The module has several aims. One is to help you cultivate a working familiarity with the transcription conventions which we will be using in this course. Because much of the data with which we will be working in the lecture and readings is made up of the transcripts of ordinary conversations, and because the required work you will be asked to do involves working with such data it is important that you learn to recognize what a transcript shows actually happened in a conversation, and how. One very effective way of acquiring a working knowledge of this set of symbols is by using them -- first in reading some transcript, and then in producing some.

This is also an effective way of beginning to hear in detail what actually makes up the flow of talk in interactions, and this is another aim of the exercise. There is no better way to become alert to the actual "events" of which interaction is composed than by listening under the mandate of producing a detailed and accurate rendition of what the participants actually said and did, using some set of symbols for representing this on paper.

Before starting that, however, you should begin by familiarizing yourself with the transcribing conventions described in the glossary. The glossary can be accessed from any place in the program through the pull down menu above; it can be accessed from this page by clicking on the forward (or right) pointing arrow below.

If you have not used the this program before click here for a brief set of instructions

Once you feel comfortable with the transcription symbols try listening to a stretch of talk while reading the transcript.