The Function of Gesture in Lexically Focused L2 Instructional Conversations

Autor/inn/en	Smotrova, Tetyana; Lantolf, James P.
Titel	The Function of Gesture in Lexically Focused L2 Instructional Conversations
Quelle	In: Modern Language Journal, 97 (2013) 2, S.397-416 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0026-7902
DOI	10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12008.x
Schlagwörter	Second Language Learning; Nonverbal Communication; English (Second Language); Second Language Instruction; Linguistic Theory; Teacher Student Relationship; Sociocultural Patterns; Role; Classroom Communication; Foreign Countries; Interaction Process Analysis; Language Teachers; Definitions; Vocabulary Development; Russian; College Students; Language of Instruction; Code Switching (Language); Ukraine + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Zweitsprachenerwerb; Non-verbal communication; Nonverbale Kommunikation; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Linguistische Theorie; Teacher student relationships; Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung; Soziokulturelle Theorie; Rollen; Klassengespräch; Ausland; Prozessanalyse; Language teacher; Sprachunterricht; Begriffsbestimmung; Wortschatzarbeit; Russisch; Collegestudent; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache
Abstract	The purpose of the present study is to investigate the mediational function of the gesture-speech interface in the instructional conversation that emerged as teachers attempted to explain the meaning of English words to their students in two EFL classrooms in the Ukraine. Its analytical framework is provided by Vygotsky's sociocultural psychology (e.g., Lantolf & Thorne, 2006) and McNeill's (1992, 2005) theory of gesture-speech synchronization, in particular his notion of "catchment"--recurrent gestural features that perform a cohesive function. Although the interactions between teachers and students were brief, lasting a mere one minute and fourteen seconds, they were pedagogically rich and remarkably informative regarding the role of gesture in classroom instructional conversations. The analyses suggest that the gesture-speech interface is a potent mediational tool through which students imagistically display details of their understandings of L2 word meanings that do not always emerge through the verbal medium alone. For their part, the teachers integrated gesture into their instructional talk as a way of remediating and improving student understandings. Finally, students signaled their modified understandings by appropriating and using the teachers' gestures in their own expressive moves. (Contains 5 notes and 6 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10