| Body | by Becky Lawrence and Ava Swanson
The purpose of this activity is to build the pragmatic competence of intermediate English language learners as it relates to giving suggestions or advice. This activity was originally designed for learners in a class developed to build English skills for individuals from abroad in order to ensure successful completion of post-secondary studies in the United States.
Learners will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of whether or not give suggestions or advice given a particular power dynamic
- Recognize what suggestions and advice can be deemed as appropriate in a given social context
- Understand the underlying desires implied by a given solicitation for advice or suggestions
Modes: Interpretive Listening, Interpersonal Communication, Presentational Writing
Materials Needed: YouTube Clips that feature advice-giving sequences, rubric
Procedure
- Have learners watch three YouTube clips that depict conversations in which one person is giving advice to another person in the target language. Three good examples include “April Gives Such Good Advice” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAzl5qBe0Vo), “Friends do I look fat” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPeDxUZmPY), and “Asking Girls for Breakup Advice” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJvzcDSjCyk). As they watch, learners should take notes regarding the relationship between the speakers, the content of the situation, and any forms (grammatical, lexical, etc.) that the speakers use.
- Next, learners will form small groups of no more than four students and discuss how they were able to discern the relationship in each of the clips. Together, they will come to a consensus of how to define each relationship observed.
- As a class, learners will discuss if the advice that was given in the clips was sincere and honest. Use the following questions to guide the discussion: What is the difference between the types of advice and suggestions given among clips? Why is the type of advice different? Do the people receiving the advice or suggestions in the clips actually want advice or suggestions? Are there situations in which you shouldn’t give advice or suggestions?
- Next, learners will return to their small groups to create a list of steps (a turn taking sequence) that occur when appropriately giving advice or suggestions. Provide each group with a social context to focus their work. These contexts could include conversations among friends who are of the same age and socioeconomic class, conversations between an older mentor and student, conversations between parents and their young children, or conversations between strangers on a bus.
- After the group discussion, learners will share their ideas with the class by either writing them on the board or using a projector. As they present, classmates should be encouraged to discuss whether or not they agree with the turn taking sequences suggested.
- In order to practice their new knowledge, learners will get into pairs to write their own conversation in which they imagine one person soliciting advice from another. The situation that colors the conversation should be illustrated by the teacher with a picture with a brief scenario explanation. These situations should go along with whatever thematic units are being taught within the classroom.
- Finally, learners will present the scenes that they have created to the class by performing their scripts. This performance will be assessed with a rubric. After the performances are over, the class will compare and contrast the content of each script in order to discuss how the context surrounding the situation performed impacted the advice or suggestion being given. This conversation should include attention to form as well as content.
Notes: This activity involves presentational writing given the script creation. If the teacher desires to include interpersonal communication, he or she should give learners time to plan the premise of their performance and then perform their role plays with the spontaneous creation of language.
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