A01 cohe4573 01 se fm. Qxd

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F U R T H E R I S S U E S I N L E A R N I N G , T E A C H I N G , A N D A S S E S S M E N T
Strategies for the initial learning of speech acts
Here, then, is a set of strategies for learning about speech acts in the first
place.
■
Gathering information (through observation and interview) on 
how speech acts are actually performed in a given speech community
(e.g., at the workplace: making requests to colleagues, refusing requests
made by people of higher status, and thanking people in service such 
as cafeteria workers or custodians) – noting the following:
1
what they say;
2
how they say it (speed of delivery and tone of voice); and
3
their non-verbal behavior as they say it (e.g., facial expressions, 
body posture, and gestures).
■
Conducting a “lay” cross-cultural analysis by:
1
thinking through and even writing out what the appropriate things
to say would be for that speech act in the L1 speech community,
depending on the situation;
2
identifying the cultural norms for performing these speech acts in
the L2 speech community;
3
identifying strategies that tend to be used with a given speech act
(drawing on descriptions of strategies specific to individual speech
acts, such as those listed in Chapter 4), and then checking to see if a
particular strategy works in a given situation (e.g., whether an offer
of repair is an appropriate strategy for a given apology situation);
4
identifying the words and phrases to use, consistent with the local
norms (e.g., whether to use the word “apologize” in the expression
of apology or just “sorry”; whether to repeat “sorry” more than
once, and whether to intensify with words like “really,” “awfully,”
or “so”);
5
determining the similarities and differences between the two
cultures, and then making a mental note or a notebook entry
regarding the difference(s);
6
obtaining a viable interpretation for the cross-cultural differences
(e.g., by asking members of the L2 speech community, such as
friends or colleagues).

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S T R A T E G I E S F O R L E A R N I N G A N D P E R F O R M I N G S P E E C H A C T S
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■
Asking competent speakers of the L2 (instructors and non-instructors)
to model performance of the speech acts as performed under differing
conditions to see if there is variation according to:
1
the magnitude or seriousness of the issue prompting the speech act
(e.g., apologizing for missing a meeting vs spilling hot coffee on a
friend);
2
the relative age or status of the speaker and the listener (e.g. of age: 
a request to an elderly supervisor at work or to a young child; e.g. 
of status: a request to the CEO of a company or to a custodian);
3
the relative roles of the speaker and the listener in the relationship
(e.g., making a request to a state senator colleague at a public
meeting vs to a server at a local bar);
4
the distance between the speaker and the listener (e.g., making 
a request to a stranger about switching seats on an airplane vs
making an appeal for assistance to a friend at a coffee shop).
■
Accessing published materials dealing with speech acts: