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Article published In:
Writing in interaction
Edited by Lorenza Mondada
[Language and Dialogue 6:1] 2016
► pp. 81–109

Nodding and note-taking

Multimodal analysis of writing and nodding in student counseling interaction

 | University of Helsinki
The paper studies the activity of note-taking in interactions between a university student counselor and an undergraduate student. The study is based on authentic videotaped discussions recorded in a Finnish university. The study concentrates on sequences consisting of a question, an answer, and the taking of notes. The aim of the paper is to present a detailed multimodal analysis on how the note-taker moves from not writing to writing and how nodding is used in both receiving the answer and indicating the transition from listening to taking down notes. Listening and note-taking are seen as a dual involvement depending partially on the same embodied resources, especially the gaze and bodily orientation. The shift from listening to note-taking often is indicated with a pronounced writing initial nod.
Keywords: writing, note-taking, institutional interaction, multiactivity, conversation analysis, multimodal analysis, nodding, counseling
Published online: 19 May 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.6.1.03svi
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