analysis is used for data coding and interpretation. Findings suggest that language and linguistic practices while preparing food give insight into intersection between languages and cultures and opens a novel approach to verbal and non-verbal study of everyday interaction in spontaneous conversations (in food related setting). Some communicative and discourse strategies are adopted to arrive at the meaning of utterances. These may have pedagogical implications for communicative language learning/teaching and research language in use.

Authors:
Josephine Ohiemi, Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus
Martha Hile, Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus
Ochanya Ajii, Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus
Safiyyah Adam, Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Josephine Ohiemi is a University Doctoral Student at Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus

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