Co-participation and the floor

A series of problems have been encountered by researchers who tried to use the turn concept for analyses of non-dyadic interactions. Edelsky (1981) found the category of turn and its definition difficult to apply to multi-party informal talk. In her corpus, two or more participants often "either took part in an apparent free-for-all or jointly built one idea, operating on the 'same wavelength'" (1981). She therefore suggests to concentrate on the floor, "the acknowledged what's-going-on within a psychological time/space. What's going on can be the development of a topic or a function (teasing, soliciting a response, etc.) or an interaction of the two. It can be developed or controlled by one person at a time or by several simultaneously or in quick succession." (1981) In case several participants jointly hold the floor, this can be done in two different ways. In case of what Edelsky calls a 'free-for-all', there is "much simultaneity, joint building of an answer to a question, collaboration on developing ideas [...], and laughter." (1981) In less 'unorderly' stretches of talk, she found that participants, though speaking sequentially, shared "in the creation of an idea or a function (joking, suggesting, etc.)." (1981)

Though the concept of 'floor' provides important insights into what actually happens when speakers talk simultaneously and identifies overlapping speech as being a kind of speech that is in no way erroneous, the concept of the 'turn' is an unquestionably valuable one for any analysis of intercultural communication, but it still needs to be modified. Edelsky (1981) proposes what she calls a non-technical definition and defines turn as "an on-record 'speaking' (which may include nonverbal activities) behind which lies an intention to convey a message that is both referential and functional." (To be continued in Unit 2-23)

EXPLICATION OF KEY FACTS AND IDEAS GIVEN IN THE TEXT, PRESENTATION OF A RESEARCH PAPER

Instruction: Not all non-native speakers have trouble communicating in English. Many speak at a native level, but many do not. The ability to communicate with people who speak a limited amount of English is actually a skill that can be developed over time with practice. Whether you deal with non-native English speakers often or rarely, this advice will help you to communicate more effectively and smoothly. Graduate students who are non-native speakers of English should focus on developing a variety of oral presentation skills used in the non-native EL academic community, in particular, and in any other non-native EL environment, in general. You will address different aspects of spoken English, including higher level issues such as linguistics, sociolinguistics, organizational and strategic competence, as well as more detail-oriented issues, such as accuracy in pronunciation, stress patterns, intonation and rhythm. Mastering these skills will be especially useful to students who wish to prepare for teaching responsibilities, and to those graduate students who need to prepare for giving lectures, leading discussion/lab sections, interacting with non-native speakers, presenting graduation papers, reporting on current research, and engaging in job interviews. Below are some useful tips on skills for writing and presenting a graduation paper.