A multi-dimensional analysis of backchannels in L1 German, L1 Italian and L2 German

Previous research has found that vocal feedback, referred to as backchannels, has positive effects on social interaction, especially by indicating listener engagement. For second language (L2) learners, however, backchannels can be challenging, because their use is bound by cultural and language-specific conventions. This study focuses on backchannels as used in dyadic task-oriented dialogue of native speakers of German and native speakers of Italian, both in their native (L1) Italian and in their L2 German, at two proficiency levels. We provide an in-depth multidimensional analysis of backchannel rate, duration, intonation, lexical form, and turn-taking function. We found that dyad-specific behaviour generally outweighs effects of proficiency. Despite considerable variability across dyads, learners tended to reproduce behaviour from their L1 in their L2 in the form of a complex mapping between intonation, lexical form and turn-taking function.