Interaction rituals and inquiry-based science instruction: Analysis of student participation in small-group investigations in a multilingual classroom

Language learners participating in inquiry‐based science instruction are often faced with the challenge of interacting in a language they have not yet mastered. With this challenge at the fore, this study uses interaction ritual theory to examine a plurilingual student's participation in inquiry‐based science. Interaction ritual analysis of the focal student's interactions with peers during small‐group science investigations at the microlevel (tenths of a second) and in real‐time revealed that positive interaction rituals failed to form at first. Over a period of 6 months, his persistent use of nonverbal and verbal participation strategies, and opportunities to engage diverse communicative resources, resulted in higher levels of synchrony with his classmates and successful interactions in the language of instruction. The findings present novel information about the nuances of the silent, embodied participation of language learners in inquiry‐oriented instruction. Further, the findings elaborate the claim that inquiry‐based science pedagogies created space for students to form successful interaction rituals that, in turn, supported the focal student's science engagement and language development.