Kim McDonough

Concordia University, Canada

Exploring the role of visual clues in face-to-face L2 interaction

During conversation, interlocutors use visual cues such as gesture and eye gaze to coordinate their attention with each other, which is referred to as joint attention (Bruner, 1995). Although joint attention is widely accepted as a crucial component of children’s early language development, its role in adult L2 learning remains underexplored. L2 studies have shown that gestures may facilitate the learning of words (Gullberg, Roberts, & Dimroth, 2012; Kelly, McDevitt, & Esch, 2009; Macedonia & Knösche, 2011) and new sound contrasts (Hirata & Kelly, 2010; Kelly & Lee, 2012), but the potential role of eye gaze in face-to-face L2 interaction has received less attention. The findings of a series of laboratory-based studies carried out with adult English L2 speakers in Montreal are presented to address the question of whether visual cues can help shed light on key issues in interactive language use including interactional feedback, initial pattern detection, and non-understanding. Findings across these studies point to a potential role for visual cues, including mutual gaze, in interactive L2 use. Methodological issues for eye tracking research during face-to-face conversation are provided, and avenues for future research are highlighted.