Delivering task instructions in multimodal synchronous online language teaching

Multimodal (inter)action analysis of task instructions in language teaching via videoconferencing: A case study

“…In Satar & Wigham (2020) we identified higher-level actions related to instruction-giving that were employed in the lessons drawing on grounded theory principles (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) and demonstrated how instructions are achieved using multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris, 2004). Here, we propose a revelatory single-case study (Yin, 2018) of one teacher (Craig) who offered us multiple opportunities to observe and analyse the semio-pedagogical skills of an online language teacher while the print mode is used during an instruction-giving fragment: managing resources.…”

“…Investigating this perspective in which teachers give instructions verbally during face-to-face lessons, Markee (2015) identified six key instruction-giving fragments, including explanation of what resources learners will need during task accomplishment. In Satar & Wigham (2020), we analysed experienced language teachers' pedagogical instructions to build on Markee's (2015) fragments. However, given our analytical lens, multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris, 2004) which scrutinises mediated higher-and lower-level actions, in our work Markee's (2015) fragments constitute various higher-level actions the teachers engage in as part of their instruction-giving practices, while the modes they employ in doing so form the lower-level actions.…”

“…However, given our analytical lens, multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris, 2004) which scrutinises mediated higher-and lower-level actions, in our work Markee's (2015) fragments constitute various higher-level actions the teachers engage in as part of their instruction-giving practices, while the modes they employ in doing so form the lower-level actions. Satar & Wigham (2020) described that explanation of resources can present challenges in the online teaching context due to lack of shared physical interactional space and artefacts (e.g. task handouts).…”

“…Rather, teachers need to navigate, for example, sharing URL links to resource websites or shared online collaborative word processors via the text chat, and the distribution of text documents to learners via email or text chat. Satar & Wigham (2020) reported that the higher-level action labelled managing resources, took about a quarter of the instruction-giving sequence in two of the three teachers' lessons examined, and observed the following sub-categories: sending the resource, allocating the resource, receiving the resource, opening the resource, confirming access to the correct resource, describing the content of the resource, and reading the resource. This paper focuses on this higher-level action of managing resources.…”

“…Initially, the verbatim data was transcribed using ELAN (Sloetjes & Wittenburg, 2008) before using the software to take notes about concepts of interest that emerged over several viewings of the lesson. Following Norris (2019), this open coding allowed us to identify instructiongiving sequences for which we demarcated all sequences considered as higher-level actions (see Satar & Wigham, 2020).…”