Teachers’ Eyebrow and Head Movements and Repeats as Other-Initiations of Repair in Second-Language Classrooms

Abstract

This study investigates how teachers use language and bodily-visual practices, and particularly facial gestures, to initiate repair of problems in students’ utterances in Chinese as a Second Language classroom interactions. We identify two multimodal practices used by teachers for other-initiation of repair. First, teachers use a “visual repair initiator” of eyebrow raises and head tilts to address apparent language errors in students’ utterances without specifying the trouble-source. Second, teachers use full or partial repeats with marked prosody and eyebrow raises to display problems with accepting a student’s response. We argue that the two practices are deployed to deal with different types of problems in students’ utterances.

Keywords

• other-initiation of repair
• eyebrow movement
• head movement
• Chinese as a Second Language classroom interaction