Locating Chinese L2 interactional competence and intercultural communicative competence in turnmanagement

Abstract This study examines the interactional competence (IC) and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of beginner Chinese L2 learners through interactional engagement. Through conversation analysis (CA) of oral assessment transcripts and video recordings of two high-scoring (HS) and two low-scoring (LS) students, the study identifies key differences. HS students collaborate more effectively with the interlocutor, completing conversational sequences and employing a variety of repair strategies. LS students, by contrast, display more delayed or misaligned next actions and rely more on other-initiated repairs. Both groups experience overlaps, but HS students use them for collaborative engagement, while LS students’ overlaps more often result from delayed turn-taking. Clarification sequences appear only among HS students. ICC-related behaviors emerge when participants orient to culturally relevant practices, such as address terms or role-appropriate responses. These findings demonstrate that communicative competence extends beyond grammar and pronunciation. Turn and sequence management reflect participants’ moment-by-moment orientations to both interactional and intercultural contingencies.