Teacher gesture and lexical focus on form in a foreign language classroom

Abstract

This article explores the use of gesture by a French language teacher during lexical focus on form (FonF). The analysis compares pre-emptive FonF (before a problem in communication has occurred), and reactive FonF (after a problem has occurred) and looks at the differences between teacher-initiated and learner-initiated FonF in the use and type of gesture. Ten hours of classroom interaction in an intermediate, French as a foreign language course were video-recorded. Overall, 110 form-focused episodes (FEEs) were identified, half of them - verbs and collocations, in particular - accompanied by gestures. Results revealed that the initiator and the type of FonF (reactive vs. pre-emptive) may have influenced the number of gestures and the duration of the FFEs. Indeed, 91.6% of the learner-initiated versus 49% of the teacher-initiated FFEs were accompanied by gestures (iconics were the most used), and pre-emptive learner-initiated FFEs led, on average, to longer and more complex gestural explanations from the teacher. Show more