More Than Words: The Multimodal Practice of Repetition in English as a Lingua Franca Interactions

ABSTRACT This study investigates the use of repetition as an interactional resource in video‐recorded English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) interactions, focusing on partial repeats produced in responses to wh ‐questions. By adopting a multimodal conversation analytic approach, the analysis demonstrates that repetition in this context may either index the question's premise as a trouble source or project an incipient response, while temporarily suspending sequence progressivity. Multimodal evidence shows how embodied cues, such as mutual gaze versus gaze aversion, differentiate repetitional actions from each other. The findings reconceptualize repetition in ELF interaction not as a compensatory response to linguistic limitations but as a publicly organized practice through which speakers secure the opportunity to produce conditionally relevant next actions, thereby evidencing L2 interactional competence.