Gaze and other non-verbal resources in student clarification requests: a micro-analytic investigation

In addressing vocabulary explanations in language classroom settings, a growing number of studies have examined the different ways teachers respond to the vocabulary explanation requests made by students in second language (L2) classrooms. Relatively lacking is an investigation into the nature of vocabulary explanation requests made by students in L2 classroom settings. Based on 14 hours of (50 minutes each) video-recorded data collected in an adult L2 Oral Communication classroom, we discovered that students incorporate gaze and other non-verbal resources in their requests for the clarifications of L2 vocabulary items in three distinct ways: (1) using gaze and gesture with formulaic expressions; (2) using gaze and mimics with the repetition of problematic vocabulary item; and (3) using gaze without talk. Findings contribute to the existing literature with a specification of gaze and other non-verbal resources in the problematisation of vocabulary items and formulation of vocabulary explanation requests.