In this study, we describe a program of discourse skill education for Chinese learners of Japanese to illustrate the cyclical process involved in linking research and practice by teachers and learners. Focusing on an example of practice (or performance activity), namely an online conversation club, in which this cyclical process was at work, the authors analyze how the Chinese learners of Japanese and the Japanese students who participated in the club reflected on their participation in the club’s activities. Also, the authors examine the degree to which participants’ reflections correspond to their actual conversations.
The results demonstrate that though the learners did attempt to apply what they had learned in the discourse skill education to the online conversation club, some learners were unsuccessful in doing so. Notably, the group which actively tried to engage in negotiation of meaning was successful in developing conversation topics. In this group, the learners actively participated in the conversation while raising topics that were easier for them to talk about, though they demonstrated a tendency to suddenly shift the topic of conversation. In the other group, the Japanese student felt lonely since the learners rarely confirmed the meanings of things the Japanese student said, failed to raise new topics, and were largely unresponsive to the Japanese student’s narration of previous hardships.
In conclusion, in order to develop conversational skills for building human relationships, the discourse skill education discussed in this study should be further strengthened. Particularly, it is imperative that further research be conducted on the discourse skills necessary for listeners to demonstrate sympathy to the interlocutor during extended conversations. The knowledge gained from this research must then inform practice, i.e. performance activities, such as online conversation clubs. Thus, it is paramount to link research and practice. The authors argue that teachers and learners should reflect on their own research and practice, clarify future tasks and develop further research and practice, in the hopes of ultimately linking research and practice in the field of conversation education, as the authors did in this research.
— 102 ―