Multilingualism is not an exception but rather the everyday reality for much of the world. Many of us navigate our lives with several languages, perhaps using one language at work or for studies and a different one in our homes or social circles. In second language interactions, learning the language may happen on the fly while solving problems and handling the small challenges of everyday life.

This workshop explores both the possibilities and challenges that multilingualism brings to the analysis of interactional data with the methods of conversation analysis. The workshop will be composed of an introduction with a critical review of key concepts in research on multilingualism (such as translanguaging, code switching, translating/interpreting) and hand-on exercises addressing practical issues of working with multilingual interactional data. We will discuss the challenges that multilingualism may bring for analytical procedures, such as identifying a focal phenomenon and making collections. In addition, we will address practical questions such as: How to study second language interactions in which the speakers are not necessarily proficient in the languages they use? How to transcribe and present data with several languages? The workshop will be interactive, and the participants are encouraged to share their experiences, raise questions, and bring their own data for analysis.

Facilitated by: Katariina Harjunpää and Niina Lilja