A study on turn-taking among ninth-grade ESL students

Sammanfattning

This paper reports on findings about how students pass and take turns during peer interaction in English as a foreign language. The collected data consists of audio recordings documenting oral productions of student participants of ninth grade in Stockholm, Sweden. By applying elements from Conversation Analysis, the analysis reveals that the interactions between students employed a variety of turn-passing and turn-taking strategies, including both linguistic and paralinguistic practices. Prosodic cues were central in facilitating turn transitions, particularly pauses, intonation and changes in loudness. The findings highlight how the range of practices observed result in conversations that closely resemble authentic, dialogic interactions. With a task that encourages peer conversation, students were able to participate collaboratively, building meaning together. Pedagogical relevance lies in understanding how task-based, student-centred activities provide opportunities for students to manage conversation and develop interactional competence.