Multimodal Action Formation in Second Language Talk: Japanese Speakers’ Use of the Gassho Gesture in English Apology Sequences

This study explores the multimodal action formation of second language (L2) apologies, particularly in relation to the members’ orientation to the significance of the misdemeanour. Although talk is the primary means through which participants accomplish apologies, embodied and paralinguistic interaction also play an integral role in conveying the proportional intensity of the apology. Members may bolster a second language apology with gestures from their first language, such as the Japanese gassho gesture. The study draws on conversation analytic research on L2 use as situated within a complex ecology of multimodal social interaction to reflect on the notions of interactional competence and interactional repertoires. The sequences were video-recorded among Japanese homestay visitors and their American host families.