Whose Turn is it? Participation and Passing the Floor

Student participation and cooperation in group discussions are intrinsically related to turn-taking, as a cooperative participant must successfully indicate their desire to speak (take the floor), as well as effectively end their turn (pass the floor).Non-participatory or uncooperative students are consequently less practiced in taking and passing the floor.Likewise, students who lack the necessary linguistic forms to take and pass the floor are less inclined to participate or cooperate in group discussion.This paper examines the behavior of an EDC Level 3 female student who appeared reluctant to take the floor and routinely failed to pass it.The specific floor-passing mechanism of asking a question is discussed within the context of the EDC curriculum.