Off‐Task Talk to Manage Relationship Work During Student Group Work in Second Language Classrooms

This paper presents a conversation analytic study on student relationship work in off‐task talk (OTT) during group work in foreign language classrooms. Often seen as disengagement from tasks, OTT's social and relational functions in student classroom group interaction and formation remain underexplored. This study provides a local interactional account of how OTT creates a social and interactional space for students to navigate emergent group memberships during their language learning. Video and audio recordings of student group interactions in senior high school English classrooms in China were collected, transcribed and analysed. The data captures instances where students share personal experiences, feelings and perspectives unrelated to tasks mostly using their first language. OTT is observed to emerge from on‐task talk and contextual classroom elements. The data also shows that self‐disclosures prompt reciprocal sharing during OTT. The reciprocal self‐disclosure validates and constructs emergent common ground, testifying or reinforcing group memberships, which benefits the group solidarity. OTT potentially enacts positive social dynamics that support group formation and relationships among language learners. The findings promote a positive view of OTT, highlighting its relational function in facilitating student group work in language classrooms. Practical implications for leveraging OTT to improve social and interactional dynamics in group learning in language classrooms are discussed.