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The mediation and organisation of gestures in vocabulary instructions: a microgenetic analysis of interactions in a beginning-level adult ESOL classroom

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Open access

Abstract

There is limited research on second language (L2) vocabulary teaching and learning which provides fine-grained descriptions of how vocabulary explanations (VE) are interactionally managed in beginning-level L2 classrooms where learners have a limited L2 repertoire, and how the VEs could contribute to the learners’ conceptual understanding of the meaning(s) of the target vocabulary items (VIs). To address these research gaps, we used a corpus of classroom video-data from a beginning-level adult ESOL classroom in the United States and applied Conversation Analysis to examine how the class teacher employs various gestural and linguistic resources to construct L2 VEs. We also conducted a 4-month microgenetic analysis to document qualitative changes in learners’ understanding of the meaning of specific L2 VIs which were previously explained by the teacher. Findings revealed that the learners’ use of gestures allows for an externalization of thinking processes providing visible output for inspection by the teacher and peers. These findings can inform educators’ understanding about L2 vocabulary development as a gradual process of controlling the right gestural and linguistic resources for appropriate communicative purposes.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 445-468

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Language and Education (Volume 33, Issue 5)

Publication milestones

  • Published - 26/04/2019

Publication status

Published - 26/04/2019

ISSN

0950-0782

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/623230
  • Scopus: 85065156067

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