A case study of triadic dialogue in synchronous hybrid teaching at university

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities adopted synchronous hybrid teaching, a format where face-to-face and online students can learn simultaneously (Wang, Luo 2021). Although it had been tried before, this format was used in the unprecedented context of a global emergency and for the first time on a large scale (Priess-Buchheit 2020). Though practical, it was challenging for both teachers and students, requiring digital classroom interaction (E-CIC) that should become a standard teaching competency (Moorhouse et al. 2021). This mixed-method study draws on data collected through direct observation of English classes in Italian universities. It analyses sequences of triadic dialogue from talk-in interactions to raise teachers’awareness of how the use of the chat window affects teacherstudent communication.