Negotiating voices through embodied semiosis: the co-construction of a science text

Abstract

This article presents a rich description of an everyday, paired learner interaction in class. In contributing to debates on collaborative classroom interaction, this article presents a micro-analysis of the work of embodied modes employed in face-to-face interaction. Through ethnographically-contextualised Multimodal Discourse Analysis (EC-MDA) , a partial understanding of the ways in which two learners interact through embodied semiosis is reached. The originality of this article lies with the insights gained from multimodal discourse analysis which show how (in textual terms), even in a less creative space, learners negotiate personal, individual ‘ownness’ alongside academic genres in the co-construction of a science text. Three key aspects to paired classroom interaction are identified, namely: multiple voices, multimodal inference and modal synchrony. Through exploring the intricacies of social interaction, we can recognise the detailed multimodal contributions of individuals engaged in collaborative construction of text.