Communicative Functions in Language

The document discusses communicative functions in language and how they can be used in the classroom. It defines functions as common ways people interact socially through language. Examples of functions include greeting, apologizing, requesting, and suggesting. The document advocates teaching language through functions to make it more meaningful and empowering for students.

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Communicative Functions in Language

Uploaded by

JOSÉ ELKIN BERRÍO MARTÍNEZ

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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Communicative Functions in

Language

Jenna Glickman
San Andres Immersion Program November- December 2014
Peace Corps Colombia
So….why do we use language
anyway?!

• Yes! To communicate
and solve PROBLEMS!
• We do this through
“functions”
Functions: common ways we interact
socially with language

What are some

examples???
Some examples of functions:

Greeting Ap
ol o
giz
g Sug
i ng
e i n
Ag r e Re ge s
ting
n g fu
i s i sin
ro m g
P
So, why is this important?????

 The benefit of thinking of functions when

teaching English is that if we can think of a
problem we want to solve, we can think of some
expressions that people commonly use to solve
that problem and then teach those expressions.
Functions are often expressed through
CHUNKING

• Chunking is a “set phrase,” or a common word or

group of words in language
Let’s Practice!!!

1)Find the chunks

2)Label the functions
You say "Yes", I say "No".
You say "Stop" and I say "Go, go, go".
Oh no.
You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello.
I say "High", you say "Low".
You say "Why?" And I say "I don't know".
Oh no.
You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".
(Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye.)
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello".
(Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye.)
Why, why, why, why, why, why, do you
Say "Goodbye, goodbye, bye, bye".
Oh no.
You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello".
You say "Yes", I say "No".
(I say "Yes", but I may mean "No").
You say "Stop", I say "Go, go, go".
(I can stay still it's time to go).
Oh, oh no.
You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".
I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello-wow, oh. Hello".
Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa.
Hela, heba, helloa. (Hela.) Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa.
Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa.
What are the chunks and
functions in the song?

CHUNK FUNCTION
Hello Greeting
Goodbye Farewell What are some
Yes Affirming/Agreeing other chunks
No/ Oh no Disagreeing
that can fit
these
Why (Asking for) a reason functions?
I don’t know Uncertainty
FUNCTION GAME TIME!
Some other examples

CHUNK FUNCTION
Could you tell me…? Requesting

Thank you! Thanking

How are you? Greeting

I’m really sorry Apologizing

I believe that… Expressing an opinion

You should… Giving advice/suggesting

How does this apply to the
classroom?

 Functions: the language that solves problems in social interactions

(especially oral communication)
 Therefore it makes sense to teach language in terms of the social
interactions it creates.
 Teaching language in terms of the social FUNCTIONS is powerful
and empowering for students.
 Plus, teaching functions allows students to not focus so much on
grammar and focus on communication
So….how can we use functions in the
classroom???

 Questions and answers

 Dialogues
 Role plays
 Conversation partner practice
 Interviews
 And MORE!
Questions and Answers

 We use questions and answers all the time in real life!

 Easy to use for any unit topic or theme
 Why else are they important?
The 5 W’s

Chunk Function Key Word

What Information food, clothes, sports, school subjects, etc.
When Time “at” (7 o’clock), “in” (the morning, December),
“on” (December 28th)
Who Person “with” (my family, my friends, etc.)
Where Place “at” (the park, school)
Why Reason “because”
Let’s Practice Q & A!

 In groups of 4-5, choose a common classroom topic

 Think of different questions based on that topic (at least
one for each chunk if possible)
TV SHOW TIME!
POPCORN BALL TOSS!

P!
PO

PO
P!
Q & A Basic Oral Assessment Rubic
1 2 3 4 5 Total
Question#1
Question#2
Question#3
Question#4
Question#5
Grand Total

5. Student answered the question without having to repeat the question and had no errors
(excellent)
4. Student answered the question after one or zero repetitions with few errors (good)
3. Student answered the question but had listening or comprehension errors (fair)
2. Student attempted to answer the question after repetition but the answer did not make sense
or was incorrect (poor)
1.Student did not understand any part of the question and refused to answer (no attempt)
Dialogues

 Dialogues are a very easy way to build a lesson from a

specific function!
 You can adapt them to any situation (English level,
topic, etc.)
 It is best to use 4-8 lines and real-life language– use
CHUNKS
 Dialogues should be interesting and fun for students!
 How else can dialogues benefit a classroom?
Let’s Practice Dialogues!

1. In groups, choose a function that could be of high

importance for a Colombian student in your
classroom.
2. Think of the common language that accomplishes the
function (from both sides of the interaction).
3. Then build a dialogue (just 2-4 lines total!) with an
authentic Colombian context to show how the
language is used to accomplish the function.
Thank you!

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