Managing Talk: The Role of the Chairperson in a Teachers' Meeting
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Managing talk: The role of the chairperson in a teachers’ meeting A presentation by Andrew Boon (Toyo Gakuen University)
description
This presentation uses Conversation Analysis (CA) techniques to examine how the management of talk is accomplished by a Chairperson in a teachers’ meeting in terms of turn-taking and maintaining the focus of participant interaction on the agenda. These insights may be of use to material writers, teachers, and students alike. The handout for the presentation which includes the extracts referred to can be found in my documents folder. The full paper can be read online at ESP World: http://www.espworld.info/Articles _12/ABoon%20article_.htm
Transcript of Managing Talk: The Role of the Chairperson in a Teachers' Meeting
Managing talk: The role of the chairperson in a teachers’ meeting
A presentation by Andrew Boon(Toyo Gakuen University)
Meeting talk versus Ordinary talk
Meeting interaction Ordinary interaction
Many participants 2 speakers: current and next
Specific purpose Unplanned and aimless
Specified time limit Time limit decided on an ongoing basis
Controlled turn-taking Everyone has the right to a turn at talk
Set agenda Freedom of topic generation and digressions
The role of the chairperson
•Controls turn allocation and transition•Manages the agenda•Leads and guides the discussion•Maintains order•Maintains temporal pacing •Establishes and maintains an environment in
which participants relinquish conversational rights
•Establishes and maintains an environment in which participants orient to the institutional role of chairperson through their actions
The research
•Naturally occurring data - Teachers’ meeting on procedural instruction-giving (12/2000)
•Participants - 1 chairperson, 3 native English teachers, 3 Japanese teachers
•Observer’s paradox? – negligible•Problems – length of tape, microphone•Analysis – use Conversation Analysis to
identify normative and deviant patterns of interaction within the meeting
The chairperson as turn allocater
•Ordinary turn-taking mechanism:
•Meeting turn-taking: Participants relinquished the right to select the next speaker (See extract 1) orienting to chairperson as turn allocater.
When a transition-relevance place comes into effect:
The turn may be allocated to a next speaker by the current speaker…
If not, the current speaker may relinquish the floor and a next speaker selects to take the floor…
If not, the current speaker may continue with a new turn.
Participants as turn allocaters
•Participant first-pair part initiation moves are accountable:
250] Mike: Just a question d’ya guys understand that deer in headlight reference?
251] Erika: (0.5)°No°
•Or departures from established roles need to be marked:
610] Mike: One thing were they actually doing something in that moment of silence(?) or?
611] Chair: No.
The chairperson as turn coordinator
• Round-turn allocation (See extract 1 – line 14).• Constrains participants to respond:455] Erika: Well you guys already said what I [wanted to say]456] Chair: [Yeah, su:re]
• Participants seek permission for extra turns at talk:203] Yasuko: a::::nd er:r one more thing [I::::::: ]204] Chair: [Yeah]205] Yasuko: e:rrr if the presentation fails then like ((spoken
while laughing)) the whole instructions will fa::il.
• Back-channeling as a control mechanism (See extract 1).
Deviant cases
•The chairperson’s role of turn allocater can be undermined (See extract 2).
•Turns allocated by the chairperson do not always ensure the selected speaker a turn at talk (See extract 3).
•Back-channeling may allow the chairperson to successfully take the floor but not maintain it (See extract 4).
The chairperson as topic allocater / topic maintenance coordinator
• Agenda and questions (See extract 1, line 14).• Topics develop turn by turn but can drift,
continue for too long, or prematurely lapse.• The chairperson can steer participants back to
the business at hand:510] Chair: So you fi::nd there’s less confusion with higher level?511] Mike: ER::RM I WOuldn’t say tha::t::.
• Or introduce new topics to prevent certain issues dominating or ending too soon:
456] Chair: [Yeah su:re] (1.5) Something that I’d like t’ bring up (0.4) does anybody actually write down what they’re go::ing t’sa::y in the instruction-giving process?
Deviant cases
•The chairperson’s role of topic allocater can be undermined (See extract 2).
•Brief delay to the start of the meeting (See extract 5).
Conclusion
• Attempts to determine the organized procedures of talk.
• Examines the role of the chairperson as it emerges locally, turn by turn through the orientations of participants to a constrained interactional environment.
• Has pedagogical implications for teachers, students, and material writers.
• For the full published paper, please refer to http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_12/ABoon%20article_.htm
