Native speaker–non-native speaker study abroad conversations: Do they provide feedback and opportunities for pushed output?

An important body of literature indicates that, for language development to occur, learners must engage in exchanges that provide feedback and chances to incorporate it in their production. This research has been carried out mainly in classroom and experimental settings (Gass et al., 2005 and Sheen, 2004). In the current study, we examine whether opportunities for feedback and uptake emerge in the context of semi-informal study abroad conversations. Oral data were collected from eight dyads of Native Speaker–Non-Native Speaker (NS–NNS) of Spanish, who voluntarily participated in Spanish–English language exchange sessions. Some feedback moves previously identified in the literature were also found in this study abroad context. In addition, learner-initiated moves played a crucial role in discourse development and led to the highest levels of uptake. We discuss how this active involvement of the learner of Spanish in the analyzed semi-informal conversations is facilitated by the fact that both interactants share an identity as language learners (Benson, Barkhuizen, Bodycott, & Brown, 2012).