Developing EFL Learners Pragmatic Competence I. Lack of Linguistic Resources 1. Respond to your teacher s compliments as a whole class. Teacher: You look very nice today! Student: Thank you. Teacher: You are an incredible pianist. Student: Really? Teacher: Wow! You re a great skier! Student: Thanks. Teacher: This is amazing food. Student: I m glad you like it. Teacher: I really love your haircut! Student: Thanks for noticing. Teacher: Nice bag! Student: Thanks. It was on sale. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnokzntipwu November 18, 2017 Page 1
2. Read out the following mini-dialogues in pairs. A: You are a great team. I am happy to have a team like you. B: Thank you, Rebeca. A: What a nice gadget, Nick. B: Thanks, Paul. A: Marvelous. You dance gorgeously. B: It s very kind of you to say that. A: A new bicycle, Matt. Look nice. B: Yeah. Thank you. A: What a wonderful costume. You look great. B: Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mryc7zvsblc November 18, 2017 Page 2
II. Limited Awareness of Potential Strategies 1. Read through the following apology strategies. Provide more illustrative examples. 1. An expression of apology A. An expression of regret, e.g., I m sorry B. An offer of apology, e.g., I apologize C. A request for forgiveness, e.g., forgive me 2. An explanation or account of the situation, e.g., The bus was late 3. An acknowledgement of responsibility A. Accepting the blame, e.g., It was my fault. B. Expressing self-deficiency, e.g., I was confused. C. Recognizing the other person as deserving apology, e.g., you are right. D. Expressing lack of intent, e.g., I didn t mean to. 4. An offer of repair, e.g., I ll help you get up. 5. A promise of forbearance, e.g., It won t happen again. Not apologizing 6. No response/apology 7. A denial of the need to apologize e.g., There was no need for you to get insulted 8. A denial of responsibility A. Not accepting the blame, e.g., it wasn t my fault. B. Blaming the other participant, e.g., it s your own fault. Source: Adapted from Olshtain, E., and Cohen, A. A. (1983). Apology: A Speech Act Set. In Sociolinguistics and Language Acquisition ed. by Nessa Wolfson and Elliot Judd, 18-35. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. November 18, 2017 Page 3
2. Complete the following mini-dialogues using a minimum of 2 apology strategies per scenario. A. A university professor promised to return the student s term paper that day, but he did not finish reading it. Student Professor Can I have my term paper, please? B. While your brother is studying, you switch on the radio causing a loud noise. Your brother hates being disturbed while studying. Brother You Turn down that noise!! I m studying here!! C. While you are sitting with your father and his guests, you interrupt him a lot. When the guests leave, your father blames you. Father You That was rude! You kept cutting me off every other minute. D. The waiter in an expensive restaurant brings fried chicken instead of beef to a surprised customer. Customer Waiter Excuse me. I ordered beef, not chicken! E. You offended a colleague during a discussion at work. After the meeting, the colleague mentions this fact. Colleague You What you said in the meeting was offending. It was not appropriate at all. November 18, 2017 Page 4
F. You call from work to find out how things are at home and your young child blames you for having forgotten to take him shopping as you had promised, and this is the second time this has happened. Your child says over the phone: Child You Oh, you forgot again and you promised! November 18, 2017 Page 5
III. Poor Sociolinguistic Competence 1. Practice the following dialogues. Notice how language varies to match the formality level. Informal A: Fancy a cup of tea? B: Yes, please. A: Here it is. B: Thanks. Put some sugar in it please, would you? A: Sure. Here you go. B: Cheers. A: No problem. Do you want a biscuit? B: No, thanks. A: Oh dear! Sorry! I totally forgot to post your letter. B: No worries. Can you do it for me tomorrow? A: Sure. I ll post it first thing in the morning. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=curq04vnydi Formal A: Would you like a cup of tea? B: Oh yes, please. I d love one. A: Here you are. B: Thank you. A: You re welcome. B: Could you pass me the milk, please? A: Certainly. Here you are. Would you care for a biscuit? November 18, 2017 Page 6
B: No, I m alright. Thank you very much. A: I apologize again for cancelling our meeting last week. B: Oh, that s quite alright. I really appreciate your fitting me in this week. A: Not at all. I m glad we can meet at last. B: May I ask you for a favor? A: Certainly. Go ahead. B: Would you kindly drop me off at the station after our meeting? A: Well, of course. I d be delighted to. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=curq04vnydi 2. Read the following mini-dialogues and decide whether they are formal (F) or informal (I). A: Do you want a cup of tea? B: Yes, please. A: Fancy a cup of tea? B: Yes, why not? A: Would you like a cup of tea? B: Yes, that would be lovely. A: May I get you a cup of tea? B: Thank you very much, but I ve just had one. A: Can I have the salt, please? B: Sure. Here you go. November 18, 2017 Page 7
A: Open the door, please, would you? B: Sure, I can do that. A: Would you kindly pass the salt, please? B: Of course. Here you go. A: I would appreciate it if you could lend me your minutes. B: Certainly, I d be happy to. A: Thanks a lot. B: No problem. Any time. A: I really appreciate it. B: Don t mention it. My pleasure. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=curq04vnydi November 18, 2017 Page 8
IV. Lack of Intercultural Awareness (Why not share stories? e.g., Russians vs. Moroccans with the parking lot, Chinese vs. Americans with apology, etc.) Read B s responses to complaints in the following mini-dialogues, and decide whether they reflect Arabic language interference. A: Well done! Your report was well-written. B: It s all due to God s support A: What a T-shirt! You look great in it. B: I got it from Mobacco a couple of days ago. A: Wow! Your new phone is smashing! B: Yeah, it s an amazing cell phone. A: Well done! Your grades are excellent! B: All comes down to your efforts, Professor. A: What a T-shirt! It looks great! B: Please, take it. A: Congratulations! Your speech was very clear and well-organized! B: Wishing the same for your speech. November 18, 2017 Page 9
A: I love the color of this room. Excellent choice! B: Oh, really? A: Well done! Your report was well-written. B: This is the least I could do. A: I love the color of this room. Excellent choice! B: Sweetheart. A: Your ideas are wonderful. You ve really helped me a lot. B: May God reward me for that. A: Your young girl looks so cute. B: MashaaAllah. Thank you. A: Your ideas are wonderful. You ve really helped me a lot. B: I ll always be there for you. November 18, 2017 Page 10