Zack Nanbu looks at how mimed objects are incorporated into L2 role-plays in the TGG data.
Zack Nanbu
Kobe University
One prominent part of my research on the SWELL dataset has been to look at how the Agents deploy complications to expand the role-plays and create more opportunities for interaction. One way that learners deal with these complications is to improvise pantomimic objects in place of unavailable physical ones. In a recent data session, I highlighted two instances, one involving an improvised receipt and another a security camera. Below I will present a basic analysis of the receipt example.
In the following excerpt, collected in TGG's souvenir shop, Nagi (learner) and Tom (Agent) have just finished working out the terms for an exchange of some chocolate (lines omitted) when Tom throws in a complication involving a receipt that leads to a playful pantomimic exchange.
Excerpt 1
01 TOM okay. no:: problem.
02 NAGI °thank you°=
03 TOM =|a::nd do you have your |receipt?
t-rh |to NAGI
t-bh |clasps together
04 (1.3)
05 NAGI #Yeh#
06 ENME ehehehe
07 NAGI yeh-
08 |(0.8)
n-lh |thumbs up
09 TOM |really?
t-fc |raises eyebrows
t-hd |cocks left
10 NAGI yeah.
Being that this is a role-play and Nagi's lack of a physical receipt is certain, it seems clear that this is simply an obstacle that Tom uses to get Nagi to come up with an impromptu resolution, such as by giving an account for not having a receipt. Instead however, Nagi claims to have a receipt (lines 5, 7), which is met with skepticism by Tom who raises his eyebrows and cocks his head while asking "really?" (line 9). The fact that Nagi leaves a 1.3-sec gap open in line 4 before responding projects a dispreferred second pair part and helps contribute to making his claim unconvincing. But Nagi simply once again claims to have the receipt in line 10, without actually producing one: he responds to the grammar of Tom's question, without responding with an appropriate next action; i.e., giving the requested receipt.
With the role-play having reached a temporary impasse, Tom further pursues the receipt in the following excerpt.
Excerpt 2
01 (0.8)
02 TOM |can I see your:,
t-rh |to NAGI
03 ENME |eheHEH
e-gz |to NAGI
04 ENME .hhh
05 |(0.3)
n-gz |to right
06 NAGI |uh::
n-gz |downward
07 (0.6)
08 NAGI |hai.
n-gz |to TOM
n-rh |"receipt" to TOM
09 (0.3)
10 TOM |oh[ : : ]
t-bh |receives "receipt"
11 NAGI [here] you a(h)re. hehehe
12 TOM alright.
13 TOM |OH:: [>okay |okay] okay
t-bh |opens "receipt"|clasps together
t-gz |to "receipt" |to NAGI
14 ENME [ AHAHAh ]
15 ENME [ahaha ]
16 NAGI [oka(h)y?]
17 TOM |yes yes. |no problem no problem.
t-lh |thumbs up |clasps together
18 >thank you thank you.<
19 (.)
20 TOM okay we can exchange that,=
21 NAGI =$thank you:$
After a short silence, Tom this time formulates his request to be more explicit by asking Nagi if he can see the receipt that he has repeatedly claimed to have. Nagi's partner, Enmei, seems to find the corner Nagi has painted himself into as humorous by looking in his direction and laughing loudly as Nagi shifts his gaze around the room. After doing thinking in lines 28-29,
Nagi arrives at a solution, pantomiming handing a receipt object over to Tom (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 Nagi handing Tom the "receipt".
Tom immediately displays an understanding of the imagined object, by receiving it both hands, and opening it for inspection (see Figure 2). He then produces a change-of-state token and several okays in line 23, to display that he has confirmed its contents.
Figure 2 Tom opening and checking the "receipt".
This solicits a large burst of laughter from Enmei, and Nagi also laughs through the word okay in line 26, showing the participants orientation to the playfulness of the embodied exchange.
As this analysis shows, complications can present learners with opportunities to interact in their L2 using a variety of different resources, with embodiment being a major one. Embodiment is not only an affordance for getting around the obstacle the complication has placed in front of them, but is oriented to by the participants as a source of humor, thus contributing entertainment value to the role-play.
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