Montiegel2023a

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Montiegel2023a
BibType ARTICLE
Key Montiegel2023a
Author(s) Kristella Montiegel
Title Preference and embodiment in an oral preschool classroom
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Conversation analysis
Publisher
Year 2023
Language English
City
Month
Journal Research on Children and Social Interaction
Volume 7
Number 1
Pages 92-118
URL Link
DOI 10.1558/rcsi.24266
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

This study extends research on question preference and, specifically, polar questions that prefer reverse-polarity responses. In the context of a deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) oral preschool classroom, I examine what I call teachers’ ‘No’-preferring questions (No-PQs), or polar questions that are grammatically positive yet exhibit a preference for students’ ‘No’-responses. Using Conversation Analysis, I focus on a collection of 25 cases of teachers’ No-PQs that present some behaviour or way of doing something for students to evaluate (e.g. Do we cry?). All instances of these No-PQs are co-produced with embodied conduct that help convey a negative stance towards the behaviour/way of doing something presented in the question and, resultantly, conditions students’ ‘No’-responses as preferred and aligning. 17 (68%) of these cases sequentially occurred when teachers were beginning classroom activities or invoking future events. In these environments, teachers’ embodied conduct served as demonstrations of a proposed behaviour or way of doing something and thus were treated by participants as instructional. In contrast, eight (32%) of these cases sequentially occurred while teachers were orienting to a student’s prior conduct as problematic. In this environment, teachers’ embodied conduct served as imitations of a student’s conduct and thus were responsive and treated by participants as disciplinary. I show how embodiment is a vital resource for resolving action ambiguity in interaction, which might be especially useful for D/HH children who may or may not rely more than hearing children on visual information for communication. Data are drawn from 25 hours of video-recordings in one oral classroom in the United States.

Notes