Multimodal interactive alignment: Language learners’ interaction in CMC tasks through Instagram
Technological advancement has enabled language learners to employ verbal and nonverbal cues in computer-mediated communication (CMC). These cues can support language use for learners wishing to communicate more effectively in English. Interactive alignment is one phenomenon that shows how humans...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
University of Hawaii
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10125/73563 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94984 |
| Summary: | Technological advancement has enabled language learners to employ verbal and nonverbal cues in
computer-mediated communication (CMC). These cues can support language use for learners wishing to
communicate more effectively in English. Interactive alignment is one phenomenon that shows how humans
tend to collaborate in their language use by adapting, priming, and reusing verbal and nonverbal cues to
achieve mutual understanding. Informed by a sociocognitive framework, this study explored and
documented English language learners’ multimodal interactive alignment during their CMC task
engagement through Instagram. We collected data from 30 first-year Indonesian business school learners
who participated in seven online CMC tasks using Instagram chat features: text chat, voice chat, and video
chat. To examine various interactive alignments (e.g., how interlocutors adapt, prime, and reuse verbal
and nonverbal cues to achieve mutual understanding) that occurred during multimodal task
communication, we employed multimodal (inter)action analysis. Findings revealed that learners adapted
and reused various nonverbal features (e.g., emojis, GIFs, facial expressions, gestures) and verbal cues
(e.g., expression, lexical) to convey and comprehend meaning during CMC task completion. Caveats about
using various nonverbal alignment patterns for supporting better English online communication were also
noted. The study highlights how language learners use the full repertoire of semiotic resources in CMC to
maximize their online language learning. |
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