ABSTRACT
The introduction of a new conversational topic is an interactional achievement that requires joint attention toward the same focus and the coordination of actions and turns-at-talk between the interactants. Moreover, establishing an introduced conversational topic as actual topic is an accomplishment that requires the hearer to acknowledge the introduced topic as possible business at hand. It is therefore crucial to observe and document how these actions are accomplished by speakers of a second language, which is the aim of this chapter. The longitudinal investigations presented here display how two au pairs change their practices to introduce conversational topics over a long period of time.
