Presentational Talk

CA typically concentrates on the links between turns in highly interactive talk.

However, Jefferson (1978), in a consideration of story-telling, also considers aspects of talk that relate the bulk of a story to preceding and subsequent talk, thus making the contributions sequentially relevant. For the reports in PBL2s, I shall first of all consider the ways in which the long turns are signalled and embarked upon, when interruptions do occur, and how the closings link to subsequent talk. A fuller discussion of the content of the presentations, i.e.

what is talked about, is provided in Section 3.8. (N.B. student report and presentation are used interchangeably here.)

3.7.6.1 Organisational Structure of Student Reports

In addition to the overall structural organisation of each PBL cycle, it is also possible to identify the overall structural organisation of the student report phase itself.

The reports include the following components:

 signalling the start

 introducing the topic

 reporting on findings

 (signalling ending)

 (referring to references)

 (inviting questions)

() indicates these components are not always present.

The turns in these elements largely serve to orientate the audience to the

subsequent phase and, as we shall see, when it is ‘permissible’ to take the floor.

The report on findings is necessarily a long individual turn but there was no clearly discernible internal shape common to all reports; the internal structure seemed to depend on the specific learning objectives. In most cases, the talks are uninterrupted and continue until the speaker specifically signals the ending in some way.

3.7.6.2 Openings in Student Reports

The signal to start a report is provided with a prompt by the Chair or in some tutorials the start is preceded by a long pause indicating the end of questions for the previous speaker. The topic of the report is then introduced in some way by the speaker themselves. When the speaker signals that they will start, this may be with a one-word or two-word transition signal, followed by the topic. This is illustrated in Example 19 below. After a six-second pause following the previous speaker’s questions, the next speaker, S10, looks around the room and checks that questions are completed (can I start? no more questions?, line 2). They then signal the start of their specific talk in line 3 with an ok. Ok here is used as a pivot signalling a “change of matter” (Beach, 1993, p. 327), projecting forward into the topic. This is followed by the coordinator so (Biber et al. 1999, p. 80), used to “launch a new action trajectory” (Bolden, 2009, p. 990), in this case Spina Bifida.

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01 (6)

02 S10: can i start? no more questions? ((looks around the room)) 03 ok (,) so i did em (,) Spina Bifida (PBL9.2)

After signalling the topic the students very quickly launch into their talks. This is in stark contrast to the advice given in many EAP and presentation study

materials for students which suggest much longer introductions including

introducing oneself, providing a summary of key components, ordering points to be covered (see, for example, Anderson et al., 2004; Rignall & Furneaux, 1998).

The brevity is perhaps because the focus of the talk in the PBLs is known (as all have the learning objectives), or because of the informality of the group

presentations. It may also be because they only, for example, talk about one area and do not feel the need to ‘signpost’ so much initially. No guidance on structuring the talk is provided in the PBL steps, but discussions with facilitators indicated that they do not expect long introductions or endings. Only in the more formal PBL12.2 talks is there a more formal introduction, which may on occasion also include an overview to the talk.

3.7.6.3 Closings in Student Reports

Following the main part of the report, the closings are generally very brief and while usually signalled, as in Example 20 below, they can end quite abruptly.

There is also rarely any concluding summary. The speakers may themselves then call for questions, or these may be called by the Chair, after which the floor is turned over directly to the students.

In Example 20, we see the students closing the topic with so that’s it, followed by a direction to references listed on the handout (line 2) and then a call for questions. Rather than launching the topics, so here serves to indicate the talk has finished (Biber et al., 1999, p. 877).

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01 S5: so that's it (.)

02 and that's the papers if you want to check it (2) ((referring to references on PPT slide))

03 any questions? (PBL11.2)

Again, the abrupt ending, even in the more formal presentations, are in stark contrast to advice on student presentations (Anderson et al., 2004; Rignall &

Furneaux, 1998). It should be noted that at no point did facilitators comment upon this as a problem.

3.7.6.4 Reporting on Findings

After the opening, no clearly discernible shape was identified across all the reports. However, within the individual reports more discreet stretches of talk, clearly related to the learning objective of the students and so contributing to the aims of sharing specific aspects of knowledge, were found. These include cause and effect, describing procedures, processes and conditions (and elaborating to clarify). Although not exhaustive, the most common academic functions identified are considered in Section 3.8.

In addition to a very clear orientation to the content of the talk, there is also clear evidence of orientation to the audience, reflecting the dual aims of sharing information and working as a group. This orientation to the group is most overtly seen in the reference to visuals, for example, deictic reference to a picture, diagram or figures illustrated on handouts or PPT slides. This aspect is

commented upon in Chapters 5 and 6, relating to pronouns and lexical bundles.

3.7.6.5 Interruptions in Student Reports

Although for the most part the right to talk by anyone other than the presenter is suspended until the end is signalled, there are examples (14 in 43 talks) where the talk is interrupted or more accurately other participants contribute in some way for a short period. (These interruptions to the flow occurred for the most part after at least some pause or hesitation.) Four types were found. One

example each of the two most common types is provided below. The first was an

offer of help in some way, for example, either in response to a student having difficulty with technical terms or hesitating over a word. In Example 21 below, we see the speaker struggle with the pronunciation of a term (line 1). After a pause indicating the student can’t self-repair, S18T2 then provides the correct pronunciation, which the student repeats before moving on.

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01 S17: er (,) also amnioce-

02 (3)

03 S18T2: amniocentesis

04 S17: amniocentesis (.) (PBL9.2)

The second was with affiliative laughter, relating to some shared knowledge or common ground or humour. In Example 22, as part of the explanation of pinna anomalies S5 makes a funny gesture (line 4), to which the group responds with laughter. After this temporal interruption, S5 then resumes their presentation with so (Bolden, 2009).

(22)

01 S5: pinna anomalies ah

02 which is ah the part of the ear

03 that projects like a little wing from the head 04 it’s like that ((gestures))

05 ((group laughs))

06 S5: so (,) (PBL7.2)

Although less common, two other sets of interruptions were observed. One relates to confirmatory responses, where a point (usually a word) is repeated (e.g., S10: twice tenfold, S12: twice from PBL9.2). The second example relates to direct interruptions, the least common type. Very rarely a tutor interjects with a direct challenge to the speaker about the accuracy of the information.

After each type of interruption, the speaker quickly resumes the report and, in all but two reports, continues to the end uninterrupted. Two PBL tutorials stand out: PBL9.2, which included interruptions of some sort to six of the eight

speakers. Once the first report had seen three interruptions, this seemed to lead to more interactive opportunities in five of the other reports. There were also no interruptions in the formal PBL12.2 presentations.

In the examples of interruptions or breaks in talk, we can see then where they appear allowable and how they are sequentially relevant. These are generally two part exchanges (with a verbal or non-verbal response), with so often used in the following subsequent turn to indicate they are moving forward. The

interruptions during the reports are mainly positive, either in affiliative laughter, assistance or confirming understanding. It is unusual at this stage in the PBL for a student to be critiqued or challenged in some way mid-talk.