Text types: Texts for social interaction

Overview

Keeping the interaction going: Tracking what people say in interactions

Two-turn Initiation-Response patterns and three-turn Initiation-Response-Feedback patterns are often interrupted. There are two main kinds of interruption:

	interruptions which keep track of what is being talked about
	interruptions which challenge what is being talked about

On this page we are going to look at interruptions which keep track of what people say in interactions.

Tracking what people say

There are five main ways to keep track of what is being talked about by the speaker taking the turn.

	We can backchannel to reassure the speaker that the interaction is going smoothly. Backchannelling is especially important when we are talking on the telephone because the other speaker cannot see our facial expression or gestures. Fillers or question fragments are often used to backchannel, eg hm, mm, yeah, OK, Is it?
	We can check with the speaker if we have some doubts about the meaning. Checking often involves repeating something the speaker said in a question.
	We can ask the speaker to clarify what they have said. Clarification often provides an opportunity to explore or expand the meaning. When we clarify we use wh interrogatives to ask for information we didn't hear or didn't understand, eg What time? The film starts when? Sometimes these questions are called echo questions, because they echo what the speaker has just said. Clarifying is a very useful strategy for people who are learning a language and need to ask for information they missed or did not understand clearly.
	We can repeat or restate what has been said to confirm that we understand. If we are certain about the meaning, we confirm with a falling intonation. If we are not so certain, we confirm with a rising intonation so the confirmation sounds like a question. Teachers use a special kind of confirming, or recasting, to show students a more effective way of saying something. Confirming is an important strategy when we are speaking on the telephone and we need to write down a telephone number or an address.
	We can ask the speaker to repeat or re-word what was said, eg Pardon, Could you say that again please? Could you repeat that please?

For more information about the use of recasting in classroom interactions, click on Classroom interactions on the menu on the left.