Turn-Taking in Online Classes: Focusing on the Student Practice of “Unmuting”

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the rapid digitalization of classes and even now, several years later, many educational institutions continue to use online classes as a medium of education. It is likely that remote classes will continue to be used in the future and thus research on practices of online communication is much needed. In this study, turn-taking interactions in online classes were examined by analyzing video data using the method of conversation analysis. More specifically, this paper focuses on students’ use of the unmute function of the online meeting platform Zoom and how its use is understood in situations where the teacher is inviting the next speaker. The analysis showed that the student action of unmuting in certain situations is regarded as an “initiative to take a turn” and elicits a response from the teacher. Furthermore, it was revealed that depending on the sequential circumstances surrounding the unmuting, the student’s attitude and the teacher’s response to the unmuting differ.