Exploratory task 4.2

F

If a balloon or two burst the whole thing might be too far away. We should fix it against the correct floor. The window should be open. A break in the wire could also cause problems. Of course the fellow could shout but the human voice will not carry that far. Face-to-face contact would be best but there is no way he can have it (Adapted from Bransford, J. and M. Johnson. 1973. Consideration of some problems of comprehension. Visual Information Processing. N.Y.P. 302)

irst mask the picture on the left and try to understand the text. Then view the picture and read the text again. What difference has it made in the text comprehension?

Exploratory task 4.3 What prior knowledge do you need to comprehend the text? (Mask the “tip” while doing the task)

Schemata

Text As a man living with this deadly disease for eight years, I consider myself extremely fortunate living in a rich European country with a well-informed, free health service. Without a doubt the treatment I have received here has kept me alive. My heart goes out to all those suffering from it in the developing world. I can only reiterate the view that education is the immediate answer and an end to intolerance (Adapted from BBC World Service Internet Page. Talking Point)

Interpretation

(Tip: The speaker is the gay man suffering from AIDS and calling for equal opportunities for treatment and stopping all discrimination against HIV positive)

Frames (Fillmore) represent stereotypes of our knowledge. People are prepared to view the surrounding world in conformity with the frames of their minds. Scripts (Schank and Abelson) are familiar sequences of behavior (Cited after Eysenck and and Keane. 1997. P. 261-263). A "schema" can be viewed metaphorically as the "honeycomb" of slots and fillers, each cell of which is a "frame" containing our stereotypes about the surrounding world. The arrows connect the frames thus forming the "scripts" of our behavior. Innovation of our experience makes the “frames” and “scripts” change.

Exploratory task 4.4

In the space provided below how you understand the “items” in the left column and produce a script of “using a phone card in the USA”. Please mask the “tip” while doing the task

Items	Your understanding (Frames)	Script
Phone card Authorization code Company number Balance Destination number		1 2 3 4 5

(Tip: in the USA a phone card has an “authorization code”, which is made explicit by rubbing the surface of the card. This code should be kept secret from others. A phone card user should dial the telephone company number and on hearing the answer should dial the authorization code. After that the user hears the “balance” i.e. the amount of money on the “account” of the card. Now the user can dial the destination number and hears how much talking time is available for this card. Then the telephones are connected).