The Dynamic Assembly of an Emotionality of Togetherness in L+ Group Discussion

Abstract

This study explores the evolution of emotionality across small-group dynamics during an additional language (L+) classroom discussion at a Japanese university. Founded in analysis of a videorecording of Japanese students’ interactions in their L+ English, it examines the ways in which emotional togetherness arises through the actions of four learners. By employing a unique multimodal (pictorial) transcription and a narrative interpretation, the study evocatively captures how verbal and embodied cues collaboratively facilitate the emotional resonance of the group. The authors identify three primary mechanisms underpinning this shared emotionality: (1) the shift from English to the students’ native (i.e. Japanese) conversational style, marked by shorter, mutually-elaborative turns and increased aizuchi (backchanneling); (2) the instantiation of mutual transportable identities in the form of shared knowledge of popular culture, and; (3) the role of laughter in both expressing and confirming shared emotionality. While these factors appear to play a key role in the emergent outcome, the study clearly supports the need for more contextualized, dynamic research into the localized emergence and functions of group emotionality in additional language learning.