Interactional sociolinguistics as a multi-pronged approach to office hour rapport management

Abstract

This study proposes a multi-pronged approach for examining office hour (OH) rapport management. Using an interactional sociolinguistic lens, I investigate how an international teaching assistant (ITA) managed rapport in the face of misunderstanding and schema mismatch during an OH consultation. Data were collected through classroom observations, OH video-recording, an exit survey, and follow-up interviews with participants to facilitate triangulation. Utilizing frame analysis and contextualization cues, I analyzed the strategies the ITA used to maintain and strengthen rapport with his international student. I show that a multi-method approach illuminates how participants’ mismatch in schemas was displayed to one another at the interactional level, which led to rapport challenge and misunderstanding. I argue that using multiple methods is beneficial in revealing the intercultural nature of OH meetings where small “c” culture (i.e., institutional culture) was negotiated. While previous research predominantly focused on face management, this study complexifies our understanding of rapport by highlighting the importance of managing (a) interactional goals and (b) rights and obligations, two under-researched bases of rapport.