Running Head: REPORT

By [Name of Student]

Course

Professor

[Name of Institution]

February 11th, 2021

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Running Head: REPORT

Table of Contents
Introduction 3

Language in Education 3

Pragmatic and Linguistic skills for interaction 3

Conversation Analysis 4

Turn-Taking phenomenon 4

Turn-Taking transcript references …………………………………………………………...5

Pause or Wait Time……………………………………………………………………………...5

Wait Time transcript references………………………………………………………………..6

Turn-taking structure…………………………………………………………………………..7

The outcome of the extended wait time ….……………………………………………………8

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….8

References……………………………………………………………………………………….10

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Introduction

Language has an important position in the area of education. Its role is no doubt, vital,
compulsory, and can never be neglected. In many discussions of language and education,
language is, most of the time, defined as the set of verbal codes that are shared by people
[ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. In simpler words, language consists of various sets of codes, with the
help of which people talk and share their thoughts. However, it is very essential to note that
language is not only a mere code set, rather it can be called a whole communicative
phenomenon. Language is used, especially in instructions description, which is very important
for learning and understanding [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Language in Education

In the field of education, language is the basic and most important tool. Without it, the
concept of teaching, as well as learning, can never be fulfilled. In the case of education, language
can be divided into two parts; spoken language and written language. With the help of language,
teachers and students communicate with each other [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. In the classroom,
students learn a language the most. They present their task, understand academic content while
questioning teachers, and freely exhibit their skills as well as knowledge. the students learn to
write in the form of language and speak through their minds with the help of verbal language. In
short, the use of language creates and builds up the classroom life where teachers easily put the
students on the bright future track [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Pragmatic and Linguistic skills for interaction

Pragmatic and linguistic skills are necessary for children to interact with each other. It is
used in our days as well as educational conversations to understand, learn, and for further
feedback. Linguistic and pragmatic achievement help children to apprehend what to say, when to
say and how to say in different kinds of situations [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. These kinds of skills
allow children to express and communicate their feelings, ideas, curiosity, and thoughts.
Pragmatic skills consist of many abilities like turn-taking, eye contact, body language, face
expression, ask questions, avoid repetition, adjusting language and voice intonation, etc. By
using these kinds of skills, both sides understand the conversation properly and respond
accordingly [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

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Conversation Analysis

For the analysis of talk-in-interaction, the ethnomethodological approach is used which is

called Conversation Analysis. This type of interaction is said to be made by all the participants
that are involved in the interaction. Conversation Analysis studies these kinds of interactions and
analyze how these interactions are build and carried through by their participants [ CITATION Ing16
\l 1033 ]. CA specifically focuses on the strategies and rules to see how different participants
interpret and convey several conversations by examining the structures. Four main key concepts
are identified to reveal the CA examination of talk-in-interaction. These are: (1) turns and turn-
taking (2) turn design (3) social action (4) sequence organization [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Out of four key concepts of CA, turn and turn-taking is considered more important and
primary concept. During social actions, it is noticed that interaction is not only talking between
two or more people, rather it is the doing of something according to their turns. Not only
between people, but a single person also makes calculations regarding the turns of the elements
he/she has [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. For example, if a teacher is trying to teach something to
students, the teacher will not only take a turn while talking to the students but will also make
turns of the components and points of the discussion. The teacher will gather the information to
convey, ask questions, think of the words and points as well as vocabulary for future use, telling
something to collect attention, adding information, and fixing the information carried by the
students. Similarly, the students also take their turns in the same way. They wait for the teacher
to deliver a specific piece of information; after which they make interpretations about it. Some
students take turns to ask questions or demand clarifications etc. The debate between teacher and
students can also take the shape of turns in the form of questions answers or arguments
[ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Turn-Taking phenomenon

Turn-taking in formal classrooms refers to the nature of the interaction between students
and teachers. The rules and features of turn-taking differ a bit with the change in participants
[ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. For example, the turn-taking criteria for the doctor and patient would be
surely somewhat different than the formal classroom teacher and student or lawyer and convict.

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However, the unquestionable thing about turn-taking is that it is a must thing for successful
interaction and conversation [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Turn-Taking transcript references

In the transcripts given for the task, it can be seen that turns and turn-taking are one of the
main features of the conversation between teacher and students. From the start till the end, a
series of questions, answers, and comments on the topic of the poem is done. The teacher, as
well as students, take their turns to ask questions and give answers. Not only students but the
teacher is also asking the questions regarding the main character of the poem just to ensure the
knowledge and understanding of the students. "What do you think that means? You like that
verse, don't you?" (line 3-4). Similarly, “ears like bombs’ what’s what’s that mean?” (line 13-14)
shows that the teacher is trying to take a turn in the talk-in-interaction so that the conversation
can go smoothly and become successful. These references from the given transcript demonstrate
that turns in a conversation are very important to make it successful. It is necessary not only for
students to ask and comment but also for the teacher to develop the pragmatic skills of the
students.

Another important feature about turns and turn-taking is the nomination of one
participant by another participant. For instance, if a teacher is done talking and nominates a
student after finishing a point, the student must take a turn and continue the discussion. However,
the rule changes if the teacher does not nominate someone. Not nominating means that the
teacher still got the time and opportunity to continue about the topic. Furthermore, if the teacher
nominates a student and does not talk after the completion of that very student point, it means
that any student who is willing to share a piece of information or ask something can take a turn.
When the teacher asks "Anybody got any idea?", (line 49) it means that the teacher is nominating
the whole class for the answer. In this case, any students who know the answer or willing to talk
can take up the turn. Here, Andy takes a turn and answers the teacher by saying that the law is
after Timothy Winters (line 50). The reference where no nomination by the teacher leads to the
turns by many students can also be seen in the transcript (lines 56-62). In these lines, Andy,
Mark, and Judith take turns to share their thoughts as there was no nomination made by the
teacher.

Pause or Wait Time

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Pause or the wait time is another pragmatic skill that is very important to understand the
conversation between participants. Pauses in between conversations have deep and logical
meanings which play a vital role in making the conversation successful [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].
Pause or the waiting time can be minimized or maximized according to the situation,
participants, time, and place. However, pauses that extend for more than a second can also cause
trouble in the interaction between participants. In formal classrooms, the pauses between teacher
and students are often called 'wait time', 'think time', or 'thinking time'. Wait time gives different
opportunities to the students in the classrooms such as chances to have some discussion in pairs
or occasions to think about the dialogue that is going on [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Wait Tim transcript references

In the transcript, there are many instances where the pauses or the wait time is shown by
the teacher as well as the students. Different pauses demonstrate different meanings. For
example, the line "Bluish red. (.) It is a rough color" (line 34) exhibits the kind of pause where
the student Andy makes a statement. After making that statement; the color of the feet, Andy
makes a pause which is no doubt to think some more about the given statement. After giving
some thought to it, the student adds some more information to the previous report. She says that
the color bluish red is a rough color. So here, the pause was given for the sake of thinking
opportunity. Similarly, when the discussion of Michael came up in the class, Mark states his
thoughts to other students with various pauses in it. “He isn’t an orphan (.) he’s still got one of
his parents (.) he’s still got his mother” (line 112-113). Here the pauses are again made by
student Mark for the purpose to avail an opportunity to think about what is talking. After saying
the sentence "He isn't an orphan", he makes a pause. The pause makes him think about the logic
for what he said earlier. He then gives a logical reason for his statement. He says that Michael is
not an orphan because he still has his one parent; his mother.

Pauses are one of the most important features of interaction between participants.
Without pauses or wait time, the conversation becomes difficult to take place as the meaning of
the participants is not conveyed properly. For this purpose, the wait time is categorized in four
different types. Wait time I define the pause where a teacher finishes speaking and the student
follows and takes the turn. In the given transcript, the teacher asks a question if the student
knows somebody in school who has similarities with the character of the poem [ CITATION Ing16 \l

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1033 ]. After asking the question, the teacher makes a pause to let the student take a turn for the
answer. Mark answers and tells them about Michael (lines 109-110).

Wait time II describes the situation where the teacher speaks makes a pause, and again
takes the turn to continue the discussion [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. The references of this kind of
wait time can be seen in the transcript. “Em (.) you say you presume it is, Andy em (1) the
poem’s about him (.) might it be about the people who look after him?” (lines 63-64). These
lines suggest the turn-taking of the teacher again after making a pause in the dialog. Another
reference of wait time II can find in the transcription where the teacher says, "With a bombardier
(.) it means a soldier" (line 69). in this case too, the teacher speaks, makes a pause, and continue
the talking after the wait time.

Wait time III is that category of the pause where the teacher takes the turn for speaking
when the student finishes talking. In this type of situation, there are various reasons for the
teacher to take a turn [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. For example, if the student is done speaking and
the topic is covered, the teacher can take the turn to introduce a new topic in the class. Similarly,
after the student speaking, the teacher may add some new information to the relevant content.
There may also case questions. If a student asks a question, the teacher has to take the turn after a
pause to answer the student or to clear the ambiguity [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Wait time IV refers to the type of pause where the participant remains the same. In this
type of wait time, a student is speaking, he/she makes a pause and continues speaking after it
[ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. The student itself takes the turn and continues discourse after having a
pause in the dialog. There are lines in the given transcript where Mark is speaking. He speaks,
makes a pause, and continues dialog after the wait time. The turn is taken by his self rather than
any other student or the teacher in the class. "You presume (.) that's a new word (.) I've never
heard you he's never said that before" (lines 58-59).

Turn-taking structure

The structure of turn-taking in classrooms is build up in a way to give more opportunities

to the teachers as well as students. The teachers can maximize or minimize the pauses with the
help of turn-taking to engage the classroom [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. Students avail more
occasions to think, discuss and debate on the topics by using these kinds of wait times. Turn-

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taking plays a vital role in the discussion within the classrooms. It is observed that many students
who are sometimes not able to take part in the discussions are given time by nomination from the
teachers. If some students do not avail enough time to take part in the conversation, the teacher
maximizes the time of turn-taking in the class. Sometimes, the turn is taken by the teacher,
however, if the teacher wants to extend the argument of the students, the teacher can let students
speak their mind. Still, in the given scenario, the teacher should engage and gather up students on
that very specific topic on which the discussion is going on. In simple words, the teacher should
not let students go out of the contents [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

The outcome of the extended wait time

Extended wait time shows various effects on the behaviors of both teachers and students.
It has been noticed that the first two categories of the wait time failed in response from the
students most of the time [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. For this reason, the researchers tend to
believe in pauses not more than three seconds. The pauses of more than three seconds are
supposed to deteriorate the discourse between teacher and classroom. However, on the other
hand, the wait time II extension results in good responses by the students. Extending the wait
time II is responsible for the increase in logical reasons, active thinking, asking more questions,
and excellent explanations by the students in the classrooms. It is also accountable for the
interactions of a student to student [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Extension in wait time is considered as a tool to find the intellect and brainpower of the
students. It allows students to share their thoughts and responses in a better way. However, the
role of the teacher in extending wait time is very important [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ]. The teacher
should engage and take the students in a way so that the wait time does not become a hurdle or
trouble in the discussion. Because the pause or wait time in the form of silence or quietness
makes a bad impact on the environment of the classroom. Long pauses with silence spread
uncomfortableness for both teachers and students. For this reason, teachers find it hard to change
the conventional classroom norms and extend the wait time [ CITATION Ing16 \l 1033 ].

Conclusion

Pragmatic and linguistic skills like pauses or wait time, turn-taking, nomination, avoiding
irrelevant information, and asking questions, etc. are some of the integral parts of the discourse

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in daily as well as classroom life. The extension in the wait time can cause different scenarios. It
can be positive as well as negative. It is up to the conversational and interactional skills of the
teachers and students. It is necessary to make teachers believe that they can change the
conventional norms of the classrooms if needed, engage students, make them more responsive,
and make their educational life better. Language skills in education are as important as
knowledge and information. To use the pragmatic features in the educational discourses is far
more important than what we normally think.

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References
Ingram, J. a. (2016). A critical analysis of the role of wait time in classroom interactions and the
effects on student and teacher interactional behaviours. Cambridge Journal of Education,
37-53.

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