Speaker
Description
Studies in conversation analysis demonstrate that participants prioritize progressivity by self-selecting when a speaker encounters trouble or by continuing the ongoing trajectory rather than correcting linguistic errors (Ikeda, 2008; Hauser, 2017). The present study investigates how embodied resources are used to sustain progressivity. The findings suggest that L2 learners deploy embodied resources, such as gaze shifts, hand gestures, and facial expressions, to project trouble before it becomes verbally explicit. Orienting to these embodied displays of trouble, recipients propose candidate understandings, thereby supporting the progressivity of interaction.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
- How do L2 learners deploy embodied actions that project emerging trouble in interaction?
- How do these embodied actions help sustain turn progressivity in interaction?
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Interaction plays a crucial role in second language development. However, studies of L2 interaction have primarily focused on verbal communication, with non-verbal resources receiving comparatively less attention (Sime, 2008; Quinlisk, 2009). In interaction, participants advance turns and sequences while projecting their next actions, thereby maintaining progressivity (Schegloff, 2007; Mushin & Doehler, 2021). Studies in conversation analysis demonstrate that participants prioritize progressivity by self-selecting when a speaker struggles or by continuing the trajectory instead of correcting errors (Ikeda, 2008; Hauser, 2017). The present study investigates how embodied resources are used to sustain progressivity before the trouble becomes explicit in interaction.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
The findings of the data analysis suggest that L2 learners deploy embodied resources such as gaze shifts, hand gestures, and facial expressions to project pre-response trouble before it becomes verbally explicit. Lexical, formulation, and conceptual difficulties are signaled by speakers through the use of embodied resources. In peer interactions, the speaker’s embodied projection allows the recipient to offer support, sustaining progressivity. These embodied actions function as interactional resources, allowing the learners to maintain their turns while signaling difficulty. Results demonstrate the role of embodied resources in sustaining progressivity in interaction.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
This study adopts a multimodal Conversation Analytical approach. Data is drawn from a collection of 50 video-recorded peer-to-peer discussion tests conducted with first- and second-year students in an English communication course at a Japanese university. The interactions are analyzed from an emic perspective to identify participants’ use of embodied resources during interaction. Data was transcribed using multimodal conventions to capture linguistic, paralinguistic, and embodied actions that shape the unfolding interaction.
Abstract section 5: References
Hauser, E. (2017). Avoiding initiation of repair in L2 conversations-for learning. Pragmatics, 27(2), 235-255. https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.27.2.03hau
Ikeda, K. (2008). L2 'Second-order' organization: Novice speakers of Japanese in a multi party conversation-for-learning. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(3) 245-273. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v5i3.245
Mushin, I., & Pekarek Doehler, S. P. (2021). Linguistic structures in social interaction: Moving temporality to the forefront of a science of language. Interactional Linguistics, 1(1), 2 32. https://doi.org/10.1075/il.21008.mus
Quinlisk, C. C. (2009). Nonverbal communication, gesture, and second language classrooms: A review. In McCafferty, S. G., & Stam, G. (Eds.), Gesture: Second Language Acquisition and Classroom Research (pp. 37–56). Routledge.
Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction: A primer in conversation analysis (Vol. 1). Cambridge.
Sime, D. (2008). Because of Her Gesture, It’s very Easy to Understand”- Learners’ Perception of Teachers’ Gestures in the Foreign Language Class. In McCafferty, S. G., & Stam, G. (Eds.), Gesture: Second Language Acquisition and Classroom Research (pp. 259–278). Routledge.
| Title | Embodied Actions in L2 Peer Interaction |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |