This study aimstoexaminetheinterplay between on-linetalk irrelevanttoatask, i.e., gossip talk, and participant alignment during task processing. Specifically, this study examines qualitatively how the gossip talk contributes to L2 interactants' configuration of participant alignment during on-lineproblem-solving activities.Thedataconsistofthescripts ofmorethansixty hoursofL2on-linechatting ofcollegelevelEnglish learners. The qualitative, empirical analysis has shown that the participants'knowledgeofextra-taskworldisdisclosedduringthegossip talk eitherbetween problems to solve oratthe beginning ofthe chat. The task-embedded gossip occurring between problems to solve has generatedfewerturnsthan thechat-opening gossip.Thetask-embedded gossip wasalsolimited in itseffectson reconfiguration ofparticipatory structure and functioned only to reconfirm the predefined participant framework. Chat-opening gossip, by contrast, made significant contributions to emergent participant alignment, which was reflected during thetaskprocessinginthesubsequentturns.Thefindingsindicate thattheunfocusedaction,i.e.,thegossiptalk, contributestothefocused action, i.e, task processing, in terms of construction of participant alignment