Cover not available
Part of
Engagement in Professional Genres
Edited by Carmen Sancho Guinda
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 301] 2019
► pp. 277–296

Chapter 15
Gestural silence

An engagement device in the multimodal genre of the chalk talk lecture

| Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
| Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
| Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

This chapter reports on a study of multimodal engagement strategies used by instructors while performing chalk talk, the genre of university mathematics lecture. Relying on multimodal data, the study examines how university mathematics instructors engage students in chalk talk through gestures, writing on the chalkboard, and speech. One of the engagement strategies identified in the study is the use of gestural silence, or the absence of the instructor’s hand movement, intended to engage students in doing mathematics. The study indicates that such multimodal engagement strategies appear to be shaped by the embodied nature of discipline-specific genres.

Keywords: engagement, genre, gestural silence, multimodality, university mathematics
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Chalk talk: A multimodal professional genre of mathematics
    • 2.1Engagement in the multimodal genre of chalk talk
    • 2.2Gestural silence as an engagement device
  • 3.Conceptual framework
    • 3.1Research on gestures
  • 4.Methods
  • 5.Findings: Communicative functions of gestural silences
  • 6.Conclusions and implications
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 24 April 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.301.15fog
References
Acheson, Kris
2008 “Silence as Gesture: Rethinking the Nature of Communicative Silences.” Communication Theory 18 (4): 535–555. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
American Mathematical Society
2016 “What Do Mathematicians Do?” [URL]
Andrén, Mats
2012 “The Social World within Reach: Intersubjective Manifestations of Action Completion.” Cognitive Semiotics 4 (1): 138–165.Google Scholar
Artemeva, Natasha
2008 “Toward a Unified Social Theory of Genre Learning.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication 22 (2): 160–185. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Artemeva, Natasha, and Janna Fox
2010 “Awareness versus Production: Probing Students’ Antecedent Genre Knowledge.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication 24 (4): 476–515. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011 “The Writing’s on the Board: The Global and the Local in Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics through Chalk Talk.” Written Communication 28(4): 1–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2014 “The Formation of a Professional Communicator: A Socio-Rhetorical Approach.” In The Routledge Handbook of Language and Professional Communication, ed. by Vijay Bhatia and Stephen Bremner, 461–485. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Artemeva, Natasha, and Aviva Freedman
eds. 2006 Rhetorical Genre Studies and Beyond. Winnipeg, MB, Canada: Inkshed Publications.Google Scholar
Austin, John Langshaw
1975 How to Do Things with Words. 2nd ed, ed. by J. O. Urmson and Marina Sbisà. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bakhtin, Mikhail Mikhaĭlovich
1986 Speech Genres and Other Late Essays, ed. by Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Translated by Vern W. McGee. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Barany, Michael J.
2010 “Mathematical Research in Context.” MSc diss., University of Edinburgh, UK.Google Scholar
Barany, Michael J., and Donald MacKenzie
2014 “Chalk: Materials and Concepts in Mathematics Research.” In New Representation in Scientific Practice Revisited, ed. by Catelijne Coopmans, Janet Vertesi, Michael E. Lynch, and Steve Woolgar, 107–130. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bavelas, Janet Beavin, Linda Coates, and Trudy Johnson
2002 “Listener Responses as a Collaborative Process: The Role of Gaze.” Journal of Communication 52 (3): 566–580. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bawarshi, Anis S.
2015 “Accounting for Genre Performances: Why Uptake Matters.” In Genre Studies around the Globe: Beyond the Three Traditions, ed. by Natasha Artemeva and Aviva Freedman, 186–206. Edmonton, AB, Canada: Inkshed Publications.Google Scholar
Bressem, Jana, and Silva H. Ladewig
2011 “Rethinking Gesture Phases: Articulatory Features of Gestural Movement?*” Semiotica 184 (1): 53–91. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Charmaz, Kathy
2006 Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Cibulka, Paul
2015 “When the Hands Do Not Go Home: A Micro-Study of the Role of Gesture Phases in Sequence Suspension and Closure.” Discourse Studies 17 (1): 3–24. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cobb, Paul
2000 “From Representations to Symbolizing: Introductory Comments on Semiotics and Mathematical Learning.” In Symbolizing and Communicating in Mathematics Classrooms: Perspectives on Discourse, Tools, and Instructional Design, ed. by Paul Cobb, Erna Yackel, and Kay McClain, 17–36. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Crawford Camiciottoli, Belinda, and Inmaculada Fortanet-Gómez
eds. 2015 Multimodal Analysis in Academic Settings: From Research to Teaching. New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dias, Patrick, Aviva Freedman, Peter Medway, and Anthony Paré
1999 Worlds Apart: Acting and Writing in Academic and Workplace Contexts. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Dosso, Jill A., and Ian Q. Whishaw
2012 “Resting Hand Postures: An Index of What a Speaker May Do Next.” Gesture 12 (1): 84–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Engberg, Jan, and Carmen Daniela Maier
2015 “Challenges in the New Multimodal Environment of Research Genres: What Future Do ‘Articles of the Future’ Promise Us?” In Genre Studies around the Globe: Beyond the Three Traditions, ed. by Natasha Artemeva and Aviva Freedman, 225–250. Edmonton, AB, Canada: Inkshed Publications.Google Scholar
Fogarty-Bourget, Chloë G.
2013 “ ‘Give Me One Reason Why this is True’: A Multimodal Investigation of the Strategies Used by University Teachers of Mathematics to Elicit Responses from Students.” MA diss. Carleton University.Google Scholar
2016 “Hands in Motion and Hands at Rest: The Embodied Performance of University Mathematics Lecturing.” Paper presented at the 7th Conference of the International Society for Gesture Studies, Paris, France, July 18–22.Google Scholar
2017 “Silence Embodied: Gestural Silence as Meaningful Action.” Paper presented at the 6th New Zealand Discourse Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, December 6–9.Google Scholar
Fox, Janna, and Natasha Artemeva
2012 “The Cinematic Art of Teaching University Mathematics: Chalk Talk as Embodied Practice.” Multimodal Communication 1 (1): 83–103. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Freadman, Anne
1994 “Anyone for Tennis?” In Genre and the New Rhetoric, ed. by Aviva Freedman and Peter Medway, 43–66. London: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Freedman, Aviva
1999 “Beyond the Text: Towards Understanding the Teaching and Learning of Genres.” TESOL Quarterly 33 (4): 764–767. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Freedman, Aviva, and Peter Medway
eds 1994 Genre and the New Rhetoric. London: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Gasiewski, Josephine A., Kevin M. Eagan, Gina A. Garcia, Sylvia Hurtado, and Mitchell J. Chang
2012 “From Gatekeeping to Engagement: A Multicontextual, Mixed Method Study of Student Academic Engagement in Introductory STEM Courses.” Research in Higher Education 53: 229–261. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Geertz, Clifford
1980 Negara: The Theater State in Nineteenth-Century Bali. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Glaser, Barney G., and Anselm L. Strauss
1967 The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Inquiry. Chicago, IL: Aldine.Google Scholar
Greiffenhagen, Christian
2008 “Video Analysis of Mathematical Practice? Different Attempts to ‘Open Up’ Mathematics for Sociological Investigation.” Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research 9 (3). [URL]
Haas, Christina, and Stephen P. Witte
2001 “Writing as an Embodied Practice: The Case of Engineering Standards.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication 15 (4): 413–457. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Huckin, Thomas
2002 “Textual Silence and the Discourse of Homelessness.” Discourse & Society 13 (3): 347–372. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyland, Ken
2001 “Bringing in the Reader: Addressee Features in Academic Articles.” Written Communication 18 (4): 549–574. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2005 “Stance and Engagement: A Model of Interaction in Academic Discourse.” Discourse Studies 7 (2): 173–192. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jaworski, Adam, and Itesh Sachdev
1998 “Beliefs about Silence in the Classroom.” Language and Education 12 (4): 273–292. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jewitt, Carey, Jeff Bezemer, and Kay O’Halloran
2016 Introducing Multimodality. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kendon, Adam
1975 “Gesticulation, Speech, and the Gesture Theory of Language Origins.” Sign Language Studies 9 (1): 349–373. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2004 Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ladewig, Silva H., and Jana Bressem
2013 “A Linguistic Perspective on the Notation of Gesture Phases.” In Body – Language – Communication: An International Handbook on Multimodality in Human Interaction, ed. by Cornelia Müller, Alan Cienki, Ellen Fricke, Silva H. Ladewig, David McNeill, and Sedinha Teßendorf, 1060–1079. Berlin: de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger
1991 Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Maiorani, Arianna, and Christine Christie
2014 Multimodal Epistemologies: Towards an Integrated Framework. New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mann, Tony, and Chris Good
2012 “Being a Professional Mathematician.” [URL]
Mason, Abelle
1994 “By Dint of: Student and Lecturer Perceptions of Lecture Comprehension Strategies in First-Term Graduate Study.” In Academic Listening: Research Perspectives, ed. by John Flowerdew, 199–218. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McNeill, David
1992 Hand and Mind: What Gestures Reveal about Thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Miller, Carolyn R.
1984 “Genre as Social Action.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 70: 151–176. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2015 “Genre as Social Action (1984), Revisited 30 Years Later (2014).” Letras & Letras 31 (3): 56–72. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mondada, Lorenza, and Kimmo Svinhufvud
2016 “Writing-in-interaction: Studying Writing as a Multimodal Phenomenon in Social Interaction.” Language and Dialogue 6 (1): 1–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norris, Sigrid
2004 Analyzing Multimodal Interaction: A Methodological Framework. New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
QSR International Pty Ltd.
2012 “NVivo Qualitative Data Analysis Software.” Version 10.Google Scholar
Rogoff, Barbara
1990 Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rowe, Mary B.
1986 “Wait Time: Slowing Down May Be a Way of Speeding Up!” Journal of Teacher Education 37 (1): 43–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sacks, Harvey, and Emanuel A. Schegloff
2002 “Home Position.” Gesture 2 (2): 133–146. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Saldaña, Johnny
2009 The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Salvato, Giuliana
2015 Looking Beyond Words: Gestures in the Pedagogy of Second Languages in Multilingual Canada. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Schutz, Alfred, and Thomas Luckmann
1973 The Structures of the Life-World. Translated by Richard M. Zaner and H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.Google Scholar
Smart, Graham
1993 “Genre as Community Invention: A Central Bank’s Response to Its Executives’ Expectations as Readers.” In Writing in the Workplace: New Research Perspectives, ed. by Rachel Spilka, 124–140. Carbondale and Edwardsville, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.Google Scholar
Svinhufvud, Kimmo
2018 “Waiting for the Customer: Multimodal Analysis of Waiting in Service Encounters.” Journal of Pragmatics 129: 48–75. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swales, John M.
1990 Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tardy, Christine M.
2012 “A Rhetorical Genre Theory Perspective on L2 Writing Development.” In L2 Writing Development: Multiple Perspectives. Trends in Applied Linguistics, ed. by Rosa Manchón, 165–190. Berlin: de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tashakkori, Abbas, and Charles B. Teddlie
eds 2010 Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research. 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Viirman, Olov
2013 “The Functions of Function Discourse – University Mathematics Teaching from a Commognitive Standpoint.” International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology 45 (4): 512–527. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Weinberg, Aaron, Tim Fukawa-Connelly, and Emilie Weisner
2015 “Characterizing Instructor Gestures in a Lecture in a Proof-Based Mathematics Class.” Educational Studies in Mathematics 90 (3): 233–258. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Williams, Julian
2009 “Embodied Multi-Modal Communication from the Perspective of Activity Theory.” Educational Studies in Mathematics 70 (2): 201–210. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 3 other publications

Bernad-Mechó, Edgar
2023. Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis for the study of lectures: active and passive uses of metadiscourse. Multimodal Communication 12:1 ► pp. 7 ff. DOI logo
Bernad-Mechó, Edgar & Inmaculada Fortanet-Gómez
2019. Chapter 17. Organizational metadiscourse across lecturing styles. In Engagement in Professional Genres [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 301], ► pp. 321 ff. DOI logo
Hyland, Ken & Hang (Joanna) Zou
2022. Pithy Persuasion: Engagement in 3 Minute Thesis Presentations. Applied Linguistics 43:1 ► pp. 21 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 22 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.