Mode

HOW do we communicate?

START! Meli
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Lang a Pérez
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CeR age II
P del
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“Communication is a skill that
you can learn. It’s like riding a
bicycle or typing. If you’re
willing to work at it, you can
rapidly improve the quality of
every part of your life.”

NEXT!

—Brian Tracy
 Table of Contents

Section 1 Section 2
Definition of mode The media
Types of mode - Channel As an example
Spot the difference In general
How to choose a Mode
Section 3
Your turn! Resources!
 Table of
Contents

Section 1

Section 2

0 1. Section 3

Resources

Section 1

START!
 Table of
Contents

MODE:
Section 1

It is the media and channel of communication Section 2

being used in a particular situation.
Section 3

Resources

Why is it important?
It helps us to think about
more effective analysis
and production of texts
 This is
known as
Types of Mode the
Table of
Contents
CHANNEL

Section 1

When we communicate something, we choose between: Section 2

LINGUISTIC MODE VISUAL

Section 3
MODE
Written Spoken Images Resources
words words
E-mail, Essay, Article, Face to face Eg: billboard We a
Whatsapp message Phone call l
gestu so have
Text message aura ral or
l mo
de

CHANNEL is a system of choices: we pick one out of many because we think that one is the best
interpersonal choice (TENOR) for a specific domain (FIELD)
 Focusing on linguistic mode: Table of

Spot the difference Contents

Section 1

n°1 n°2
Section 2

Did I tell you that um … when I Proficiency is important since Section 3

went to the dentist last time I almost all university subjects are
had to get this tooth pulled out? taught in English. Various Resources
It was really badly stuck in and institutions have stepped up
it was dead and it wouldn’t support for individual learners by
come out. And … it wasn’t offering language advice or
really dead. It was still alive but counselling besides a host of
it just got bad. learning materials.
 Did you find out? Table of
Contents

Section 1

Section 2

*N°1 is spoken-like, spontaneous, part of a conversation

Section 3
*N°2 is written-like, planned, from an article
Resources

How do we know this?

 Table of
Contents

Section 1

02.
Section 2

Section 3

Resources

ion 2
Sect START!
 Table of
Because of the Media Contents

Section 1
Media
Section 2
Grammatical complexity:
(depending on N° of clauses) Section 3
Spoken language usually needs more clauses
Resources

Lexical Density: MED

diffe IA helps
Written-like texts are lexically dense, the information is condensed r
spok entiating us
en-li
into noun groups writt k
en-li e or
ke te
xts
 As an example: Table of
Contents
Two options for a student who wants to communicate
something to his teacher:
N°2: The reason for the late Section 1
N°1: I turned in my paper late
because my kids were sick submission of the paper was
the sickness of my kids Section 2

Channel: N°1: Spoken (face to face)

Section 3
N°2 Written (e-mail)

Media:
Resources
Grammatical complexity: N°1 is more grammatically complex, it
consists of 2 clauses, while N°2 has 1 clause.
Lexical density:
N°2 is more lexically dense, grammar of written language is based
on noun groups (adjectives, connectors, or verbs turned into nouns) =
Nominalization:
Turned in → submission ; because → the reason ; sick→ sickness
 Table of
Contents

In general:
Section 1
Spoken language is grammatically complex
Section 2
Written language is grammatically simple
Section 3

Spoken language is lexically light

Resources

Written language is lexically dense

 HOW TO CHOOSE A MODE? Table of
Contents

Section 1

Section 2

We choose the words, their organization into sentences and Section 3

paragraphs and the delivery of the written or spoken text

Resources

1) Is it going to be written or spoken?

2) How will I make it sound spoken-like or written-like?
(think of lexical density and grammatical complexity)
3) Is it going to be planned or spontaneous?
4) How will it be delivered? (Speech, Written report/essay/article, etc)
 Table of
Contents

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Resources
START!

03. Section 3
Your
turn!
 Activity Table of
Contents

Section 1

Section 2
1) Choose a specific MODE and write it on the
forum section
Section 3

For example: *Spoken-like *

Spontaneous *Part of a Resources

conversation

2) Create 1 short text following your classmate’s

chosen mode
 Resources!

● https://www.oup.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/91040/Derewianka_TLC2e_sample.pdf

● https://consiliumeducation.com/itm/2018/06/29/its-in-the-text/

● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN4RUjNdaMc

● http://webservices.itcs.umich.edu/mediawiki/DigitalRhetoricCollaborative/index.php/Modes#:~:text
=%5Bedit%5D%20Linguistic%20Mode,coherence%20of%20words%20and%20ideas.