The Missing Link

The Missing Link:Pragmatics and Pronunciation

Tamara [email protected]

SHAPE Language Center, Belgium

perceptions of

politeness

pragmatics pronunciation

Pragmatics

… knowing how, when, and why to say what to whom

NSFLE (2000)

• Close the window, please.

• Would you mind if I closed the window?

• Brr, it’s chilly in here.

It does not take massive breakdowns to create

tensions between people of different cultural

backgrounds. Rather, it is a cumulative process made up of uncomfortable moments

and small frustrations.

Beal (1992)

Pronunciation

“Thank you very

much. Please come

again.”

Pronunciation

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

Intonation

Sentence Stress

When grammar and intonation are at odds, the intonation directly carries the

illocutionary force of the speech act.

Wennerstrom (2001)

Bringing Pragmatics and Pronunciation into our

Conversation Classrooms

To Teach or not to Teach?

Environment helps,

BUTExposure alone is not enough.

We have to take an explicit approach!

Intonation

Sentence Stress

Pronunciation Mini Lessons

• Awareness raising

• Arrows

• Choral repetition

– Conducting

– Kazoos

• Recordings

Intonation

Hello! Are you alright?

Yes. How about you?

• The fences from Well Said

• Dots above stressed words

• Clapping

• Rubber bands

• Recordings

Would you mind if I borrowed your pen?

Sentence Stress

mind borrowed pen

It’s been nice chatting with you.

My Lesson Plan

Morley (1992) Martinez-

Flor & Uso-Juan

(2006)

My Lesson Plan

1. Warm Up

2. Consciousness Raising

3. Explicit Instruction

4. Practice

5. Assessment (?)

Warm Ups

Getting Started

• Observations

• Surveys

Consciousness Raising

Video Clips

• Television clips

– Reality TV

– Scripted TV (last resort)

• DIY

– Unscripted communicatively competent speakers

• Video

• Audio

Aneesa: I feel like she loves attention. I can’t believe people. I have to say in the back ofmy mind, like, “you need attention, you need attention, you need attention.”

Cara: She does need attention, yes.

Aneesa: And I am just like …

Cara: Actually, she is very needy. But, I still thinkthat she’s physically ill as well.

Tiffany: Hey! How’s it going?Tamara: Good.Tiffany: Hey, let’s … can I just look at your calendar? Because I have a question. I know you’ve got your weekends planned months in advance, but Elmer and I were just thinking about, and we’re not sure about this at all, but for the concert, possibly, if we’re going to be there all day on Saturday, maybe staying in a hotel room that night.Tamara: Oh, yeah?Tiffany: So, if, and this is totally if this works with your guys’ schedule, if you guys wouldn’t mind and you wanted to come up for that weekend, would you mind watching the dogs?Tamara: Yeah, no problem.Tiffany: If it works. If it totally works. Are you sure you don’t mind?Tamara: Sure.Tiffany: Oh! The doggies will be so happy!

Tiffany: Hey! How’s it going?

Tiffany: … if you guys wouldn’t mind and you wanted to come

up for that weekend, would you mind watching the dogs?

Tamara: Yeah, no problem.

Tiffany: If it works. If it totally works.

Are you sure you don’t mind?

Tamara: Sure.

Explicit Instruction

Communicate that you are Listening!

• encouraging words: – Mhmm.– Yeah.– Wow!

• comments: – How interesting!– That’s amazing!

• emphasis questions: – Really?

• repeating questions: – word / phrase as

a question• information

questions: – Why did she do

that? – What happened

next?

Disagreeing Top 4

1. Agreement prefaced disagreement– “Yes, but”– Agreement part is faster and weaker

2. Showing discomfort– “Well”– Long and flat intonation

3. Checking the statement– “Really?”– Rising intonation

4. Pretending a lack of comprehension– “What?”– Rising Intonation

Favor Asking Steps

minimizing checking promising

introducingwarningdisarming

Practice

Who will colonize Marzipan?

Assessment

Great Pronunciation Supplements

• Avery, P. and Erlich, S. (1997) Teaching American English Pronunciation, Oxford University Press

• Beisbier, B. (1994) Sounds Great, Thompson and Heinle

• Gilbert, J. (2001) Clear Speech, Cambridge University Press

• Grant, L. (2001) Well Said, Heinle and Heinle

• Hancock, A. (1995) Pronunciation Games, Cambridge University Press

• Meyers, C. & Holt, S. (2001) Pronunciation for Success, Aspen Productions

• Miller, S. (2005) Targeting Pronunciation, Houghton Mifflin Co

• Noll, M. (2007) American Accent Skills, Ameritalk Press

Great Pragmatics Supplements

• Foreign Affairs Canada website, www.intercultures.ca

• CARLA website: www.carla.umn.edu/speechacts

• Teaching Pragmatics website: http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/resforteach/pragmatics.html

• Martinez-Flor, A. and Uso-Juan, E (2006) A comprehensive pedagogical framework to develop pragmatics in the foreign language classroom: The 6Rs approach, Applied Language Learning, 16(2)

We want our students to be

fully effective communicators.

Kanellou (2009)

Thank you for your interest!

Tamara Jones

[email protected]

SHAPE Language Center, Belgium