24 research outputs found
Reconsidering the uses of a minimal 'non-lexical' response token through 'embodiment' : a second language teacher's deployment of 'mm hm' as a third-turn receipt
PhD ThesisStudies on L2 classroom interaction have placed more weight on the importance of substantial teacher talk (i.e., in the third turns of the IRFs), but what is noticeably lacking until now has been a systematic study of the teachersâ uses of minimal response tokens (e.g., âMmâ, âMm hmâ, âUh huhâ, âOkayâ, âYeahâ). It seems that the uses of these tokens by L2 teachers and what they achieve in pedagogical settings have been ignored or highly undifferentiated. However, in the ethnomethodological tradition, each token has been found to be doing distinctive work (e.g., Beach, 1993; Gardner, 1997; Heritage, 1984; Jefferson, 1984; Schegloff, 1982). Therefore, this study investigates the distinctive work achieved by âMm hmâ in the L2 classroom, where pedagogy (i.e., the goal-oriented nature of interaction) plays an important role in shaping interaction (Seedhouse, 2004).
Although the research literature has revealed useful insights regarding the uses of minimal response tokens in talk-in-interaction, it is far from consistent in the way in which they are treated (Gardner, 2001), especially in relation to the uses of ânon-lexicalâ response tokens (e.g., âMmâ, âUh huhâ, âMm hmâ), as it has been claimed that they lack semantic meaning (Gardner, 1997, 2001; Muller, 1996). According to Muller (1996), they acquire specific meanings not only by their sequential placement, but also by their prosodic shape, but what they do in talk-in-interaction still remains to be analysed as a âcontingentâ achievement. Therefore, the present study investigates if a minimal ânon-lexicalâ response token (i.e., âMm hmâ), which is a bilabial nasal consisting of two syllables (i.e., articulated with an aspiration in the second syllable, the âhâ) (Gardner, 2001), acquires specific meanings as an âembodiedâ achievement, where its sequential placement including timing (i.e., overlap, pause), prosodic shape, and a L2 teacherâs embodied resources (e.g., gaze, nods, gestures, body posture) that go with it âconvergeâ to attribute these meanings to it (i.e., inform how it is interpreted/understood by students) in L2 classroom interaction. The study also investigates the uses of two tokens, âMm hmâ and âYeahâ, by the teacher as consecutive response tokens to understand if and how the teacher is attributing different sequential relevancies to the studentsâ prior turns through shifting from one token to another.
The data of the study, in the form of 15 hours of video-recordings, comes from a specific academic course on âContextual Grammarâ in a department of English Language Teaching at a state university in Turkey. The participants are first-year teacher candidates of English and one female teacher. The data is transcribed using Jeffersonian conventions and analysed using multimodal CA.
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The findings suggest that the sequential positioning of âMm hmâ, including its timing and prosodic shape help to disambiguate its use in the L2 classroom. The token is systematically articulated by the teacher as a third-turn-receipt with different prosodic shapes (e.g., a falling, a falling-rising, a rising-falling intonation contour) as distinctive responses to a) acknowledge the studentsâ second turn responses in turn-initial and turn-medial positions as a strong acknowledgment token and b) pass an opportunity to do a fuller turn, thereby giving the floor to the prior speakers to continue (i.e., as a continuer). In addition, the following four distinct categories have been identified regarding the use of the token as a continuer in the data: a) to acknowledge the studentsâ intention to continue, b) to display an evaluative stance with the studentsâ answers within and during the turns, c) to confirm the studentsâ utterances at within-turn junctures, or d) to prompt the students to expand on their answers (i.e., open-up with their talk).
The findings also suggest that it is not only the sequential positioning of the token, including its timing and prosodic shape that help to disambiguate its use, but the embodied resources (e.g., gaze, head nods, gestures, body posture) the teacher draws upon also play an important role in ascribing specific meanings to it (i.e., informing how it is interpreted/understood by the students) in the L2 classroom. The analysis of the data also shows that âMm hmâ and âYeahâ are used by the teacher in the third turns of the IRFs as distinctive responses to the studentsâ second turn answers, thereby suggesting that the fact that the teacher is orienting to the norms of the pedagogy has been reflected on her choice of the tokens.
This study not only has methodological implications, as it considers an even more fine-grained, multimodal analysis of the uses of a minimal ânon-lexicalâ response token (i.e., âMm hmâ), but it also has pedagogical implications for L2 teaching research and practice such as teachersâ embodied practices in teacher-fronted sequences, the effect of teachersâ language use and interaction on learner participation and hence on creating space for learning, and L2 classroom interactional competence (Walsh, 2011), as it describes the distinctive uses of the token by a L2 teacher and the roles it plays in shaping L2 classroom interaction.Council of Higher Education (YĂK) and Erciyes Universit
Corpus-based activities at lower levels of EFL proficiency : the effectiveness of using concordance lines on grammar learning
Ankara : The Department of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Bilkent University, 2011.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2011.Includes bibliographical references leaves 103-106.This study investigated the effectiveness of using corpus-based activities on
lower level EFL studentsâ learning of English grammar. The purpose of the study
was to determine whether lower level EFL learners would be able to use corpusbased
activities effectively in order to learn five target grammar structures of
English. This study also explored the attitudes of those students towards using
corpus-based activities in English grammar learning.
Six intact lower level EFL classes at Erciyes University School of Foreign
Languages participated in the study. The quantitative data were collected through the
administration of three tests and an attitude questionnaire. The qualitative data were
obtained through semi-structured interviews.
The statistical analysis of the test results revealed that the students were able
to use corpus-based activities effectively in the learning of the target grammar
structures. Additionally, it was found that using corpus-based activities in the
learning of the target grammar structures produced similar results when compared to
using a course book. The analysis of the attitude questionnaire showed that the
students held somewhat neutral attitudes towards using corpus-based activities in the
learning of the five target grammar structures. However, the analysis of the student
interviews revealed more positive attitudes towards using these sources in English
grammar learning.Girgin, UfukM.S
Reconsidering the role (s) of a minimal response token through pedagogy and embodiment: A second language teacherâs deployment of âMm hmâ in the IRF
Micro-Analytic Reflection (Self-Evaluation of Teacher Talk) for Teachers of Foreign Languages
Perceptions of Turkish EFL Student Teachers Towards Learning Phrasal-prepositional Verbs Through Corpus-based Materials
Corpus-based activities at lower levels of EFL proficiency: The effectiveness of using concordance lines in English grammar learning
A micro-analytic investigation of an EFL teacherâs scaffolding practice in classroom interaction: A multi-semiotic perspective
The Effectiveness of Using Corpus-Based Activities on the Learning of Some Phrasal- Prepositional Verbs
A Micro-Analytic Investigation into EFL Teachersâ Extended Wait Time Practices in L2 English Classrooms
Extended wait time (EWT), one of the focal points affecting teaching process, is defined asâallowing sufficient time ⊠for students to respondâ by Walsh (2011). As one of theâinteracturesâ of Walsh (2011), studying how EWT functions in EFL classrooms can alsoprovide insights into classroom interactions and suggestions on teacher training anddevelopment (Can DaĆkın, 2015; Girgin, 2018; Walsh, 2002, 2011; Walsh and Li, 2013).However, it might be considered that there are few studies on EWT (Atar, 2020a, 2020b; SĂŒt,2020). Hence, this study aims to discover the uses of EWT in EFL classrooms and EFLteachersâ practices to facilitate studentsâ responses. The data, part of the first authorâs ongoingMA thesis, was collected via video recordings of classroom interaction in its natural contextand then analyzed through Conversation Analysis principles. The studyâs initial findingsshow that an EFL instructor employs various EWT strategies, such as allowing studentssufficient time to think and formulate responses. If there is no answer from a student, sheencourages participation by asking the student to think for a while and promising to return,nominates among volunteers, and then returns to the previous student. As the strategy workson multiple occasions, this study suggests that EWT might increase studentsâ learningopportunities and involvement, and both pre/in-service teachers might benefit in terms ofclassroom interactional competence if employed effectively.Keywords: Extended wait time, Classroom interactional competence, Conversationanalysis, EFL classrooms</p