BACKCHANNELLING IN ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA ONLINE DISCUSSIONS: STRATEGIES AND PERCEPTIONS

Abstract The use of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in online discussions necessitates presents a need to understand how speakers manage interaction and signal understanding of digital spaces. This study assesses backchannelling strategies in ELF online discussions, with focus on how speakers of English use these strategies to manage interaction and signal understanding (of different discursive patterns). Addressing a gap in research on backchannelling strategies in ELF interactions, this study assesses: What backchannelling strategies do ELF speakers report using in online discussions? How do they perceive the importance of backchannelling for successful online interaction? And how do contextual factors influence backchannelling strategy use in ELF online discussions? To answer these questions, the study employs a survey design, targeting 100 ELF speakers who participate in online discussions to gather data on backchannelling strategy use, the perceived importance of strategies used, and contextual factors that influence strategy choice. The results of the study indicate that ELF speakers use a range of backchannelling strategies (such as emojis, textual cues like ‘ok’, ‘hmmmm’, likes), with high perceived importance for ensuring smooth communication and managing interaction in online contexts. The results have implications for language teaching and learning. The results shape our understanding of interactional competence in ELF-mediated digital communication and emphasize the adaptive use of backchannelling strategies across different online platforms and contexts. The study informs pedagogy on pragmatic strategies for ELF users in online interactions, and supports effective communication in global English contexts, with implications for applied language studies on interactional competence in ELF-mediated digital communication. Keywords ELFbackchannellingonline communicationinteractional strategiesdigital pragmatics