Discourse

By discourse, we mean language in use. A lot of what we said about communication and functions is relevant here. The two most important aspects of language which are dealt with under this heading are:

• How do people use language to interact with each other?

• How is language organised beyond the grammar of the sentence?

Here is an ELT activity aimed at practising structured interaction according to a framework of how a discourse might develop:

Making dialogues

Make dialogues using the cues in brackets. When asking questions, use either direct or less direct questions.

A is a shop assistant. B is a customer.

A: (Greet. Offer to help)

B: (Politely ask for your money back for a necklace you bought. Give a reason)

A: (Refuse. Explain why not)

B: (Respond in any way you like)

The rules of grammar extend only to the description of sentences, but we can see that language in use is regularly organised beyond those boundaries. We can see that sentences are ‘joined together’ in different ways. They are, for example, linked by the use of pronouns, by logical relationships, and by the repetition of words.

The expression ‘different ways’ signals to the reader that at least two of these ‘ways’ are about to be listed. The expression ‘for example’ in the second sentence confirms the relationship of Statement – Example which organises this tiny discourse of two sentences.

In the area of pronunciation in general, there is very little to explain. Most of the work has to be done by listening and practice, by helping students develop a ‘good ear’. In so doing, look for the opportunity to use models other than yourself, so that your students get used to a variety of pronunciation. When a student says something well, use that student as a model and encourage everyone to listen carefully.

What makes mastering pronunciation successful /unsuccessful?

1. The native language.

2. The age factor. There is a strong relationship between second language pronunciation ability and age (Kenworthy, 1987). The question of whether there is an age-related limit on the mastery of pronunciation has been well researched, but the results are quite mixed and it is too early to state that there is a simple and straightforward link between age and pronunciation ability. What is definitely stated is that there is a difference in teaching pronunciation to different age groups.

3. Amount of exposure.

4. Phonetic ability. Refers to whether someone has ‘an ear’ for a foreign language, and tests have been designed to measure this ability. There is some evidence that good discriminators are able to benefit from pronunciation drills, while poor discriminators are not.

5. Attitude and identity. The ability to adopt and develop a foreign pronunciation has also been linked with the extent to which the earner wants to identify with the target culture.

6. Motivation and concern for good pronunciation.

When to deal with pronunciation?

The following is a list of ways of introducing pronunciation in the language classroom:

• during the warm-up (correcting students’ errors)

• when eliciting language from students

• when students are answering questions from the teacher

• during the practice of any vocabulary item

• during controlled practice repetition of structures

• when preparing for a roleplay or a similar fluency activity

• when working with dialogues

• repetition of short sections of recorded material (including work in the laboratory)

• when dealing with songs

• when dealing with vocabulary items in texts (silent reading + reading aloud)

Anyway, make sure that you keep the following two points in mind:

• Make the teaching of pronunciation a constant element of the rest of your teaching.

• Give short but regular bursts of treatment to aspects of pronunciation that seem particularly important for your students.