“Can you understand this?” : a construção do entendimento no contexto de sala de aula de língua inglesa

Abstract

The action of understanding is essential in any social interaction, but it becomes especially relevant in the classroom setting where, supposedly, participants are oriented to learning as the main goal. (GARDNER, 2012). In Second Language (SL) classrooms, understanding may become a more onerous task, as the SL may interfere in the understanding between teachers and learners. Upon reflecting on these matters, this study dedicates to the investigation of how English learners and teachers build understanding by means of embodied interactions in classes in a private language school. Within that scenario, we distinguish the actions of claiming and displaying understanding. (SACKS, 1992). In order to meet our objectives, fifteen classes were audio and video recorded. Data analysis, supported by the theoretical-methodological perspectives of Conversation Analysis (SACKS et al., 1974) and Multimodal Analysis (STREECK et al., 2011), shows that the search for understanding may stem from both teachers and learners. In addition, it was possible to observe patterns in the position and composition of the actions of claiming and displaying understanding, thus contributing to the expansion of what is known about these phenomena. We also discuss about the status and relevance of embodied actions in the sequences in which understanding is being built, and question the fact that the claim of one single learner is taken as shared for the entire group, often without the teacher contesting it. To conclude, we reflect on the pedagogical implications of producing claims and displays of understanding in the classroom, thinking about the consequences of these phenomena to the pedagogical agenda and the benefits that teachers and students may have when they are able to identify and differentiate them in an autonomous ways in their own their practices.