Analyzing interactive dimension of teacher gestures in naturalistic instructional contexts

Abstract : This paper discusses the concept of interactive gestures in instructional contexts whose interactional specificity lends itself to the study of these gestures which typically contribute to the process of meaning-making and interpersonal relationship. Our empirically grounded account is based upon the analysis of video recorded classroom interactions of French as a foreign language in Turkey and French as a second language in France. The results show that the majority of the teaching gestures were interactive and that a degree of topicality/interactivity may be considered for some gestures; therefore, a clear categorical distinction may not be possible in some situations. Furthermore, the specificity of classroom interactions leads us to consider some gestures that are not directed towards the addressee as also interactive.