Multimodally Enhanced Opportunities for Language Learning: Gestures Used in Word Search Sequences in ESL Tutoring

Focusing on word search sequences initiated by ESL learners in conversation tutoring, this study examines how the participants use gestures order to facilitate language learning as well mutual understanding. Adopting methodological framework of Conversation Analysis, it analyzes two particular sequential contexts: (a) when a tutee uses without candidate solution her/his search, directly soliciting tutor’s co-participation; and (b) with but there is mismatch between accompanying gesture. A fine-grained analysis participants’ moment-by-moment verbal nonverbal actions reveals that create multimodally enhanced opportunities for allowing tutor offer lexical items are new or unfamiliar and/or provide corrective feedback errors. The findings from implications role gesture L2 some key concepts second acquisition such output, feedback, communication strategies.