Strategies of interunderstanding in exolingual chat communication
The strategies of interunderstanding used by participants in exolingual chat communication between French and Spanish speakers are analyzed using theories and findings from interlingual and second language acquisition literature. This study describes in a qualitative investigation based upon a sample of 104 episodes of interaction between ten pairs of French and Spanish speakers from June to December of 2004 that took place in language laboratories of the UQÀM and over distance in the cities of Montreal and Mexico City. The results illustrate that the strategies employed are similar to those used by persons in face-to-face situations, but are also more diversified due to the hybrid character of the media and its inherent communication options.