An analysis of turn-taking behaviors of Japanese learners of English in videoconferencing discussions

Abstract

To successfully interact in a new language, learners must effectively take turns and manage the floor. Expectations and rules for turn-taking can differ between languages, making this more than a question of grammatical proficiency and vocabulary acquisition. In addition, the increased use of videoconferencing software in education and beyond makes learning to manage the floor in virtual spaces a useful skill for everyone, including language learners. To analyze the turn-taking behaviors of first language (L1) speakers of Japanese using English in videoconferencing interactions, three classes of first-year university students with intermediate level English skills were selected to have their in-class videoconferencing discussions recorded. Three of the recorded discussions were selected and analyzed to identify turn-taking behaviors and to analyze the techniques that influenced the speakers’ ability to succeed. Participants were observed to leave long gaps between speakers at turn transitions and rarely extended discussion topics to include multiple turns per speaker. There were three behaviors that were observed that helped some participants to reduce the gap between speakers. Clearly marking the end of a turn, energetic use of verbal backchannels, and comfort with unintentional overlap all seemed to be correlated with improved transition speed. Increased use of questions did lead to some topics being discussed beyond a single turn per speaker, but the difference was relatively small.