Excerpt 5.6: “What would you say is the other way?” 127

This episode demonstrates another example of how the teacher used an “easy-to- respond-to” question to give up some of her instructional authority and to encourage the student to participate and demonstrate her knowledge to the teacher. Unlike in the excerpt analyzed above, the student did not respond to the question. Nevertheless, the episode does not only demonstrate the teacher’s ability to ask the question in a non-threatening way, but also shows her caring and nonjudgmental reaction to the student’s “nonanswer response” (Lee, 2013). The excerpt is taken from Meeting 5 between Alicia and Jade (see

128 Excerpt 5.2). Prior to the analyzed conversation, Alicia pointed out to Jade her

inconsistent citations of books and articles in her draft. The excerpt begins with Alicia explaining the difference between MLA formatting when citing books and articles.

01 Alicia: ((Looking at desktop with Jade, pointing at screen

02 with LH))

03 So::: (1.2) there is a difference between

04 (.6)

05 ((turns to J. on “difference,” gazes at her,

06 makes single sweeping motion on desk with RH on

07 “between”))

08 [showing how (.)

10 J: [((shifts gaze to A))

11 A: u:h

12 (1.2)

13 ((looks up in thinking face))

14 when- when it comes to (.) how we write titles

15 ((shifts gaze to desk, sweeps BH on desk on

16 “when it comes to,” taps with cupped BH on desk on

17 “how we write titles,” gazes at hands as speaks))

18 for books (.) and for articles.

19 ((shifts gaze to J, slightly taps with BH on desk

20 twice—one on “books” and one on “articles,”

21 palms open and facing downward))

22 (1.0)

23 J: ((slightly nods and shifts gaze to screen))

24 A: So for articles we a:dd

25 ((shifts gaze to screen on “articles,” points at

26 screen with LH, keeps it until line 28))

27 (1.0)

28 the [quot-(.5) tation marks=

29 ((shifts gaze to J))

30 J: [Mm hm,

31 [((shifts gaze to A))

33 A: =and fo:r, (.5) books?

35 ((sweeps RH back and forth, palm facing upward))

36 (.8)

37 owhat would you say is the other way?o

129 In line 3, Alicia starts her instructional activity by producing So:::—a “turn-

transition device” (Schiffrin, 1987, p. 218), thereby indicating the continuation of the conversation, as well as the connection between the previous turn and the information she is about to share with Jade. She then shifts her gaze from the computer screen to Jade, which may index her attempt to personalize her subsequent feedback message. In other words, despite the general nature of the information she is about to provide (which in fact can be seen from her next turn), her feedback at this moment is directed to Jade

personally; thus, through her head turn and the shifting of her eye gaze from the screen to the student, Alicia treats Jade as an immediate (and the only) recipient of her instruction (Hall & Smotrova, 2013). In addition, Alicia’s embodied displays may also be interpreted as a recipiency elicitation technique (Belhiah, 2009; Carrol, 2004; Heath, 1984). As we will see later in this excerpt (starting in line 6), Alicia will use her hands as a bodily

39 J: [£oIdunno.o

40 ((smiles, gazing at A [Figure 5.6b]))

41 A: ((keeps smile on face, makes short laughing sound,

42 then turns to screen))

43 [(.)

44 A: [OKAY SO:::

45 J: [((shifts gaze to screen, keeps smiling))

130 enhancement of her verbal explanations; therefore, Jade’s visual attention to Alicia’s

message is necessary.

The mutual gaze is obtained in line 10, and Alicia continues her instruction. The feedback that Alicia delivers has the form of an informational statement rather than a directive: when- when it comes to (.) how we write titles for books (.) and for articles. (lines 14, 18), which may be interpreted as her attempt to appear less imposing and authoritative. In doing so, she also uses the inclusive pronoun “we” (line 14) as a way of partnering with the student (Matlock, 2000) and expressing solidarity. Considering that this moment of the interaction is not simply the process of delivering an instructional material but actually a response to the student’s incorrect citation practice, the implementation of these techniques is particularly crucial, as they soften Alicia’s criticism and mitigate imposition.

When comparing two different types of MLA citation, Alicia makes two slight tapping gestures on the desk: one on the word “books” and the other one on “articles” (lines 19-22). These gestural movements serve to emphasize Alicia’s point that there are two opposite ways to cite these types of sources, and this will be an important piece of information when Alicia asks Jade her question. The first of the two types of citation is given by Alicia in lines 24 and 28: So for articles we a:dd the quot-(.5) tation marks. As seen from the transcript, this is not only a verbal utterance. While making this statement, Alicia turns to the computer screen, apparently pointing with her left hand at the example that illustrates her verbal message. By means of her embodied actions she invites Jade to direct her attention to the example on the screen. Thus, for the moment, the computer screen appears to be “a central player” (Nishino & Atkinson, 2015,

131 p. 45) in the action in progress, as it provides the visual illustration of the teacher’s

message; to put it differently, it is made by the teacher the focus of both participants’ attention. Next, Alicia resumes her visual contact with Jade by shifting her gaze to her in line 29. This action may be interpreted as an embodied comprehension check, and, indeed, in line 30, Jade produces the acknowledgment token Mm hm (Gardner, 2013) as a sign of her understanding of Alicia’s message, enhancing it by simultaneously shifting her gaze to the teacher (line 31).

Upon receiving Jade’s confirmation that she understands the MLA citation method for articles, Alicia proceeds with her feedback in a slightly different way. In line 33, she cedes the floor to Jade by asking: and fo:r, (.5) books? In the absence of an immediate response from the student, Alicia makes her question more explicit: o

what

would you say is the other way?o (line 37). Due to Alicia’s prior scaffolding

activity, there is little chance of making a mistake when responding to this question. Thus, the answer is so obvious, that from the pedagogical perspective, there is no need to ask this question. However, by asking it, Alicia reduces the directness of her feedback— instead of authoritatively instructing Jade, she affords her the opportunity to participate in the activity by answering the seemingly obvious question. In other words, by asking this “easy” question, Alicia did, as Smotrova (2014) put it, “give up some of her institutional rights of monopolizing the floor” (p. 411).

Because the answer to Alicia’s question is quite apparent, Alicia’s technique appears to be only half-serious. Her smile that immediately follows it (line 38, Figure 5.6a) also indicates the playfulness of this move. At the same time, Alicia’s smile, along with her eye gaze and a soft tone of voice (marked in the transcript with “o_{”) can also be}

132 seen as a mitigating technique. Indeed, receiving questions from a teacher may

potentially be threatening for students (Hayano, 2013), no matter how careful the wording might be. According to Hayano (2013), “[Q]uestions are a powerful tool to control interaction: they pressure recipients for response, impose presuppositions, agendas and preferences, and implement various initiating actions, including some that are potentially face-threatening” (pp. 395-396). Although Alicia’s question is designed to give the student a chance to contribute by providing what seems to be an obvious answer, the very act of asking assumes Alicia’s authority. As Sacks (1995) observed, “As long as one is in the position of doing the questions, then in part they have control of the

conversation” (p. 54). Therefore, softening the voice and adding an embodied component in the form of eye contact and a smile may index Alicia’s attempt to maintain the

student’s positive face (Brown & Levinson, 1978, 1987). Furthermore, with the smile on her face, Alicia also exhibits warmth behavior (Matlock, 2000), communicates her friendliness and approachability (Burroughs, 2007; Martin & Mottet, 2011; Richmond & McCroskey, 2004; Witt & Kerssen-Griep, 2011), and expresses solidarity.

Despite the simplicity of the question, however, Jade explicitly “claims insufficient knowledge” (Sert & Jacknick, 2015, p. 107) in line 39: £o

Idunno.o When delivering this response, she smiles and keeps looking at Alicia (Figure 5.6b), which may indicate “a possible solicitation of help” (Sert & Jacknick, 2015, p. 104; also see

Goodwin & Goodwin, 1986) from her. Her smile as well as the low volume of her voice in which her response is uttered may also suggest Jade’s attempt to decrease the

dispreferred nature of her answer (Lee, 2013). In other words, by positioning herself as an unknowing participant, Jade caused disalignment, or “the disruption of progressivity”

133 (Sert & Jacknick, 2015, p. 104) in their interaction. Thus, her smile may be seen as a way

of managing the interactional trouble by pursuing alignment with the teacher. Indeed, we see that Alicia’s next turns—a laughing sound in line 41 and the verbal utterance OKAY SO::: in line 44—are delivered without any delay, thereby

indicating that “the interaction has moved past the interactional trouble” (Sert & Jacknick, 2015, p. 103). Both of these actions—the laughing sound and the verbal utterance—are affiliative by their nature. Thus, the teacher’s smile and a short laughing sound, despite its minimal nature, may be seen as her attempt to maintain Jade’s positive face. The turn in line 44 may also mark a sign of Alicia’s alignment with Jade, as she accepts her self- declared status of an unknowing participant, and is ready to move on with the

instructional task.

Thus, an “easy-to-respond-to” question in the episode above has several important functions. First, it is asked to encourage the student’s participation. Second, since it is embedded in the feedback activity—the teacher’s correcting Jade’s citations—it may be considered a way of giving up the teacher’s authority and reducing imposition. Finally, it may also be interpreted as a means of establishing a comfortable atmosphere in the meeting, which is evidenced by the friendly, almost playful, way the question is asked. The very fact that the student immediately claims her ignorance may indicate that she indeed feels comfortable and non-intimidated in this interaction. All in all, despite the student’s nonanswer response (Lee, 2013), the episode demonstrates the teacher’s use of an easy-to-respond-to question as a tool to affiliate with the student during the feedback activity.

134