Examining Learner Agency in Plurilingual Peer Interactions: Managing Participation in Virtual and Face-to-Face Tasks

Abstract

From socioconstructivist perspectives, learning is a social process that occurs through collaborative inter-action. In task-based L2 learning, this involves a dy-namic adaptation to the evolving circumstances of the task, integrating learning within the discursive ac-tions learners perform when participating in the res-olution of the task. This study explores how second-ary students organise their participation and enact learner agency during plurilingual, task-based peer interactions in a transnational classroom proposal. Focusing on two scenarios – virtual telecollaboration and face-to-face group tasks – the study examines how learners navigate between progressivity (task ad-vancement) and intersubjectivity (mutual understand-ing). Using Conversation Analysis, we analyze their discursive actions identifying behavioral, cognitive, and relational dimensions of agency. By focusing on learners’ procedures to overcome challenges, co-con-struct meaning, and balance academic and social in-teractional goals, the study highlights the significance of peer interactions in fostering agency, proactive participation, as well as effective communication and successful task completion across linguistic bounda-ries.