1. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Certificate IV TESOL
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
10317NAT
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2. In this lesson we will look at:
Unit 5 Session 15
In this lesson we will look at:
Spoken genres – focusing on a communicative approach to language teaching
Text analysis
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3. Derewianka’s model
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4. Spoken Genres
As we have established in session 2, language is produced in the context of a culture, for a purpose, for a reason and to achieve a specific aim.
We know that, the wider culture influences the way people communicate.
We also know that the topic (Field), the relationship between the participants (Tenor), and whether a text is spoken or written (Mode) also influences the way we communicate.
Consideration of Distance (Time and Space) between the speaker/writer and the listener/reader must also be taken in to account.
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5. Spoken Genres
We communicate the same information to different people in quite different ways.
Discuss
How would you relate the details of your weekend to:
Your best friend/close family member
A colleague at work
A classmate
Your boss
A child
Are the linguistic choices different? How? What do you notice?
Would there also be a difference between written and spoken language?
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6. TASK Let’s consider Tenor
It should not be particularly difficult for you to work out which of the following lexical items sharing the same meaning are more suitable in some situations and less suitable in others:
male, man, bloke, lad, gentleman, gent, mate, chap, chappie, dude, guy, scout, son of a gun, hunk, spunk, stud, boy, old man, son, bugger, fellow, old bastard.
Neither should it be too hard to arrange some of these words on a formality–informality continuum.
Reference:
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7. Spoken Genres
Distance: the distance in space and time between participants also influence our linguistic choices.
Spoken communication can be close, such as face-to-face situations in real-time, or could be recorded messages for distance lands and times.
The more distant the speaker and listener are, the more precise and explicit the speaker needs to be. The closer the speaker and listening, the more they can rely on the context (physical or topical to make their intended meaning clear, and so the words spoken are likely to be less concise and less explicit.
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8. Spoken Genres A purpose of spoken interaction is either:
Interpersonal - establish, maintain or build relationships; to distance oneself from someone; increase or maintain distance.
Pragmatic – negotiating a sale or purchase, making arrangements for an event, making an appointment or making a presentation.
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9. Spoken Genres
Communication events have social purposes and functions and will demonstrate quite different genres:
Discuss
What social purposes or function can you identify in the following communication events:
A phone call to notify your boss that you will be late for work
A short presentation given at your work place
Casual conversation
Can you identify any genres in the above situations?
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10. Speaking within a particular culture
Members of a particular discourse community are familiar with discourses and genres which reflect the common sense notions and ideologies of this community.
Discuss in pairs:
Discourse communities develop norms and communicative styles that become natural ways of communicating within these communities. Can you think of a community in which you felt like an outsider? Consider the reason for feeling this way. Now compare this feeling to the one you experience being a member of a discourse community. 10

11. TASK Write down what you would say in the following circumstances:
1 At a friend’s home
Bill and Peter are 35-years-old and are good friends. Bill borrowed a computer magazine from Peter. Unfortunately, Bill spilled coffee on the magazine and damaged it. Bill is now returning it to Peter.
Peter:         What happened to my magazine?
Bill: _________________________________________________________________
Peter: _________________________________________________________________
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12. TASK next 12 2 At a lecturer’s office
A student has borrowed a book from his lecturer which he promised to return that day. When meeting the lecturer, however, he realises that he forgot to bring the book along.
Lecturer:  John, I hope you brought the book I lent you.
John: _______________________________________________________________
Lecturer: _______________________________________________________________
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13. TASK
3 At a university
You are a university student. You missed a lecture yesterday and would like to borrow your friend’s notes.
You: ________________________________________________________________
DISCUSS:
Was it easier or more difficult to complete the task when you were given more information about the circumstances?
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14. TASK
4 At a university
You are at the end of a linguistics class and you are sitting next to Tom Yates. You missed last week’s class and need to borrow his notes. He has been in the same program as you for one year and you see him often in the cafeteria. You will also be taking classes together in the future. He is a good note-taker and one of the best students in the class. You have borrowed his notes twice before for the same class and the last time you borrowed them he was reluctant to give them up. In two weeks, you have the final assignment due for your class.
You: _________________________________________________________________
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15. Text analysis
Turn to page 85 – 88 of your textbook, let’s look at the text sample and discuss the following:
Whole text analysis
Analysis at sentence level
Feedback cues
Signal words
Ellipsis
Vocabulary
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16. Text analysis Whole text analysis
Indicates the general structure of the text. The stages can be seen in the left hand column of the transcript on page 85 of the text book.
Genre: Negotiation of goods and services
Opening
Information exchange and clarification
Negotiate the selection
Closing transaction
Through whole text analysis of the linguistic choices, we can evaluate:
Who is involved (tenor)
Subject matter (field)
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17. Text analysis Whole text analysis
Outlining the stages of the conversation is helpful for the ESL learner whose home culture may dictate very different social conventions for such a situation.
Discuss:
Can you identify any differences in linguistic choices or structural features that would be made, in the situation shown in the text book, according to your home culture?
As you can see, this kind of cultural information is important for the success of the learner’s interaction in the Australian context.
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18. Text analysis Analysis at text level
The next level of cultural and linguistic information is in relation to the speech functions noted down on the right-hand column (see page 85/86 of the textbook). They show the kinds of enquiries that are appropriate.
The learner needs to be able to manage all of these speech functions, so that all of these aspects need to be made explicit and purposefully included in practice activities.
Discuss:
Can you think of any practice activities for any of the speech functions listed in the right hand column of the transcript on page 85/6?
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19. Text analysis Analysis at text level
Feedback cues – shows the feedback that the listener employs to show he/she is listening, that they are interested and what their attitudes are. These cues may also be communicated through tone of voice, intonation, facial gestures and body language.
Signal words – we need to be prepared to explain the meaning of signal words, such as “so”.
Ellipsis – another linguistic feature of interaction is to abbreviate sentences; omission of a word or phrase which could be necessary to the sentence construction, but whose absence does not obscure the meaning.
Vocabulary - The text provides the context for introducing a wider range of terms which would also be associated with this Field. 19