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Using PowerPoint slides as a resource for coordinating understanding during presentation consultations at an L2 speaking center

Abstract The site of this study is English as a second language speaking center at a university in Hong Kong. One of the center’s services is presentation consultation, in which students can practice giving a presentation in English and receive a tutor’s feedback. This study focuses on how the tutors and students coordinate understanding using the students’ PowerPoint (PPT) slides as situated objects. Detailed analyses of their interactions reveal that the participants make use of PPT slides as a referential resource in identifying problems in the student’s production and initiating repair, and as an essential object in solving problems of understanding. The paper shows the precise nature of the troubles in understanding that arise in these consultations, and how the participants make use of the slides as an interactional resource in coordinating their understanding. The paper discusses implications for L2 consultation sessions, particularly in regard to multimodal practices in solving understanding troubles.