Self-Repair in Peer Academic Conversations Among EFL Learners: From a Multimodal Perspective

Abstract Self-repair refers to the process by which speakers rectify errors or inappropriate expressions in their speech. While much of the existing research on repair in foreign language learning focuses on interactions between teachers and students, or between students with the same first language background (e.g., among Chinese students), studies examining repair in conversations between students from different linguistic backgrounds (e.g., Chinese students and foreign non-native English learners) are relatively sparse. Additionally, current research on repair tends to focus predominantly on linguistic aspects (verbal behaviors), with insufficient exploration of the interaction between language repair and other modalities (non-verbal behaviors) from a multimodal viewpoint. Drawing on a video corpus of peer academic discussions between Chinese and foreign non-native English learners, this study adopts a multimodal analytical approach to examine the self-repair behaviors of Chinese learners of English. The dataset was annotated through a unified three-stage linguistic repair framework combined with multimodal interaction analysis, allowing for a systematic examination of trouble sources, initiation methods, repair strategies, and the distribution of embodied behaviors across repair stages. The research examines the primary communicative obstacles faced by Chinese learners and the mechanisms of repair employed in conversation. It reveals the correlations between different trouble sources, repair initiations, and repair strategies. Moreover, the study explores the dynamic changes in non-verbal behaviors during the repair process and their interaction with verbal behaviors, culminating in a comprehensive understanding of the multimodal repair patterns of Chinese English learners. Specifically, the results indicate that self-initiated self-repair predominates in peer academic discussions among Chinese learners of English, with lexical errors being the most common trouble source. These errors are primarily repaired through cut-offs that trigger the repair, followed by substitutions to correct the errors. Significant relationships were found between the type of trouble source, the method of repair initiation, and the repair strategy. For instance, when learners encountered difficulty in expression, they often used lengthened sounds or hesitation markers to initiate repair, typically followed by abortive repairs. In contrast, cut-offs were frequently used to address errors, which were commonly repaired through substitution. Content errors, on the other hand, were often corrected through insertions. In terms of non-verbal behaviors, Chinese learners predominantly employed paralinguistic cues, gaze, and gestures during the self-repair process. Paralinguistic features peaked prior to the repair and gradually decreased as the repair progressed. Gaze aversion increased significantly during the repair and then dramatically decreased after the repair. Gestures were used more frequently during the repair and returned to their initial state afterward. By incorporating a multimodal interaction analysis, this study expands the understanding of the complexity and multi-layered structure of repair behavior, pushing forward the research on conversational repair. It also offers theoretical and practical implications for second language teaching and the development of communicative competence.