Table Of Content

TRY THIS Luck of the Draw (Pragmatics) LEVEL: Beginner and Upper Beginner PROCEDURES: TIME REQUIRED: 30 minutes, plus time for 1. Ask students to help you brainstorm a students to present list of formal and informal greetings as a warm-up for the activity. If necessary, GOALS: To practice common greetings; remind students of the difference between to use appropriate greetings with different formal and informal greetings by saying, community members; to understand “Remember that formal greetings are when to use informal and formal those you would use when speaking to greetings someone older or to an important person in the community such as an elder or a MATERIALS: Paper cut into strips (enough professor. Informal greetings are those strips for each group to have four during you would use with friends or close family the activity), two different colors of pens or members. Think about the different ways markers, two large cups or containers, pencils you can greet these types of people.” If and paper for students students need assistance, you can start the list by providing an example of each type OVERVIEW: This activity will allow students of greeting, such as “Hey” for informal and to practice using greetings by creating a “Good afternoon” for formal. brief skit. Students should be familiar with common greetings and know whether they 2. Ask students to help you brainstorm are considered formal or informal. Students a list of people they greet in their should also understand appropriate register, everyday interactions. These could be meaning the use of language that is suitable members of their family, friends, people in particular social situations. Creating a skit at school, or anyone in their community. can be a useful practice activity for students As your students provide ideas, list them from varying proficiency levels, especially on the board while a few students copy when addressing pragmatics. The procedures them onto the strips of paper you have outlined below make the task accessible to prepared. People from the list should all beginning-level students, but the variations be written on the same color of paper or can offer more advanced students a in the same color ink. Some people your challenge. students might come up with are: PREPARATION: Find two containers that • mother can be used as “grab bags” for students to • father draw from. Cut paper into strips, sized so • sister that you can write one word or phrase on • brother each strip. You can use either two different • grandmother colors of paper or two different colors of • grandfather markers or pens. • aunt americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum 2016 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 43 “Grab bag” containers and slips of paper showing people and places Photo by Amy Hanna • uncle 3. Ask students to think about people • friend they may not interact with often but • teacher that they still have to greet sometimes. • store clerk Students can also list people they have • restaurant worker not interacted with before. One option • seller at a market is to provide one or two examples from • taxi or bus driver the list below and then give students 44 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 2016 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum time to discuss their ideas with a • on the street partner or small group before asking • at a market or store the whole class to share. Record these • in your classroom people the same way as in Step 2, by • in the hallway or around the school writing them on the board and having • at the doctor’s office a few students copy them on the same • at a restaurant color paper or using the same color • at a shopping mall ink. Ideas for people students greet less • on a bus or train frequently are: • at work • at the bank • doctor • at a coffee shop • nurse • at the post office • priest/imam • at a place of worship • dentist • headmaster or principal Create slips for the places the same way • community elder as you did for the people in Steps 2 and • government official 3, but use a different color of paper or • police officer different color ink. • the president or prime minister • movie star/actor 5. When all of the ideas about people • popular singer and places have been written on slips • famous artist of paper, create two grab bags using • religious elder/member of the clergy the containers. Attach a label to each • judge container, marking one “people” and • potential employer the other “places.” Students can assist • boss or manager you by folding each slip of paper • work colleague (same rank or and putting it into the appropriate higher rank) container. Note: Be sure that you create enough slips 6. Let your class know that you will show with types of people on them for your them an example of how the activity whole class. For the skit, each group will work. Ask for three volunteers will draw three slips from the “grab bag” to act as your group members for the of people, so you may need to create explanation. Then, choose three slips of multiples of some types of people in paper from the “people” container and order to have enough slips. For example, one from the “places” container. Write you might have three slips with judge, the people and the place on the board so three slips with grandmother, etc. that students can see them. 4. After you have created slips for many 7. Model a discussion with your group of types of people to greet, ask students volunteers. For each of the slips you to think about the places where these drew from the “people” container, you interactions might take place. These can will need to decide how the person be actual places where students have had should be greeted. Ask the class and interactions or their ideas about made-up your group of volunteers questions situations. The goal is to get your class to such as: come up with a variety of places. Some examples are: • How would I greet this person? • in your home • Can I speak to them the same way I • in your neighborhood/village would my friends at school? americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum 2016 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 45 • Do I need to speak to them in a allow them to choose the classmates they different way? will work with. Try to get the class to give you ideas 11. Tell students: “You will draw slips of paper about exactly what greetings they would from each of these containers and then use use for each person. Write these on the them to plan your greeting skit. You will board under the names of the people. choose three people and one place. In your group, you will have to assign one person 8. Once you have discussed each of the to play the role of a student your age. The people and written some ideas, model other three group members will act as the how to act out a scenario in the place people you draw from the container. The you chose. Assign each volunteer one skit will take place in the location you pull of the people drawn from the container from the other container.” and explain that the volunteers will have to act out those roles during the 12. Once the students are in groups of four, skit. You can even create a sign for they will need to choose their people the students to wear or hold up, or and their place for the skit from the write each student’s name next to his containers. This is probably easiest if each or her role on the board so the class group selects one representative to go to will remember who that person is. the front of the classroom to make the Tell the volunteers that you will greet selections and then return to the group. each of them as if you are meeting in the place that you have drawn from the 13. When all groups have selected three container. For instance, if your place is people and one place, give the following the market, have the group members instructions: “Think about the three act as though they are carrying shopping different people you chose from the bags and looking for items to buy. If the container. Your group needs to discuss place is a coffee shop, students might how you would greet each of these be waiting in line to order or sitting at a people. Remember to think about exactly table sipping coffee. what you would say to each person if you met him or her in the place that you 9. Act out a quick version of what the skit chose. Think of what the people would should look like by encountering each be doing in the location of your skit. Are person individually and greeting him or they shopping, eating a meal, or sitting on her appropriately. Each student volunteer the bus? Try to show what is happening should respond by returning your greeting in the place you chose. Your group can accordingly. They can get ideas from the write ideas on paper if you want to.” list of formal and informal greetings on the board from Step 1 if needed. The 14. At this point, circulate around the purpose of this example is to model room and listen to the groups’ what students should do in the activity discussions. Answer any questions and to remind them to use formal and students may have, or offer assistance informal greetings appropriately. Once if they need it. you have completed your fast example, give students time to ask any questions 15. Once the groups have had enough time they may have, and offer any further to discuss their ideas for how to greet explanation you think is necessary. each person in their skit, you can say: “Now you need to decide who will take 10. Inform students that they will be on each role in your group. One person working in groups of four. You can use will be a student like you. The other any method to group your students, or three will act as one of the roles you 46 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 2016 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum chose from the container. Then, you them in a variety of ways. Depending on need to create your skit. Remember, the size of your class, one option is to it should happen in the place you chose have each group of students present to from the container, and each person the whole classroom. Or, if you have a needs to be greeted appropriately.” large class, you can split the class in half and have each group present to its half 16. Give students time to plan and rehearse of the class. Another option would be their skits. They can write a script if they to pair groups and have them present find it helpful, or if you want to have a to each other. Depending on how the written assignment to use for grading groups present their skits and how you purposes. Otherwise, students can ask students to provide feedback, you perform the skit from memory. Again, can monitor the presentations and also move around the room to help groups participate in the discussions. that need assistance. VARIATIONS 17. Before asking students to present their skits, give them guidelines or questions 1. This activity can also be used to give to think about as they watch the different students practice with other kinds of groups. You can say: “As you watch your speech acts. Using the same procedures, classmates present their skits, I want you you can assign your students a skit to think about a few things. This way, to practice apologies, introductions, when everyone is finished, you can give closings, or any other speech acts you each other feedback or advice about have been teaching them. To challenge how you used the greetings. I will write students even more, create a third questions on the board for you to think “grab bag” container and allow the about as you watch each other’s skits.” class to brainstorm additional types of interactions they could use to create 18. Write on the board: Did you think the their skit. Here are some ideas: greetings you heard were good ones to use with the people in the skit? If yes, why? If • apologize no, what greetings would you use? Explain • give advice these questions to students, and model • make a request how to give feedback to their classmates • ask permission by saying: “For example, I watch a skit • order a meal in a restaurant where someone greets the principal of • make introductions our school at the market by saying, ‘Hey, • make an excuse for being late Principal Rousso, what’s up?’ I do not • close a conversation and say think this is the right greeting, so I would good-bye tell the group, ‘I think that you should use a more formal greeting to say hello 2. For higher-proficiency students, you can to the principal,’ and give my idea for assign the skit without going through something different to say.” You can also the brainstorming (Steps 1–7). Instead, have students write the questions, give a allow students to choose any speech act written response to each one, and then to use in their skit. Tell students that the hand in their papers at the end of the goal of the skit is to show how one would activity. Or, you could have students use interact differently, using the chosen a checklist (see Extensions) to give the speech act, with people in varying roles groups feedback on their skits. and relationships. The groups can choose their own people and place for the skit 19. Once all the groups have had time to plan and even create a detailed scenario. As an and practice their skits, they can present added challenge, groups can write down americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum 2016 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 47 the people in the skit, the speech act, how to change their skit can use the and a short description of the scenario feedback to make changes and improve and then exchange their ideas with their work. If some groups received only another group. Then, groups of students positive feedback, they could choose would have to act out the skit according another set of people and a different to the guidelines they receive. Here place to plan a new skit. Then, all the are examples of the types of scenarios groups can present again, showing either students might come up with: their improved skit or a new one. • apologizing to your boss, a coworker, 3. This activity also allows for some and a client for being late to a repetition to give students more meeting opportunities to practice and reinforce their skills. For example, groups could • making an excuse to your keep the same people in their skit classmates, your teacher, and the but change the location by drawing headmaster for missing a group a different place from the container. presentation in class Groups can also repeat the process with a different speech act or a different group • inviting a coworker, your boss, and of four students from the class. your friend to a dinner party 4. As students learn more ways of interacting, they can continue their skit. EXTENSIONS Because the original activity focuses on 1. Provide a checklist (as mentioned in Step greetings, there are many possibilities 18) for students to use to assess and give for adding to the dialogue. If students feedback to their peers. Here is an example work in the same groups, with the same that you can write on the board for students people and place, they can add more to copy and use during the activity. speech acts to form a full conversational exchange. For example, after students Names of group members: learn about making introductions, they can practice introducing a friend to each Yes No Suggestions of the individuals in the skit. Of course, TPTehhrees ogrenrpe 1ely tw ifnragos mua s gePodeo rwdso ictnhh 1o ice. tmwhhuisel twnip itllhle e rryeo qalueresir bney ot hta acttht iesnt gpu edarses ntohtnse tgfarrkieeeen todinn g © (15-22202-E-1.0) was a good choice. or being greeted. Once students learn PS) The greeting used with different ways to end a conversation and GIS/G say good-bye, they can continue by adding A/ Person 2 was a good choice. a closing to the interaction. Any of the ons ( Twhaes ar egpoloy df rcohmo iPcee.rson 2 souptsheeedecr tsho y acocoutnsr t lsiinstutuedede tnahbteso savkreei ti nlae nVadrarn giianivtgieo, nsctsau,n do berne ts Publishing Soluti The greeting used with additional practice with using appropriate obal Person 3 was a good choice. Gl register in different situations. d by Twhaes ar egpoloy df rcohmo iPcee.rson 3 d printe d, an This activity was written by Amy Hanna, who has duce 2. If you want to extend this activity, the taught ESL to students in primary school, university, d, pro faebeodubta tchke isrt usdkietn ctas ng ipvlea yt oa ebaigcghe grr rooulpe. aTnEdS Lad mulet tehdoudcsa, taionnd cdleavsserlooopmeds ,m tartaeinrieadls t feoarc hEenrgsl iinsh Designe S Groups who received suggestions about language programs in the United States and abroad. P G 48 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 2016 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum