Initiating answers with <i>en fait</i> (‘in fact’) in L2 French interaction

Abstract This study examines the use of en fait by second language (L2) French speakers as a resource for initiating answers in interaction. Drawing on a longitudinal video-recorded corpus (‘Pauscaf-L2’) and using the tools of Conversation Analysis, the study investigates the developmental trajectory of en fait across proficiency levels in L2. The analysis reveals three main functions emerging over time: At the A2 level, en fait is used to initiate transformative answers; at the B1 level, it emerges as a resource to manage delayed responses; and at the B2 level, it becomes a frequent resource to preface non-straightforward answers (i.e., responses that are sequentially more complex, including prefaces, accounts, and taking the form of multi-unit turns), thus playing an important role in projection. This study thus sheds light on the use of en fait in L2 interaction and contributes to our understanding of how linguistic and multimodal resources develop over time to support the development of interactional competence in L2.