TEASIG – Fine-tuning the interactional competence construct: Exploring interactional practices in online L2 talk

We can probably all agree that interactional skills are important to any L2 learner of English but how do you go about identifying interactional competence in L2 speech? And how can you do this on an individual rather than shared basis? In this session we’ll outline some key points in relation to assessing interactional competence, the impact of technology on interaction and online interactions. We’ll then focus on what an interactional practices approach is and how it might help us to unpick interactional competence for learning and assessment purposes

Speaker:

Nicholas Glasson

Nicholas Glasson is currently a Senior Research Manager at Cambridge University Press & Assessment. He has an M.Ed. in Applied Linguistics from the Open University and a PhD in Language Assessment with the Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment, University of Bedfordshire. His thesis, focused on interactional competence, was the winner of the 2025 Jacqueline Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award. Nick’s work has been published in Classroom Discourse and Assessing Writing and he is a peer reviewer for several journals including Applied Linguistics, Language Assessment Quarterly and Language and Education.