(Dis)fluencies and their contribution to the co-construction of meaning in native and non-native tandem interactions of French and English

Abstract

In this paper, (dis)fluencies will be examined during tandem interactions in French and English by exploring the notions of secondary didacticity and pedagogical intention outside the classroom environment. While (dis)fluencies have typically been viewed as disturbances and markers of production difficulty, or have only been analyzed from a strictly verbal or vocal point of view, this paper offers a fresh multimodal perspective on these processes by taking into account the visual-gestural features of spoken interactions, mainly manual gestures and eye gaze. Based on the qualitative analyses of two sequences, this paper will illustrate how native and non-native speakers co-construct meaning during the course of their talk by relying on several semiotic resources. Our detailed analyses allow for a richer and deeper understanding of (dis)fluencies as they show the way (dis)fluencies can be negotiated multimodally in context during jointly collaborative activities in tandem settings.