Difference in Eye Gaze for Floor Apportionment in Native- and Second-Language Conversations.

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Communication Studies

Background:

• Eye gaze is crucial in face-to-face communication for attention, intimacy, social control, and conversation management.
• In second language (L2) acquisition, eye gaze may play a more significant role in compensating for verbal communication challenges compared to native language (L1).

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively analyze the role of eye gaze in coordinating floor apportionment during three-party conversations in L1 and L2.
• To clarify the efficiency of speaker and listener eye gaze in facilitating smooth turn-taking in L2 communication.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative analysis of eye gaze patterns during three-party conversations in both L1 and L2.
• ANOVA tests were used to examine eye-gaze statistics of speakers and listeners.
• Focus on whether floor-switching occurred after an utterance, correlating with eye gaze.

Main Results:

• Listeners receiving more eye gaze from the speaker were more likely to become the next speaker, particularly in L2 conversations.
• Listeners exhibited increased eye gaze towards the speaker in L2 compared to L1, both before floor switches and during continuous speech.
• Speaker eye gaze significantly influences floor apportionment in L2 interactions.

Conclusions:

• Speaker eye gaze is an efficient tool for managing conversational turn-taking in second language communication.
• Enhanced listener eye gaze in L2 conversations also contributes to smoother floor apportionment.
• Eye gaze serves as a vital non-verbal cue for effective L2 communication and interaction management.