This paper describes classroom feedback from a multimodal perspective, which does not only analyze teacher-student verbal interaction but gesture, gaze, and intonation.
Traditionally classroom feedback has been examined based on teachers’ oral and/or written correction of students (see for example, Aljaafreh & Lantolf, 1994; Lyster & Ranta, 1997; Poehner & Lantolf, 2005). Less research has examined how teacher and student multimodal (verbal and gestural) feedback influences the ecology of the classroom (For a review see, Davies, 2006; Majlesi, 2018; Shvidko, 2018; Wang & Loewen, 2016, Smotrova 20xx). Grounded in Conversation Analysis and multimodality (Hepburn & Bolden, 2013; Kress, 2003, 2009) and drawing from previous research on the impact of gestures in the classroom and feedback interactions (See Shvidko, 2018; Wang & Loewen, 2016), this paper describes how multimodal responses, that is, the use of talk, intonation, body and gesture as communicative resources, promoted and/or discouraged learning in an EFL ninth-grade class where a teacher endeavored to mediate learners’ errors while correcting two listening tasks. By using Conversation Analysis as a tool to 1) transcribe what the teacher and students say and do in the class interaction, 2) categorize the structural order in the lesson, and 3) analyze the multimodal feedback in the interaction, this paper shows not only the verbal feedback modes in this classroom episode, but also the multimodal responses the teacher and students used in this interaction. Findings revealed that the teacher used multiple modes of feedback to scaffold learning in different ways. The teacher additionally used gesture and intonation to elaborate on meaningful contributions that students made to scaffold each other’s learning. He further used humor to zoom out from one-on-one focus, acknowledge the class’ participation in the lesson, and encourage their engagement.
