The sequential organization of text and speech in multimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication

Abstract

AbstractThis study uses conversation analysis to describe the sequential and functional relationship between text and speech turns in an English conversational lesson conducted in multimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) involving text and speech modes. Focusing on repair sequences, I examine the relative timing of turns in each mode, the interactional practices that participants employed to handle timing discrepancy, and how both modes were utilized to maintain the pedagogical and interpersonal purposes of the encounter. The analysis shows that synchronous timing between text and speech turns was rare. In time lags between text and speech turns, if the repair was a self-initiated other-repair initiated by the tutee, speech turns did not seem to orient to the time lag. In other types of repair, the tutor utilized a range of practices to accommodate for the time lags, such as extreme slow speech tempo, pivot turns, and topic pursuits. The tutor also used the silent and visual features of text to insert and project an upcoming teaching episode in the midst of unfolding topical talk. The findings suggest that multimodal SCMC is a holistic process in which the affordances of modes can be employed dynamically and integratively to achieve social actions.