View Content #28250

This activity was created to engage language learners in critical thinking related to the concept of power and how it impacts language choice. It is appropriate for learners of all proficiency levels.

Learning Outcomes:

Learners will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the concept of power as it relates to language use and communication

• Make predictions about how power impacts communication in a selected target language context

• Verify predictions about how power impacts communication in a selected target language context

Mode(s): Any

Materials: Power Video, Power T-Chart

Procedure

1. Present the concept of power to learners utilizing this video.

2. Debrief with the learners after watching the video. As you debrief, work as a class to create a T-Chart in which learners organize utterances and strategies used in the video (Hello, Mr. Gonzales/Hey, Arturo/ A: I’m sorry, Mr. Johnson, but I really disagree. B: Excuse me? / A: I’m sorry, Mr. Johnson, but I really disagree. B: Tell me more about that. / Mr. Johnson…Never mind. / Thanks for the suggestion, Mr. Yang. / Would it be okay to take LING 245 instead, Mr. Yang? / Thomas, take LING 240. / Thomas, it might be a good idea if you take LING 240.).

3. Provide learners with three contexts in the target language in which at least one interlocutor is in a position of relative power. These contexts might include doctor’s office appointments, advising appointments, a student requesting an extension on a project, and a parent telling a child to get ready for the day.

4. Ask the learners to select one context and, in groups of four or five, to predict how greetings, suggestions, and requests might be made in that context. Do they expect titles or honorifics? The use of direct language? Mitigated language in which a lot of explanations are involved? Something else?

5. Ask that learners verify their predictions by finding a sample in the target language of the context they selected.

6. Share findings as a class.

Notes

It may be helpful to provide Novice to Intermediate-Low learners with target language utterances to support the predictions they articulate in Step 4.