Pauses and turn-taking in a multi-level language ability adult Efl group: A case study

Journal of Language, Literature, Social, and Cultural Studies, Volume 4 Number 1 (Mar 2026), p. 120-131 e-ISSN: 2986-4461 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58881/jllscs.v2i2 https://ympn.co.id/index.php/JLLSCS Pauses and turn-taking in a multi-level language ability adult Efl group: A case study Selinay Gündoğan Department of English Language Teaching, Social Sciences University of Ankara, TURKEY Email: Abstract - As globalization diversifies adult education, English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms increasingly function as heterogeneous communities comprising mixed ages and proficiency levels. Despite this shift, existing literature largely treats these variables in isolation, overlooking the complex interplay between linguistic ability and generational dynamics. This case study addresses this gap by analyzing a multi-level, multi-age adult EFL group through Conversation Analysis (CA), grounded in the theoretical framework of Activity Systems. The study examines how classroom interaction is co-constructed not only through linguistic competence but also through social norms and age-related hierarchies. Data analysis reveals distinct micro-interactional patterns: brief pauses function as structural tools for task management, while frequent latching emerges as a primary mechanism for peer scaffolding within adjacency pairs. Most significantly, the study uncovers how social rules within the activity system mediate linguistic performance. Findings indicate a critical intersection of age and proficiency, where longer pauses frequently signal younger participants deferring to older peers. This suggests that turn-taking is governed by a social etiquette of respect that surpasses linguistic processing speed. The study concludes that the adult EFL classroom is a multi-dimensional activity system where social identity and language proficiency are inextricably linked, calling for a pedagogical shift that acknowledges these complex, underlying dynamics in mixed-ability groups. Keywords: adult education, Efl, conversation analysis, multi-age classrooms, peer scaffolding 1. Introduction Sociocultural turn in educational research in the 1990s shifted the focus of classroom discourse research from micro level cognitive features of foreign language learning such as attention and memory to macro level features including the societal and cultural norms influencing the learner (Tsui, 2023). This shift, in combination with the communicative turn in language teaching in 1980s, which emphasized the importance of authentic communication in the classrooms (Richards & Rodgers, 2001), has highlighted a more detailed understanding of classroom discourse. As a response to this shift in focus, concepts including cultural and social dynamics (Dörnyei & Malderez, 1997; Roux, 2001), turn-taking (Nomlomo, 2011; Waring, 2013), and communicative competence (Byram et al., 2013; Leung & Lewkowicz, 2013) have been examined extensively in pedagogy. A natural extension of this movement has been an increasing attention paid on the classroom discourse in mixed-ability language classes. (Ronksley-Pavia et al., 2019). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) 120 Journal of Language, Literature, Social, and Cultural Studies, Volume 4 Number 1 (Mar 2026), p. 120-131 e-ISSN: 2986-4461 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58881/jllscs.v2i2 https://ympn.co.id/index.php/JLLSCS It is crucial to examine multi-level classrooms considering the current trends in the English as a foreign language (EFL) research. Moreover, more studies should focus on adult language learning given the current globalization trends in the world. Despite the previous projects launched about life-long learning (Matthews-Aydinli & Van Horne, 2006) and books examining the multi-level adult classrooms (Bell, 2004), empirical research examining the dynamics of multilevel adult groups has been scarce in the last decade. To address this gap, this study examines multi-level adult students’ in-class interaction. Various elements of in-class interaction, such as speech acts, non-linguistic behavior, attitudes, modes or mediums of communication, can be examined. This study focuses on the organization of communication and particularly turn-taking and pauses and aims to examine the social dynamics of this specific multi-level adult classroom. Turn taking and pauses are moves that occur naturally in discourse depending on the relations of the participants. Therefore, examining them will provide valuable information about the relationship between each participant’s level and age. Activity Theory (Figure 1) is chosen as a key aspect of this study to facilitate examining the features of communication and relations between the elements of communication. “In Activity Theory the unit of analysis is joint-mediated activity, which includes two or more individuals in interactions mediated by cultural artifacts” (Laboratory for Comparative Human Cognition, 2010, p.364). For a comprehensive understanding of this research, a detailed explanation of the present activity system is required. For this research, subjects are the students, instruments are verbal language, gestures and moves that organize communication, among which turn-taking and pauses were chosen as a subject of the research, and the object is to communicate successfully. This is the basic framework suggested by Vygotsky (1978). Engeström (1987) expanded this system by adding rules, community and division of labor for a better understanding of the interaction of other elements. For this research, macro-level rules are the societal norms and micro-level rules are completing the information gap activity only through communication and students are instructed not to show information only provided to one of each. Community is the classroom environment as well as the Turkish culture, connected to the background of the participants and the place of research in a macro level. Influence of the relations formed in the classroom and cultural norms on communication is another focus of this research. Division of labor is shaped around the task-specific roles yet the extent of speech each participant makes is governed by the natural flow of the interaction. All these elements work together and play a crucial role in the realization of the object (i.e. communication) in the classroom context. Each agent is influenced by or influences other elements of this system which affects the outcome. 121 Journal of Language, Literature, Social, and Cultural Studies, Volume 4 Number 1 (Mar 2026), p. 120-131 e-ISSN: 2986-4461 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58881/jllscs.v2i2 https://ympn.co.id/index.php/JLLSCS Figure 1 Activity System (Engeström, 1987) Within this framework the aim of this research is to examine the complex system of communication of a multi-level adult EFL group. In detail, pauses and turn-taki (...truncated)