How does digital context influence interaction in large live online lectures? The case of English-medium instruction

Abstract

This paper examines the evolving genre of university lectures. It focuses on synchronous online lectures. The aim of the study is to shed some light on how interaction between teacher and students unfolds in large English-medium instruction (EMI) lectures in the digital context. A qualitative multimodal microanalysis of an episode of interaction was performed from an (inter)action multimodal analysis framework. This preliminary exploratory study reveals the structural and multimodal complexity of interaction in live online lectures. EMI teacher’s semiotic resources combine to make meaning comprehensible in a lingua franca and to engage learners in a virtual context where there is not eye-contact with them. Suggestions are made to undertake contrastive studies on interaction in online and face-to-face lectures that may respond to the need of EMI teacher training. This paper aims to contribute to the literature of this still unexplored academic instructional digital genre.