Abstract
Abstract: This study investigated backchannels, short verbal responses such as yeah, employed by Indonesian L2 speakers of English in the interactions with L1 speakers of Australian English in Australian academic setting. The naturally-occurring dyadic interactions were audiotaped and scrutinised in a sequential analysis of conversation analysis. The examination was aimed to scrutinise the pragmatic functions and the placement of backchannels within the sequential organisation of the interactions. The findings showed that they used backchannel responses involving non-lexical items, lexical items, and combinations of lexical and non-lexical items. Backchannel responses existed in different linguistic environments that may be culturally specific such as after you know. Backchannels were used to show attentiveness, agreement, and comprehension of the speaker’s talk. Besides, they also employed backchannels to express politeness to satisfy the supervisors’ positive face in the interactions. In this study, they appear to converge their linguistic devices to that of their supervisors.
Highlights
In face-to-face interaction, an addressee may provide a variety of short responses to the speaker who speaks for the extended period
The present study focused on backchannels in the interactions between Indonesian L2 speakers of English who were postgraduate students and L1 speakers of Australian English who were the supervisors
The backchannel responses were frequently used after clause boundaries and rising intonation in intercultural interactions
Summary
In face-to-face interaction, an addressee may provide a variety of short responses to the speaker who speaks for the extended period. Short verbal responses or backchannels are employed to convey the addressee's feedback. Backchannels include vocal expressions such as uh- huh, yeah, and okay as well as head nods, and eye blinks (Bangerter & Clark, 2003; Schegloff, 1982). They show that the addressee of an interaction is not the inactive recipient of the given information; instead they correspondingly ‘try to keep speakers informed of their current state of understanding’ (Clark & Krych, 2004: 66). Backchannels, in this case, short verbal responses, has become the interest of scholars Backchannels “are central to conversational success, demonstrating the producer’s active participation in not just turn taking, but in the development of the speaker’s talk.’ (Tolins & Tree, 2014, p. 153).
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