Audible gestures: Single claps as a resource for managing interaction
This study focuses on one type of audible gesture, designedly single claps (DSCs), as used by different people at an educational institution. The institution is designed to provide second language English users with opportunities to use English in various situations. Through the use of Multimodal Conversation Analysis, the analysis first focuses on the shape of DSCs and what makes them visible as not projecting further claps. Next, the analysis focuses on how DSCs are used within their sequential context. DSCs can take a variety of shapes, in that there are different ways not to project further claps; they can be used to attract attention of multiple recipients, and thus as one resource to manage interaction; and they are used as such a resource by representatives of the educational institution, who take on teacher roles within the interaction, with responsibility and deontic authority to manage shifts in activity and participation framework.
Publication history
1.Introduction
Clapping can be considered the prototypical member of a subset of gestures that are distinctive because they involve the production of sound, what I will call audible gestures. One use of audible gestures, which is based on the fact that they are audible, is to attract the attention of others. For example, in one of the two examples of repairing an unsuccessful attempt to achieve joint attention in an exhibition gallery of an art museum, Christidou (2018)Christidou, Dimitra 2018 “Art on the Move: The Role of Joint Attention in Visitors’ Encounters with Artworks.” Learning, Culture and Social Interaction 19: 1–10. shows how the sound of snapping fingers can be used to attract attention. Audible gestures can also be used to call attention to particular things, such as co-occurring talk. Kern (2018)Kern, Friederike 2018 “Clapping Hands with the Teacher: What Synchronization Reveals about Learning.” Journal of Pragmatics 125: 28–42. , for example, shows how clapping can be used (by a teacher) to call attention to word syllabification and (by children) to publicly display learning of this. However, Kern also shows that what the children learn is how to synchronize their embodied conduct with the teacher, rather than syllabification, so what the clapping is calling attention to would actually seem to be the teacher’s embodied conduct, including the clapping itself.
Including Kern (2018)Kern, Friederike 2018 “Clapping Hands with the Teacher: What Synchronization Reveals about Learning.” Journal of Pragmatics 125: 28–42. , there is a limited amount prior research on clapping which takes an emic perspective on how it is used in social interaction. When clapping is done as applause, it has been shown that it is normatively initiated as a burst by multiple participants (Atkinson 1984aAtkinson, J. Maxwell 1984a Our Masters’ Voices: The Language and Body Language of Politics. Methuen., 1984b 1984b “Public Speaking and Audience Response: Some Techniques for Inviting Applause.” In Structures of Social Action: Studies in Conversation Analysis, ed. by J. Maxwell Atkinson, and John Heritage, 370–409. Cambridge University Press.) and that, in certain contexts, public speakers can make use of powerful rhetorical devices that can cue such a burst (Atkinson 1984aAtkinson, J. Maxwell 1984a Our Masters’ Voices: The Language and Body Language of Politics. Methuen., 1984b 1984b “Public Speaking and Audience Response: Some Techniques for Inviting Applause.” In Structures of Social Action: Studies in Conversation Analysis, ed. by J. Maxwell Atkinson, and John Heritage, 370–409. Cambridge University Press.; Heritage and Greatbatch 1986Heritage, John, and David Greatbatch 1986 “Generating Applause: A Study of Rhetoric and Response at Party Political Conferences.” American Journal of Sociology 92 (1): 110–157. ). While Atkinson and Heritage and Greatbatch focus more on how speakers cue applause, so that it can be initiated as a burst, that potential applauders also orient to this norm can be seen in cases in which a person starts to applaud but abandons it upon finding that others are not applauding. (See Extract 9 for an example.) However, in other contexts, applause can be done and used differently, as shown by Hosoda and Aline’s (2010)Hosoda, Yuri, and David Aline 2010 “Positions and Actions of Classroom-Specific Applause.” Pragmatics 20 (2): 133–148. research on applause during English lessons in Japanese elementary schools. Their findings show that teachers can initiate applause as a form of positive assessment of a student performance and that this applause may be joined by students. When it is not joined by students, this is not treated as problematic. When it is joined by students, this may include the student who is the recipient of the positive assessment. In contrast, in one case in which a student attempts to initiate applause but others do not join, the applause is quickly abandoned. How applause is done and used, then, depends to some extent on the relevant context and the relevant situated identities of the participants (e.g., teacher, student, politician giving a speech to supporters, audience members).
Other research has looked at uses of clapping beyond applause. As described above, Kern (2018)Kern, Friederike 2018 “Clapping Hands with the Teacher: What Synchronization Reveals about Learning.” Journal of Pragmatics 125: 28–42. focuses on a particular non-applause use of clapping in a particular pedagogical context. Albert (2015)Albert, Saul 2015 “Rhythmical Coordination of Performers and Audience in Partner Dance: Delineating Improvised and Choreographed Interaction.” Etnografia e Ricerca Qualitativa 14 (3): 399–428. shows how audience members viewing a dance performance (with the audience members themselves also being proficient practitioners of the type of dance involved) can shift between clapping as applause and clapping with the rhythm of the dance and music. This shift shows an orientation on the part of audience members to a distinction between choreographed and improvised dance. Other research has looked at clapping more or less incidentally. In two very different contexts, Keel (2016)Keel, Sara 2016 Socialization: Parent-Child Interaction in Everyday Life. Routledge. and Sormani (2011)Sormani, Philippe 2011 “The Jubilatory YES! On the Instant Appraisal of an Experimental Finding.” Ethnographic Studies 12: 59–77. show how a single clap can be used as a kind of celebratory response to one’s own accomplishment. Finally, and probably most incidentally, Greer and Leyland (2020)Greer, Tim, and Chris Leyland 2020 “Inscribed Objects as Resources for Achieving Progressivity in Lesson Planning Talk.” Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 14 (2): 200–229. show an example of brief, applause-like clapping that is used to end a sequence and return to the main order of business.
Prior research, then, whether research which focuses specifically on clapping or research which looks at clapping somewhat incidentally, shows that it can take a variety of forms and be used for different things within social interaction. In looking through the several hours of video-recorded (institutional) interaction that comprises the data for this study (see below), clapping was found to be quite common as well as quite variable in form and use. Examples of clapping found in the data include applause initiated by multiple participants as a burst, applause initiated by a single participant and then joined by others, and abandoned applause initiated by a single participant and then dropped. Examples also include clapping produced as a component of laughing at someone or something (see note 5 and the final section below). And, while clapping often, perhaps typically, involves striking the hands together multiple times, clapping was also found done by a single person who claps a single time without this single clap projecting further claps, by either the clapping person or others. An example of this is shown in Extract 1. (See the following section for information on the setting, participants, and transcription conventions.)
01 ZOE okay. 02 GEN |oka::y, zoe |turns and walks away from Gen 03 (0.4)|(0.1)|(0.5)|(0.6) zoe |GZ back at Gen while walking zoe |GZ forward, down tom |two claps 04 ZOE very good. ↑so↓: (.) |↑let’s start. zoe |turns left, GZ up 05 ZOE |floor#1 |#2managers?#3 zoe |BH up, turns zoe |BH clap, BH held together, GZ to Sho 06 (0.3) ((unclear when hands brought down)) #1 #2 #3 07 ZOE |ready? zoe |GZ forward 08 SHO okay.= 09 UME =ye:s. 10 ZOE ↓ready? 11 (2.7) 12 ZOE let’s sta:rt.
The type of single clap that is the focus of this paper occurs in line 05 and in frames 1, 2, and 3. It is produced by Zoe as she is walking away from participants that she was interacting with before and toward participants that she addresses as “floor managers.” It comes at a point of shift in participation framework and activity. It is produced by bringing both hands together (frames 1 and 2) and then holding them together so as not to project a next clap (frame 3). (Extract 1 is analyzed in more detail below as Extracts 2 and 9.)
I will call this type of audible gesture designedly single clap (DSC). This is a clap that not only happens to be done as a single clap, but is designed to be visibly complete as a single clap. The primary purpose of this paper is to show how DSCs may be used as one resource to manage interaction with a relatively large group of other participants. This may involve managing shifts in activity and/or shifts in participation framework. One aspect of DSCs that make them usable as such a resource is that, being audible, they may help to attract recipients’ attention.
It should be noted that my interest in DSCs stems less from the findings of prior research on clapping and other audible gestures and more from the fact that DSCs are a recurrently used resource by some of the participants in the data. It thus appears, from an emic perspective, to be an important gesture. It also appears to be a use of clapping that has not been described before, at least from an emic perspective of how it is used in social interaction. Therefore, in order to gain a better understanding of how participants in social interaction use clapping and other audible gestures, DSCs present themselves as a potentially important object of inquiry.
Below, I first introduce the data and explain important features of how it is transcribed and analyzed. I then analyze the shape of several DSCs to show how they are visually designed not to project further claps. Next, in the primary analytical section, I analyze the use of DSCs, focusing on the sequential context in which they are used and what they accomplish. Finally, I discuss what makes DSCs a potentially (but in fact not necessarily) useful resource for managing interaction within relatively large groups.
2.Data and method
The data consist of video-recordings made at Tokyo Global Gateway (TGG), an educational institution in Tokyo, funded by both public and private sources, which is designed to provide visitors – users of English as a second language, of various ages and proficiency in English – with experiences of using English. At TGG, visitors participate in roleplays designed to simulate activities they may engage in while traveling or living abroad, such as arranging activities at a travel agency, buying medicine at a pharmacy, or ordering food at a fast-food restaurant. They also take English-medium classes designed to simulate study abroad, with classes at a variety of levels related to such things as performing arts, science, sustainable development, and television broadcasting. Visitors to TGG interact with two different types of institutional representatives: agents, who are assigned to a group of visitors for one day, and specialists, who teach particular classes or are in charge of particular activities.11.The terms agent and specialist are the terms used at TGG. The agents accompany the group they are assigned to as they move through different scheduled activities. They provide support to the visitors by, for example, helping them follow instructions given to them by a specialist, and also take part in roleplays. In addition, one day at TGG involves a warm-up session in the morning and a review session in the afternoon during which visitors interact with their assigned agent without any engagement from specialists. Both agents and specialists are non-Japanese, proficient first- or second-language users of English.
The data were collected by focusing on one agent, Tom, and a group of eight lower secondary school students. Tom is a first-language user of English from Australia. The students are part of a larger group from a school in Tokyo and are on the third day of a three-day program. The focal student group consists of four males (Dai, Sho, Zen, and Gen) and four females (Cho, Mio, Eri, and Ume). On this day, in addition to the warm-up and review sessions, this group takes a class on television broadcasting; engages in roleplays related to travel, buying medicine, and ordering food; and takes two science classes. With the exception of the warm-up and review sessions, each of these activities also involves other groups from the same school, each with their own agent. Each group of students had different agents on the previous two days of their visit. All participants gave consent for their interaction to be recorded and used for research. In order to protect anonymity, all names of individuals (including names that appear in transcriptions of talk) are pseudonyms and images of individuals have been modified.
Interaction is analyzed through Multimodal Conversation Analysis. Talk has been transcribed in black New Courier font following conventions used in Conversation Analysis (Jefferson 2004 2004 “Glossary of Transcript Symbols with an Introduction.” In Conversation Analysis: Studies from the First Generation, ed. by Gene H. Lerner, 13–31. John Benjamins. ), with the addition of a symbol for falsetto voice ( f ), that is, talk produced in a higher than usual pitch range for the speaker. This symbol appears before and after such talk. Embodied conduct is shown in two ways in the transcripts. First, based loosely on the system developed by Mondada (2018)Mondada, Lorenza 2018 “Multiple Temporalities of Language and Body in Interaction: Challenges for Transcribing Multimodality.” Research on Language and Social Interaction 51 (1): 85–106. , descriptions of such conduct, in gray font, appear below the talk. The producer of this conduct is indicated by a lowercase pseudonym on the left. The temporal relationship between the start of this conduct and talk is indicated by a vertical gray bar (|) within the talk and at the start of the description. Abbreviations used in the descriptions include “GZ” for gaze and “RH,” “LH,” and “BH” for right hand, left hand, and both hands. Second, frames are used to show focal gestures (i.e., DSCs). The temporal relationship between a frame and the talk is shown by a sharp symbol followed by a number, both in gray font, within the talk (e.g., word #1word). The same number is used to label the corresponding frame.
My analysis of DSCs consists of two types: (1) descriptions of the shape of a variety of instances of DSC and (2) sequential analysis of the local context within which each instance is found.
3.The shape of DSCs
DSCs are visibly complete as a single clap as a result of how they are constructed. More specifically, this can involve (1) the hands being kept together, fingers extended and palms in contact (Extracts 2 and 3); (2) the hands being kept together by moving into a clasp (Extracts 4 and 5); (3) one hand being immediately used for a next gesture (Extracts 6 and 7); or, more rarely perhaps, (4) the hands being immediately moved away from where the DSC was produced and not used for a next gesture (Extract 8). In addition, they do not contain indications that the clapping is being abandoned in its course or re-intentionalized (Lerner and Raymond 2017Lerner, Gene H., and Geoffrey Raymond 2017 “On the Practical Re-Intentionalization of Body Behavior: Action Pivots in the Progressive Realization of Embodied Conduct.” In Enabling Human Conduct: Studies of Talk-in-Interaction in Honor of Emanuel A. Schegloff, ed. by Geoffrey Raymond, Gene H. Lerner, and John Heritage, 299–314. John Benjamins. ).
3.1Keeping the hands together
When the hands are brought together in a clap, in order to produce a next clap, they must be drawn apart while maintained in a position to produce such a next. Drawing the hands apart while maintaining a position to produce a next clap projects that at least one additional clap will be forthcoming. Conversely, keeping the hands together upon the production of a clap does not project any additional claps. Examples of this are shown in Extracts 2 and 3.
Extract 2 is from the broadcasting class, in which the students in each agent’s group produce a short news program under the guidance of the specialist Zoe and with the assistance of the agent assigned to the group.
05 ZOE |floor#1 |#2managers?#3 zoe |BH up, turns zoe |BH clap, BH held together, GZ to Sho 06 (0.3) ((unclear when hands brought down)) #1 #2 #3
In this extract, Zoe is walking across the studio and turns to move to the back of the studio, where she will control the cameras. As she is walking and talking, she brings both hands up (frame 1), claps as she says “floor managers” (frame 2), and holds them together for at least seven tenths of a second as she continues walking and talking (frame 3). Though she could project a next clap by drawing her hands apart, as long as she holds her hands together, a next clap is not projected. (It is unclear when she brings her hands down, as she walks in front of two students and the agent Tom, who end up obstructing the camera.)
Extract 3 is from the warm-up session in the morning in which Tom and the students assigned to his group get to know one another.
17 TOM =|Au|↓stralia. |ni|ce.#1 nice. tom |head back, GZ forward tom |head forward in nod, upper body forward tom |GZ right tom |clap, held 18 TOM |↑an’ tom |RH up and forward in gesture, GZ forward #1
In this extract, it is not possible to see in the video-recording exactly when Tom moves his hands into position to clap, but it is clear that he claps while saying “nice” the first time in line 17. He then keeps his hands together (frame 1) for about half a second as he repeats “nice” and through the beat of silence before he starts his next TCU with “and” in line 18. As with Zoe in Extract 2, by holding his hands together, he does not project a next clap. As he says “and,” he moves his hands apart and starts gesturing with his right hand.
3.2Clasping the hands together
Another way in which the hands are held together so as not to project a next clap following a DSC is for the hands to immediately be clasped together on the production of the clap. Examples of this are shown in Extracts 4 and 5.
Extract 4 is from the end of the broadcasting activity and involves the specialist Zoe addressing the three groups of students who have each finished producing their news program.
21 ZOE |a::n’ you’re |good #4to go |to your zoe |BH forward, out, open |BH down zoe |clap, BH clasped 22 next location. [|↑thank you. #4
As Zoe brings her hands together in line 21 while saying “you’re good,” she turns them relative to each other so that when the palms make contact to produce the clap, the fingers can be bent to result in both hands being clasped together (frame 4). This is held for about one second before she drops her hands to her sides. In contrast to the DSCs in Extracts 2 and 3, projecting a next clap from this position would involve not only drawing the hands apart but also first unclasping them.
Extract 5 is from the end of the first half of a simulated study abroad science class taught by the specialist Lyn, a professional school teacher from Australia.
07 LYN an’ #1we a|re #2going to do more lyn |clap, BH together, change to clasp 08 science.= f >| are you enjoying your lyn | BH clasp readjustment, step forward 09 science lesson? f #1 #2
Similar to Extract 4, in this extract Lyn brings her hands up (frame 1) and then claps (frame 2), while saying “are,” in such a way as to allow the hands to be clasped together with the production of the single clap. She holds her hands in this clasped position for about a second-and-a-half before readjusting how her hands are clasped together as she starts her question in lines 08–09. Again, if she were to draw her hands apart to project a next clap, she would first need to unclasp them.
3.3Moving to a next gesture
An alternative way that a next clap is not projected upon the production of a DSC is to immediately move one hand into a next gesture, so that it is no longer being used as part of the two-handed clap gesture. The boundary between one gesture and a next, or whether a stretch of embodied conduct should be understood as one gesture or two, may often be ambiguous. However, when the first gesture is a manual gesture that requires both hands, such as a clap, while the next gesture is a manual gesture that involves only one hand, that there are two distinct gestures is much less ambiguous. Examples of this are shown in Extracts 6 and 7.
Extract 6 is from the broadcasting class. At this point, the students in Tom’s group have finished rehearsing their news program in the studio and will return to the classroom to practice a bit more, before coming back to actually produce their program.
05 ZOE ↑s|o.#1 |(.) #2↑let’s leave this |way? zoe |clap |GZ left, LH point, step back tom |RH to door, GZ back #1 #2
In this extract, Zoe claps as she says “so” (frame 1) and then immediately points at one of the doors to the studio with her left hand while lowering her right hand (frame 2). She also shifts her gaze to the door and steps back. Unlike in Extracts 2 to 5, the hands are not held together but, instead, one hand is used to perform a gesture while the other is lowered. This results in the hands being far apart and not positioned for a next clap.
Extract 7 is from the morning warm-up session involving Tom and the eight students who have been assigned to his group.
20 TOM |very |g(h)oo|d.#1 |<↑ten#2 yea::rs ago.> tom |LH up vertical open-hand point to Zen tom |RH up |clap |RH gesture, GZ right #1 #2
In this extract, Tom brings his hands into position to clap as he says “very good” and produces the clap on the end of “good” (frame 1). He then moves immediately into a gesture with his right hand (frame 2). The hands are not held together, but they are also not moved into a position that would project further claps. More specifically, though this is difficult to depict in still frames, as Tom says “ten years,” he turns the palm of his right hand toward himself, raises this hand slightly, and turns his palm upwards while making a circular forward and downward movement with this hand. This gesture is thus produced as a gesticulation (Kendon 2004Kendon, Adam 2004 Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance. Cambridge University Press. ; McNeill 1992McNeill, David 1992 Hand and Mind: What Gestures Reveal about Thought. University of Chicago Press.) which accompanies the phrase “ten years ago.” For the purposes of this paper, what is important to note is that this gesture involves turning the right hand in such a way so that a next clap is not projected.
For both Extracts 6 and 7, it is important to note that, while this might not be clear in the transcript, it is clear from watching the video that these do not involve re-intentionalization of the sort investigated by Lerner and Raymond (2017)Lerner, Gene H., and Geoffrey Raymond 2017 “On the Practical Re-Intentionalization of Body Behavior: Action Pivots in the Progressive Realization of Embodied Conduct.” In Enabling Human Conduct: Studies of Talk-in-Interaction in Honor of Emanuel A. Schegloff, ed. by Geoffrey Raymond, Gene H. Lerner, and John Heritage, 299–314. John Benjamins. , as there is no indication that the clap is being abandoned and the gesture transformed. Rather, there is a complete clap gesture and then a different gesture. It should also be noted that in both of these extracts, there is a switch from using both hands for the clap gesture to using one hand for the next gesture.
3.4Moving both hands away from where the DSC was produced
A final way in which a next clap is not projected upon the production of a DSC is to immediately move both hands away from where the DSC was produced and to cease using them for gestures. This is somewhat unusual in the data. Extract 8 shows a clear case of this. There is only one other possible case in the data, which involves Tom immediately placing his hands flat on the table at which he is seated. However, this case is somewhat ambiguous as to whether it involves a DSC, re-intentionalization, or abandonment. This case will thus not be considered further.
Extract 8 is from the broadcasting class, from just before the students in Tom’s group rehearse their news program in the studio.
04 ZOE |↑s:o. (.) |↑le|t’s#1 |practice.#2 zoe |BH down, GZ forward, step forward zoe |BH up |BH down, RH swing back zoe |clap, BH together #1 #2
In this extract, at that same time that she starts walking, Zoe brings both hands up and claps as she says “let’s” (frame 1) and then moves both hands away from where the DSC was produced. In particular, she brings her right hand down slightly, holding it in a fist with her forearm horizontal, and swings her left hand back so that it becomes part of her walking (frame 2). As with Extracts 6 and 7, there are no indications that the clap is abandoned. Rather, there is a complete clap and then the hands cease to be used for gesturing.
To summarize, though there is variability in how this is done, each of these claps is produced in such a way as to not project any further claps. This allows them to be seen as designed to be single claps.
4.Use of DSCs
In this section, each of the examples introduced above is analyzed within its sequential context in order to elucidate what the DSC is being used to accomplish.
Extract 9 corresponds to Extract 2.
01 ZOE okay. 02 GEN |oka::y, zoe |turns and walks away from Gen 03 (0.4)|(0.1)|(0.5)|(0.6) zoe |GZ back at Gen while walking zoe |GZ forward, down tom |two claps 04 ZOE very good. ↑so↓: (.) |↑let’s start. zoe |turns left, GZ up 05 ZOE |floor |managers? zoe |BH up, turns zoe |BH clap, BH held together, GZ to Sho 06 (0.3) ((unclear when hands brought down)) 07 ZOE |ready? zoe |GZ forward 08 SHO okay.= 09 UME =ye:s. 10 ZOE ↓ready? 11 (2.7) 12 ZOE let’s sta:rt.
Prior to this extract, Zoe has been helping two students attach clip-on microphones and explaining to two other students about using their tabletop microphones. This is followed, immediately prior to this extract, with Zoe helping Gen correct how he has attached his clip-on microphone. In line 01, she ends this assistance with “okay” and then turns and starts walking across the room. In line 02, Gen responds with his own “okay,” which seems to attract Zoe’s attention, as she gazes back at him. However, she continues walking across the room and does not keep her gaze on him for long. In line 04, Zoe talks again, apparently addressing all the students, and turns left to walk to the back of the room, where she will be in charge of controlling the cameras, based on the instructions that she receives from the two students (Sho and Ume) who are in the role of floor manager. In line 05, as she approaches the two floor managers, she turns toward the control console, summons the floor managers, and produces the DSC. She then asks if they are ready (line 07), to which both Sho and Ume respond (lines 08 and 09).
The summons in line 05 and the question to the floor managers in line 07 are important. While in line 01 and before, Zoe has been addressing a subset of students that did not include the floor managers, and in line 04 she appears to be addressing all the students, it is the floor managers who will be in charge of giving directions to both Zoe and the other students. It is therefore important, in order to start the news program, to confirm that these two students are also prepared to start.
There are at least two things going on in this bit of interaction that are analytically ambiguous, though not necessarily ambiguous to the participants. In line 10, Zoe again asks if they (either the floor managers or everyone) are “ready,” which is followed by a fairly long silence in line 11. Then, in line 12, she gives an instruction to the group. It appears that the second question does not really need a response and that the long silence is not an indication of a lack of response. Instead, Zoe appears to be moving into position behind the control console and holds off her instruction until she herself is also ready to start. However, due to the camera angle it is difficult to tell if this is all that is happening. In addition, in line 03, the agent Tom produces two claps. He appears to be starting to applaud, as people might applaud just prior to a performance, but then abandons this after two claps.
The DSC comes at a point at which there are at least two relevant shifts, one at the level of activity and the other at the level of participation framework. At the level of activity, there is a shift from getting ready to produce the news program to starting the program. It is to this shift that Tom appears to be orienting with his possible applause in line 03. At the level of participation framework and the turn-by-turn shifts of who is addressing whom, there is a shift in line 05 to Zoe specifically addressing the floor managers. The DSC occurs in conjunction with this summons and can be understood as part of how she attracts the floor managers’ attention. That the summons with the DSC has attracted their attention is evidenced by the fact that they both answer her following question. The DSC is thus used as one resource through which Zoe accomplishes a clear shift in whom she is addressing and, in doing so, manages the interaction.
Extract 10 corresponds to Extract 3.
01 TOM |<↑wha’ |coun|try |iz |Prisha|(.) from. tom |BH forward, GZ forward |GZ left to Dai or Gen tom |BH pistol point gesture tom |BH retracted tom |GZ right tom |BH open palm gesture, held 02 (0.6) 03 ZEN In[dia. 04 DAI [Indi[a. 05 SHO [India:. 06 TOM [|India? tom |BH open palm slight beat, GZ right 07 TOM |an’ |Faith? tom |BH retracted, GZ left tom |BH open palm gesture, held 08 GEN Phillippine. 09 STF |Ph[ilippine. tom |GZ forward 10 SHO [>Philippine.< ((video blocked)) 11 |(0.2) tom |GZ right, head up 12 TOM ↓Phili|ppines. ((BH not visible)) tom |head down in single nod 13 TOM |↑an’ me? tom |GZ left, upper body back, (LH/BH) point to chest, held 14 (0.8) 15 STF Aus[tralia. 16 STS [Australia::_= 17 TOM =|Au|↓stralia. |ni|ce. nice. tom |head back, GZ forward tom |head forward in nod, upper body forward tom |GZ right tom |clap, held 18 TOM |↑an’ |wha’ |have you |done, (0.2)|(0.7) tom |RH up and forward in gesture, GZ forward tom |GZ left |(LH/BH) open palm gesture, held tom |LH beat |GZ forward 19 |so far. tom |GZ left, (LH/BH) gesture
Prior to this extract, Tom has asked the students who their agents were on their previous two days at TGG, information which he apparently did not know. On receiving this information, he indicates that he knows who the students have referred to by assessing them as “very nice ladies” (not shown). Then, in line 01, he asks what country one of these agents is from,22.The names used in lines 01 and 07 are pseudonyms. which receives responses in lines 03 to 05. Tom receipts these by repeating “India” in line 06. Though this is produced with rising intonation, Tom does not seem to expect further confirmation as he immediately moves on to ask about the other previous agent (line 07), building the question as parasitic on the original question. This receives responses in lines 08–10, which Tom receipts through repetition (line 12).33.This repetition contains an embedded correction (Jefferson 1987Jefferson, Gail 1987 “On Exposed and Embedded Correction.” In Talk and Social Organisation, ed. by Graham Button, and John R. E. Lee, 86–100. Multilingual Matters. /2018 2018 “On Exposed and Embedded Correction.” In Repairing the Broken Surface of Talk, by Gail Jefferson, 297–312. Oxford University Press.), but there is no indication that any of the recipients notice this. This repetition is produced in a lower pitch with falling intonation and is accompanied by a nod. Again, Tom does not wait for any confirmation from the students and asks about his own country of origin (line 13), once more building the question as parasitic on the original. This receives responses in lines 15–16, which Tom again receipts with repetition, which again is produced with a drop in pitch and falling intonation and is accompanied by a nod. In contrast to Tom’s questions prior to this extract, for which he does not seem to already know the answers, based on how he receipts the answers, as well as on his own likely knowledge of his co-workers’ and of his own country of origin, the questions in lines 01, 07, and 13 are recognizable as questions for which Tom already knows the answers. Tom and the students are thus engaged in the familiar three-part sequence commonly found in pedagogical interaction, consisting (in these cases) of a known-information question as the first pair-part, multiple student responses as the second pair-part, and Tom’s receipt through repetition which both confirms the answer and closes the sequence. As teachers have been observed to do in classrooms (Hellermann 2005Hellermann, John 2005 “Syntactic and Prosodic Practices for Cohesion in Series of Three-Part Sequences in Classroom Talk.” Research on Language and Social Interaction 38 (1): 105–130. ), Tom builds a series of such sequences by self-selecting, in lines 07 and 13, to ask a next known-information question, so that there are three cycles of this sequence.
After receipting the answer in line 17, Tom again self-selects and produces a positive assessment, “nice nice.” The DSC is produced in conjunction with the first “nice.” Tom then self-selects again by asking a next question, which, based on how he receipts the response (not shown), is clearly a question that he does not already know the answer to. While the answer receipt “Australia” closes the question answer sequence starting from line 13, the positive assessment can be heard as directed to the students’ ability to answer each of the known-answer questions in the series that started from line 01. The DSC is thus produced as part of a positive assessment that closes a series of three-part sequences before Tom goes on to ask a question that seeks information, rather than testing the students’ knowledge. The DSC is thus one resource through which Tom manages a shift in the sort of question that he is asking and, thus, in the activity.
Extract 11 corresponds to Extract 4.
01 ((STS talking; ZOE walking to front of room)) 02 ZOE everyone please=s:::sit do::↑w:n 03 |↓sit do::↑wn zoe |stops walking, steps back 04 (1.4) 05 BEN alright |so let’s listen |first? ben |RH to drink |RH open-hand point to Zoe zoe |BH up 06 ZOE <o|ka:y #1↑s:o> |this i::s thee e:::nd of zoe |clap, BH held together zoe |BH down, BH clasp 07 this pro:gram. 08 (0.3) 09 ZOE |awesome job everyone_ |(0.4) |↑grea:t #2 zoe |BH apart, up in thumbs up |clap, BH clasped zoe |BH open to clap 10 teamwor:k_ (0.2)|(0.6) ↑I |really #3liked zoe |BH apart and open to clap, GZ and step right zoe |clap, BH clasped #1 #2 #3 11 your program_ |so |congratu|la:tions zoe |BH apart |BH down zoe |BH up in thumbs up, GZ and step left 12 |on your |first <pro|fessional n:ews zoe |BH up, out, open |BH slight beat kim |BH up ben |BH apart to clap ben |BH together and rubbing 13 broadcast.>| zoe |BH move together 14 ZOE |↑w[ell |do:ne. ((some students join applause)) 15 KIM [ya::::y zoe |starts applause kim |starts applause ben |BH apart ben |joins applause 16 (3.3) ((other sts join; Tom joins quietly)) 17 ZOE so |now let’s |take |off |the yellow zoe |BH up, step right |BH “take off” gesture zoe |BH “take off” gesture ben |BH prep to stand ben |starts to stand tom |step forward 18 ta:gs,= 19 BEN =okay, 20 (0.5) 21 ZOE |a::n’ you’re |good to go |to your zoe |BH forward, out, open |BH down zoe |clap, BH clasped 22 next location. [|↑thank you. 23 BEN [alrigh:t ↑so we are … zoe |LH to (nose/upper lip)
The DSC in line 21 of Extracts 4 and 11 is actually the fourth of a series of DSCs, with the others in lines 06, 09, and 10. This extract starts after the last group has finished performing their news program and has left the studio to return to the classroom where they prepared their own program and watched the other groups perform their programs. As Zoe walks into the room, several students are talking and some are standing. While walking, Zoe summons all the students (line 02) and instructs them to sit (lines 02–03). After she reaches the front of the room, she waits for them to follow her instruction. At least one agent, Ben, can be seen and heard to recognize a need for the students to attend to Zoe, as he instructs the students in his group to listen (line 05). This also involves an open-handed point gesture to Zoe that results in Ben postponing taking a drink.
In line 06, Zoe again addresses the class, starting with “okay,” produced with the first DSC (frame 1). This DSC involves keeping the hands together, though not clasped, and as with the other DSCs described in the previous section, it does not project further claps as part of this gesture. Zoe then announces that this particular program is finished. In lines 09 to 11, she produces three positive assessments, with the first two being assessments of the students’ performance and the third being a subjective statement of her own reaction to the product of this performance. The second (frame 2) and third (frame 3) DSCs are produced in conjunction with the second and third assessments. Each of these involves the hands being clasped together so as not to project further claps. While there are thus three DSCs in close proximity, each is produced as a separate gesture that does not project further claps as part of that gesture.
Following these assessments, in lines 11 to 15, there is a different sort of clapping, with the difference being something that is relevant for the participants. As with other DSCs, none of the other participants responded to the three DSCs so far as making relevant their own clapping. As Zoe congratulates the students in lines 11 to 13, she does a two-handed thumbs-up gesture (line 11) and then moves both hands out, with palms up and fingers extended (line 12), projecting possible applause. As shown by part of the relatively small amount of previous research on applause (e.g., Atkinson 1984aAtkinson, J. Maxwell 1984a Our Masters’ Voices: The Language and Body Language of Politics. Methuen.), it is normatively initiated as a burst. Two of the agents, Ben and Kim, apparently see Zoe’s outstretched arms and open hands as projecting applause. In line 12, Kim brings both hands up, possibly in preparation to applaud. In the same line, Ben also brings both hands apart, with fingers extended and palms facing, and appears to be about to initiate applause as he brings his hands together. However, he then rubs his hands together without producing any sound. It appears that Ben, hearing that Zoe is continuing to talk and seeing that she has not initiated applause, re-intentionalizes (Lerner and Raymond 2017Lerner, Gene H., and Geoffrey Raymond 2017 “On the Practical Re-Intentionalization of Body Behavior: Action Pivots in the Progressive Realization of Embodied Conduct.” In Enabling Human Conduct: Studies of Talk-in-Interaction in Honor of Emanuel A. Schegloff, ed. by Geoffrey Raymond, Gene H. Lerner, and John Heritage, 299–314. John Benjamins. ) the gesture as a self-attentive non-communicative hand movement. Zoe starts moving her hands together at the end of line 13 and initiates applause at the start of line 14, as she does a fourth positive assessment. The prior projection of the applause allows Kim to join the initiation (and to also give her own positive assessment in line 15), so that it is initiated as a burst, and allows Ben to join a moment later. The other agent in the room, Tom, and many of the students join the applause as it continues in line 16.
Finally, Zoe tells the students one more thing that they should do (lines 17–18) and informs the students that they will now go to the next “location” on their schedule (lines 21–22). The students respond to the final instruction by starting to take off their tags and the agents respond by starting to collect them, with at least one, Ben, also producing talk (line 19). The fourth DSC in this extract, and the one in Extract 4 above, is produced as part of the informing following the final instruction. One agent, Ben, and possibly others, also start telling the students about moving to the next activity (line 23 and following).
The four DSCs in this extract are thus produced by Zoe through her extended closing of this class, which involves procedural instructions to sit down and take something off, an announcement of the end of the class, multiple positive assessments, congratulations with applause, and an informing that it is time to leave this location. All of Zoe’s talk is addressed to the students, whose attention is quite variable, with some of them standing and/or talking at the beginning of the extract and starting to take off and hand their tags to their agent following the applause and final instruction at the end. Zoe’s talk is also informative for the agents, letting them know that they should collect the tags and lead their groups out of the room. The DSCs thus provide one resource through which Zoe manages the closing of the activity, and the construction of a participation framework in which she is addressing the class, while dealing with various competing possible focuses of students’ and agents’ attention.
Extract 12 corresponds to Extract 5.
01 ((LYN GZ on projected image on wb)) 02 LYN so that is okay. 03 (3.0) ((LYN RH using remote control)) 04 LYN <we are> |going to |have a |break lyn |RH retracted, GZ left to class lyn |rc to LH lyn |GZ behind 05 no:w, |.h you are going: to: lyn |GZ to class, step right 06 |come back |in ten minutes, |.h lyn |RH up |RH “come” gesture lyn |BH up 07 an’ we a|re going to do more lyn |clap, BH together, change to clasp 08 science.= f >| are you enjoying your lyn |BH clasp readjustment, step forward 09 science lesson? f
Prior to and at the start of this extract, the specialist Lyn is finishing up a slideshow being projected on the whiteboard. The students are seated in groups of four at several different round tables. Some are gazing toward Lyn and/or the slideshow, while others have their attention elsewhere. (See Figure 1.) During the silence in line 03, Lyn uses the remote control to end the slideshow. Then, as she explains to the students that they will have a break, she appears to put the remote control on a table behind her. (This is not noted in the transcript, as it is not clear precisely when she puts the remote control down, but it happens around the end of line 04 and start of line 05.) Then, in lines 05 to 08, Lyn explains to the students how long the break will be and what they will do after the break. The DSC occurs during this explanation. Immediately after this explanation, in lines 08 to 09, Lyn steps forward, readjusts how her hands are clasped together, and in a falsetto and more animated voice, addresses a question to the students, which receives a few scattered and quiet confirmatory responses (not shown).
Lyn appears to be using the DSC as one resource to gain the students’ attention during her explanation, an explanation relevant to a shift in activity, so that they better align as recipients in a participation framework in which the teacher is addressing the class. It does not, though, seem to have much effect, which might be why she then uses a higher pitched and more animated voice to ask her question. (See the Concluding Discussion for consideration of the limited success of this clap in gaining attention.)
Extract 13 corresponds to Extract 6.
01 ZOE |↑and. |f remember to |↑smi::le.f = zoe |BH out, GZ left |BH “smile” gesture zoe |BH together tom |starts walking 02 CHO =h hh 03 ZOE f oka:y? f 04 ZOE |an’ some gestures. zoe |BH “gesturing” gesture 05 ZOE ↑s|o. |(.) ↑let’s leave this |way? zoe |clap|GZ left, LH point, step back tom |RH to door, GZ back
Prior to and at the start of this extract, which comes at the end of the news program rehearsal, the specialist Zoe is giving the students advice related to what to do when they come back to the studio to produce their news program. In line 01, she switches to a higher pitched voice to give an additional piece of advice. Tom orients to Zoe’s advice as reaching its end, and projecting the group’s exit from the studio, by starting to walk toward the door through which the group will leave. In line 02, one of the students responds to the advice by laughing slightly, after which Zoe appears to pursue a response in line 03. However, rather than waiting for a response, she switches back to her usual pitch range and adds another piece of advice in line 04. One thing to note about the advice is that it is for those students who will appear on camera, and will therefore need to smile and gesture, rather than for those who have other roles. Then, in line 05, she says “so” and produces the DSC, after which she points to the door and instructs the students on how to leave the studio. This is an instruction addressed to all the students and relevant as well for Tom. Near the end of the instruction, Tom reaches the exit door and turns back toward Zoe.
The DSC is thus used at a point of a shift between giving advice and telling the students to exit the studio. It can be seen as a resource to manage the interaction by drawing attention to the following point gesture, a gesture which it is necessary to attend to in order to understand what “this way” refers to in the instruction. It also serves as a resource to manage a shift in the participation framework from addressing some of the students to addressing the entire group.
Extract 14 corresponds to Extract 7.
01 ((Student applause fading out as Tom starts talking)) 02 TOM |now ↑let’s make (.) eigh new |story. tom |RH index finger horizontal circle gesture tom |RH faster circle 03 (0.5) 04 TOM |but ↑not tee jee jee. tom |BH “X” gesture 05 (0.4) 06 STF |e::? tom |BH vertical circle gesture 07 TOM ↑anything. |↑a:nd (0.5) |eigh: |↓uh (.) tom |LH index point |(BH) “crazy” gesture tom |BH to chest 08 |↑cra:zy |story_ |(0.6) is a good story. tom |(BH) speed up “crazy” tom |BH down|BH up thumbs up, start 3 beats 09 (1.4) 10 STF [( ) 11 TOM [|↑crazy story (0.5)|(0.5) is |a good story. tom |BH “crazy” |BH thumbs up tom |BH palms together 12 |(1.0)|(0.5) tom |GZ scan left-to-right zen |BH off hips, front 13 TOM |so |(1.5) |↑who wants to: tom |BH toward chest, palms together tom |GZ scan right-to-center, then center-to-left tom |LH down, RH raise zen |clap |LH to hair 14 |star::t (0.4) |the |story. tom |GZ scan left-to-right tom |GZ scan right-to-left zen |LH raise zen |LH partially lowered 15 (0.2)|(0.7) tom |RH gesture to Zen, head back-forward 16 TOM |(h)ok(h)ay. tom |RH down zen |LH down 17 (2.2) 18 ZEN ten years |ago:. zen |nod, GZ to Sho 19 (0.5) 20 TOM |very |g(h)oo|d. |<↑ten yea::rs ago.> tom |LH up vertical open-hand point to Zen tom |RH up |clap|RH gesture, GZ right 21 |(0.9) tom |LH gesture to Sho 22 UME ↑↑he::?= 23 SHO =I went to:_ (0.5)
One thing to note about this extract is that one student, Zen, produces a possible, but highly ambiguous, DSC in line 13, after which he lowers his right hand and moves into self-attentive grooming with his left. Because Zen has his back to the camera, the hands are not visible during the clap. If this is indeed a DSC, it is the only one in the data that is produced by a student. I have, though, found a handful of other cases in which a student produces a different sort of single clap as part of laughing at someone or something. One possibility is that Zen’s clap is part of a response to the possible humor of Tom’s description of what makes a good story in line 11 (itself a repetition of what he says in line 08) and that, finding that others are not responding to what Tom has said as humorous, Zen re-intentionalizes the gesture (Lerner and Raymond 2017Lerner, Gene H., and Geoffrey Raymond 2017 “On the Practical Re-Intentionalization of Body Behavior: Action Pivots in the Progressive Realization of Embodied Conduct.” In Enabling Human Conduct: Studies of Talk-in-Interaction in Honor of Emanuel A. Schegloff, ed. by Geoffrey Raymond, Gene H. Lerner, and John Heritage, 299–314. John Benjamins. ). Again, though, what Zen is doing with this clap is ambiguous, at least to the analyst viewing the video-recording.
Focusing on the context of Tom’s much less ambiguous DSC, prior to this extract, the students have been doing an English-use activity that Tom refers to as “let’s make a story” (not shown). This involves the students collaboratively producing a “story,” presumably constructed of what will become one or more grammatical sentences, by the first student producing one or more words, then the student to the left adding one or more words, and so on. At the start of the extract the students have already produced one story, about TGG, that Tom has accepted as complete. Even though the first story has been constructed by the students, Tom has been a central participant in the activity by receipting students’ contributions through such things as repetition, selecting the next student through both talk and gesture, and indicating that the story should be continued or is complete. The participation framework of the activity, then, primarily consists of Tom interacting one-on-one with individual students, with shifts in whom he is interacting with being both fairly predictable and marked by Tom through talk and/or gesture. The other students are positioned as ratified participants (Goffman 1981Goffman, Erving 1981 Forms of Talk. University of Pennsylvania Press.).
In line 02, Tom proposes that they do this activity again, but adds the caveat, accompanied by a gesture, that the story should not be about TGG (line 04). He then gives a positive description of what kind of story is wanted (lines 07–11). Tom then asks for a volunteer (lines 13–14) and one student, Zen, responds almost immediately by raising his hand.44.Tom has a recurrent way of talking to the students that involves producing a possibly complete TCU, leaving a silence that would appear to be a gap, and then adding an increment. Lines 13 to 14 provide an example of this, as “who wants to start” is possibly complete, at least grammatically, and then “the story” is added after a silence. One result is that Zen comes to raise his hand with the end of – in fact, in overlap with the end of – Tom’s recompleted question. Without the increment, it would have been a bit delayed. See Nanbu (in prep)Nanbu, Z. in prep. “Incrementally Co-Constructing L2 Interactional Competence in a ‘Simulated Wild’ Context.”. Lines 18 and 19 of Extract 10 show something similar. Tom selects him through talk and gesture (line 16) and he starts with “ten years ago” (line 18). As he says this, he shifts his gaze to the student on his left, Sho, displaying his understanding that Sho will produce the next part of the story, as well as that this story will be constructed in the same manner as the previous story. While Sho has an opportunity to provide his own contribution during the silence in line 19, he does not do so, and in line 20, Tom responds to Zen’s start by pointing to Zen and positively assessing it with “very good,” said while laughing slightly.
The DSC occurs during the assessment. Tom then shifts his gaze to other students as he repeats what Zen has said to start the story, relaying his contribution to the others and indexing his acceptance of it, after which he gesturally selects Sho to go next (line 21). Tom thus displays that his participation in the construction of this story will be along the same lines as in the previous story. The DSC provides a resource for managing the interaction by possibly drawing attention to how he is contributing to the activity. It also occurs at a point where a shift in the participation framework from Tom interacting with Zen to Tom interacting with Sho is predictable.
Finally, Extract 15 corresponds to Extract 8.
01 ((Zoe explaining to sts, right arm extended)) 02 ZOE |cannot |see. zoe |RH gesture zoe |RH beat 03 GEN ↑o↓kay: 04 ZOE |okay?= zoe |GZ right, BH thumbs up 05 DAI =º(hai).º 06 (0.6) 07 ZOE |↑s:o. (.) |↑le|t’s |practice. zoe |BH down, GZ forward, step forward zoe |BH up |BH down, RH swing back zoe |clap, BH together
Just prior to and at the start of this extract, Zoe has been explaining to two students, Gen and Dai, that if they move out of a certain area, they will not be captured by the camera. After she finishes the explanation in line 02, Gen responds with “okay” in line 03. Zoe then gazes to Dai and pursues a response from him in line 04, which he provides in line 05. This is followed by a silence, but then Zoe implicitly accepts the response by dropping her gesture, shifting her gaze, and starting to walk away while saying “so” (line 07). She then addresses all the students with “let’s practice” with the DSC being used during “let’s.”
The DSC is thus used at a point where there is a shift in the participation framework from Zoe addressing two students to addressing all the students and in the activity from explanation to starting the rehearsal. By possibly drawing attention to her “let’s practice,” the DSC provides one resource for managing these shifts.
5.Concluding discussion
A first thing to note about DSCs, as shown in the first part of the analysis, is that the gesture can take a variety of shapes. One thing which these different claps have in common, and which allows them to be collected within a single category, is that they are produced so as not to project any additional claps. They are thus seeable as designed to be single claps, rather than, for example, an abandoned attempt to start applause, as Tom appears to do with two claps in Extract 9. It is also possible, though, especially given the variability in how they are produced, that differently shaped DSCs may be used to do different things. For example, there may be differences between those that end with the hands held together without being clasped and those that end with the hands clasped, or between these and those that involve moving to a next gesture. An anonymous reviewer also pointed out that some of the DSCs occur with assessments (Extracts 3/10, 7/14) and that these may be doing different work than those that occur without assessments. Whether DSCs can be subcategorized along these lines or others is a question which will have to await future work with a larger collection.
I have also, though, found in the data other claps which do not project further claps but, because of what they are used to do, I have not categorized as DSCs.55.Specifically, these claps are used as part of laughter. See the ambiguous student clap in Extract 14. What constitutes this gesture is not merely the fact that there is a single clap which does not project further claps, but, more importantly, how the gesture is used and the relevant identity of the person using it. A first thing to note about the use of DSCs is that they cluster in places of a shift between activities (Extracts 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15), participation frameworks (Extracts 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15), or, in most cases, both. One thing that allows DSCs to be understood as a resource for managing the interaction in each of these cases is that they are used in the course of achieving these shifts.
A second thing to note is that DSCs are produced by the current speaker with talk. While it is true that gestures are typically, though not invariably, produced by the current speaker, this is not necessarily the case with clapping and other audible gestures. Applause, for example, while it may be produced with talk, as Zoe and Kim do in Extract 11, may also be produced without talk, as Ben, Tom, and several students do in the same extract. And as noted above and in note 5, I have also found single claps that are produced as part of laughter, usually without co-occurring talk. One thing that DSCs, as audible gestures, may be used to do is to attempt to attract the attention of the recipients of the current talk. This can make them a potentially useful resource for managing the interaction when there is a large number of recipients, some of whom may not realize that they are now being addressed. However, producing a DSC may not necessarily succeed in attracting recipients’ attention, as shown in Extract 12. One possibility in this case is that the DSC may be atypically positioned relative to the unfolding syntax of the teacher Lyn’s talk. Exploration of this possibility, though, will also have to await future work with a larger collection.
Finally, a third thing to note is that there is a connection between relevant institutional identity and the use of DSCs. It is possible that DSCs can also be found in mundane conversation, but in the institutional interaction at TGG, DSCs are used by the representatives of the institution, either an agent or a specialist. With the possible exception of the one highly ambiguous case shown in Extract 14, all the cases of DSCs that I have located in the data, which include the ones described and analyzed above as well as several other cases, are produced by either an agent or a specialist. At TGG, when an agent or specialist interacts with groups of students as an agent or specialist, the primary responsibility as well as the deontic authority for managing the interaction is with the agent or specialist. It should therefore be no surprise that agents and specialists converge on a common set of resources for accomplishing this. As audible gestures, DSCs provide a resource for the audible display of this responsibility and of this deontic authority to manage shifts in activity and participation framework.