Learning to speak German together: Collaboration and correction among Spanish-speaking students of German during communicative activities

Abstract

This study describes the collaborative work of Mexican high-school students of German during a communicative activity and how the language learners experience this process. It addresses the question of how students express themselves and handle moments of incomprehension or difficulty to express themselves during an oral production activity in the target language with no support of the instructor. Specifically, this study explores the strategies of negotiation of meaning (Long, 1981, 1983) and collaboration (Vygotsky, 1962, 1978). The students conducted a communicative activity in pairs, which was taped. The moments of correction and collaboration were analyzed, and the learners answered a questionnaire and recall interviews about the interactions. The results show that students use the opportunity of expressing themselves freely to test hypotheses and correct mistakes, as well as to support their speaking partner in his/her expression, using mainly collaboration strategies such as suggestions and self-correction. Additionally, the interviews show a willingness and acceptance to correct and be corrected during this learning process.