Learner Initiative Through Multimodal Communication Resources in the English Classroom

Abstract

Using a conversation analysis (CA) framework, this study investigated how kindergarten-aged learners took initiative during classroom interactions through multimodal communication resources. Over a thirteen-week period, data was collected from kindergarten English classroom interactions between two male native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and 125 children divided into six classes. The analysis revealed that learners deployed several multimodal communication resources in teacher-initiated sequences, such as finger-folding gestures, hand-raising, and gaze direction. These multimodal resources were employed to retrieve words, acquire turns, provide answers, and impart other kinds of information. The study also showed how very young learners, with limited linguistic resources, were able to attract the teacher’s attention, draw on embodied resources to access a turn, and become active agents influencing the trajectory of both teacher talk and classroom learning. The study concludes with a discussion of learner initiative and multimodal communication resources, and the pedagogical implications carried by the results of the study for classroom interaction with very young learners.