Word searches: on the use of verbal and non-verbal resources during classroom talk

In addition to spoken elements, gaze shifts and gestures are routinely and
systematically deployed. Withdrawal of gaze during searching signals to the hearer
that the speaker is holding the turn whereas gaze shift towards the recipient is treated
as an invitation to participate (Goodwin and Goodwin, 1986). Other gestures such as
pointing, waving or whirling may be deployed alongside words and sound stretches
(Goodwin and Goodwin, 1986; Goodwin, 1987). Iconic gestures are particularly
interesting because they provide semantic information to the conversational partner
that assist in interpretation of the searched-for item (Hadar and Butterworth, 1997).

More recently, and particularly relevant to the current paper, are explorations of word
searches in the field of aphasia interaction. Studies are generally conducted in the
homes of people with aphasia who, following cerebral injury, have lost the capacity to
retrieve words fluently. Typically, a person with aphasia initiates a solitary search
and, during the course of this activity, the familiar conversational partner contributes a
candidate understanding or guess that, on occasion, is accepted as a solution to the
search (Milroy and Perkins, 1992; Wilkinson, 1995). Recent research further
illuminates how these processes operate over sequences of turns. Interactional
techniques employed by the person with aphasia include ‘invitations’ for the partner
to participate in the search (Oelschlaeger, 1999). The invitation may be constructed in
a direct way, whereby it takes the form of partner-oriented gaze and/or wh-questions.
Alternatively, an invitation to participate may be constructed in an indirect way, with
downward gaze and verbalisation, which signals that a solitary search has been
abandoned.

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