| Body | This activity focuses on the development of interpersonal communication skills by developing learners’ text messaging skills in the target language. This is not intended to replace other forms of interpersonal speaking, but rather expand each learner’s communicative repertoire.
Modes: interpersonal “speaking”
Objectives
- Students will be able to interpret turn taking behaviors in text messaging contexts.
- Students will be able to close a text message conversation sequence properly.
Resource: Text Messaging Handout
Procedure
- Observation: Ask students to observe three text message sequences (ideally taken from your own texts messages or that of a target language speaking colleague). Note, if you cannot use a conversation of your own, you may create one using one of the many free text message simulators online. As they observe, have them do the following:
- Draw arrows between turn parts. For example, a question and it’s answer.
- Highlight all texts that are part of the closing sequence of the conversation.
- Analysis: Ask students to examine the three sequences and their observation notes to identify the following.
- The number of turns that typically overlap. For example, how often are the pairs one after another or separated by other texts?
- The number of closing sequence texts present in each of the highlighted sections. How many times does a person say good bye before actually ending the conversation?
- Extension: Ask learners to create two text message sequences that model the patterns they found. After the sequences are created, ask learners to evaluate one another’s sequences to see how they match and differ from their findings.
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