ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that the future of the interactional competence (IC) program involves a deeper commitment to ethnomethodological conversation analysis (EMCA) as well as broader connections with like-minded programs and frameworks. The IC research program came about as a convergence of, ground-breaking theorizations by researchers informed by linguistic anthropology, sociocultural theory and, to some extent, ethnomethodology and, the spotlight on conversation analysis as a suitable framework and methodology to analyze key concepts in second language acquisition concerning discourse and communication. Taking a strong EMCA stance, Numa Markee proposed replacing the term IC with the EMCA term competence. His argument is that since competence is the term used in EMCA, using the same term will signal affiliation with it. A challenge for IC instruction and assessment is the training for teachers and testers. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
