| Body | This week, we depart from our normal activity format to provide learners with the opportunity to explore how to adapt what they want to say or write to fit interactions in different contexts or with different people. In this activity, learners will brainstorm multiple ways of saying or writing a thought using How Else & Why?
Learning outcomes:
Learners will be able to:
- Identify more than one way of expressing a thought given changes to a conversational or cultural context
- Reflect on why they would change what they say or how they say it to fit the context
Mode(s): Presentational, Interpersonal
Materials: CASLS Intercultural Communication and Pragmatics Playlist, device with internet access, digital document or pen and paper
- First, think of a scenario where you would like to use the target language. For example, this could be telling a story to a friend, asking a stranger for information or assistance, saying goodbye politely to your boss or teacher at the end of a conversation, or any other scenario that is relevant to you. Browse through any of the videos in the CASLS Intercultural Communication and Pragmatics Playlist for ideas.
- Once you have identified your situation, imagine specific details about it. Where does it take place? Who you would be talking to? What relationship do you have to the other person or people involved?
- Write down what you would like to say in your scenario. This can be as short as one phrase or sentence, or can be longer.
- Then, choose one detail in your scenario to change. For example, you could change the physical location, the type of interaction (in person vs. digital, synchronous vs. asynchronous) the person you are taking to, how many people you are talking to, etc.
- Once you have decided on your new scenario, think about how the change could affect what you say. Would you use the same words or different words, or say more or less to express your idea? Would you need to be more or less polite? Write down answers to these two questions:
- How else can I say this?
- Why would I say it like this?
- Then, change an additional detail in your scenario, think about how this change affects what you say. Write down your answers again.
- How else can I say this?
- Why would I say it like this?
- Repeat step 6 as many more times as you would like.
- Once you are done, look at your answers. Do you see any patterns related to how you changed what you said for each new scenario? Write down any patterns you see or anything that strikes you as interesting. As you write, think about:
- How did your relationship to the person or people affect what you said?
- How does location or context ( in-person, digital, synchronous or asynchronous, etc.) affect what you said?
- Why might these factors affect how you say something?
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