Meaning-Making in Online Language Learner Interactions via Desktop Videoconferencing

Cambridge University Press. 100 Brook Hill Drive, West Nyack, NY 10994-2133. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Fax: 845-353-4141; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://journals.cambridge.org

Y

21

Online Courses; Interviews; Qualitative Research; Case Studies; Semiotics; Nonverbal Communication; Cues; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Computer Assisted Instruction; Sociolinguistics; Discourse Analysis; Speech Communication; Teaching Methods; Videoconferencing; Foreign Countries

10.1017/S0958344016000100

0958-3440

Online language learning and teaching in multimodal contexts has been identified as one of the key research areas in computer-aided learning (CALL) (Lamy, 2013; White, 2014). This paper aims to explore meaning-making in online language learner interactions via desktop videoconferencing (DVC) and in doing so illustrate multimodal transcription and analysis as well as the application of theoretical frameworks from other fields. Recordings of learner DVC interactions and interviews are qualitatively analysed within a case study methodology. The analysis focuses on how semiotic resources available in DVC are used for meaning-making, drawing on semiotics, interactional sociolinguistics, nonverbal communication, multimodal interaction analysis and conversation analysis. The findings demonstrate the use of contextualization cues, five codes of the body, paralinguistic elements for emotional expression, gestures and overlapping speech in meaning-making. The paper concludes with recommendations for teachers and researchers using and investigating language learning and teaching in multimodal contexts.

As Provided

2016

EJ1108787