Word-search sequence during a group discussion in the language classroom poses pedagogical and social challenges to students. That is, the recipient providing a solution may not only deprive the speaker of an opportunity to remember and learn the searched-for vocabulary, but may also result in an epistemic imbalance between recipient and speaker, consequently damaging their interpersonal relationship. Therefore, the speaker needs to signal that s/he is inviting the recipient to the search or trying to find the item by him/herself, and the recipient must understand the speaker’s signs. Recent studies have revealed that multimodal embodiments are the key to getting the recipient to understand whether s/he is engaging in a solo search or soliciting help. However, such multimodal practices are limited when students work together via online video conferencing. The present study aims to examine how students in the language learning class engaging in a group discussion through online video conferencing manage the above challenges to secure a positive interpersonal relationship and a learning opportunity. The data used for the study are group discussions conducted in 45 classes of three English courses at a Japanese university, where students discuss their individual research projects though an online video conference system. A conversation analysis of the word-search sequences revealed that the recipients used “lack of visual resources” as the resources for making the speaker’s search a solo search. Since the detailed directionality of the speaker's posture and his/her gaze are not available through the screen, the recipient was able to treat the uncertainty of the speaker’s orientation as his/her orienting to a solo search. Such a recipient practice enables the recipient to avoid causing an epistemic imbalance and to provide a learning opportunity for the speaker.