Teaching Functionally to Develop Pragmatic Competence

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This
article looks at the way teaching functions
and pragmatic
competence in general are treated in contemporary coursebooks and
classrooms. Whereas these areas were the main focus of any course in the late
70s and early 80s, looking at the contents page of any contemporary coursebook
shows that they are generally downplayed. This article deals with three areas:

a)   
why
the situation has changed

b)  
what
the advantages of teaching functionally are

c)   
the
types of activity that can be used to teach functions and develop pragmatic
competence

 

So why
has the situation changed?

•     "Purely" functional coursebooks (used largely in the early
  1980s) were a reaction to the "purely" structural coursebooks of the
  previous years, which had produced Ls who had a good receptive knowledge of the
  language but were unable to apply it to specific situations. They were
  therefore often aimed at "remedial" learning - showing learners who
  already knew the language how to apply it in specific social contexts. For
  example, learners might know the  simple
  present, the modal could, the adverb possibly and the phrasal verb turn (something) on, but not know how
  to combine them to make a request such as Do
  you think you could possibly turn the heating on. I’m really cold.  This
  is, in general, no longer the situation as language use is now given as much
  emphasis as structural form in current approaches.

•     "Purely" functional coursebooks were ungraded in terms of
  level of the exponents used. This again was fine as remedial work for learners
  who had covered the grammar already, but could cause overload for those who
  hadn't. For example, a unit on Making Requests might cover exponents
  such as  Can you… Do you think you could possibly… Would you mind (+Ving)
  etc all at the same time. They were therefore not suitable for use outside the
  remedial context.  This caused coursebooks to return to a more traditional
  graded syllabus of "Grammar McNuggets"
  (Thornbury) though. As already mentioned, usually now incorporating a focus on
  use as well as form.

•      Because of other precepts of the Communicative Approach, the influence
  of Krashen’s “Input
  Hypothesis” and the effect of the Lexical Approach
  (Lewis), coursebooks also drifted towards emphasising a skills based, text-based
  approach where language focus was dependent on the text used. Very often the
  text and the language it contained had no connection with the type of pragmatic
  competence mentioned above and again the textbook  just returned to a
  focus on grammatical form and use.

•     Pragmatic competence thus tended to be "relegated" to the
  occasional section called something like "Social English" or
  "English in Use". However, various researchers ( eg Ekin and  Barron) have shown that these sections take
  up a minimal part of the coursebook, often exclude specific functions and, I
  would argue, do not meet learners’ pragmatic needs. For example, I have never
  seen a course book that focuses on the difference caused by stress and the positioning
  of the word please between Could you XXX please? / Could you PLEASE
  XXX? and PLEASE could you XXX! 

What are the advantages of
teaching functionally?

•      Some
  language clearly lends itself to a functional lesson format – eg asking for and
  giving directions exponents like “Go straight on until you come to the traffic
  lights”. Advantage : If not taught in a functional format, it is
  unlikely that this language would occur in the course.

•      It
  is an ideal format for mixed ability classes. A range of exponents for
  the same function can be presented, but weaker and stronger ls can be
  encouraged to use those at their own level productively when doing further
  practice and production activities. For example, in a lesson on polite
  requests, weak learners may practise Can
  you/Could you + infinitive, while stronger learners practise Would you mind + Ving. Advantage for the learners : Weaker learners get the
  advantage of understanding all the exponents receptively without risking
  confusion by  having to use them while
  stronger learners are challenged productively;  Advantage for the
  teacher : The lesson can be differentiated without having to provide
  different activities - thus saving lesson planning time.

•      It
  is a useful format when teaching learners who have already followed a general
  purpose course, but are about to go to an English speaking country for the
  first time – eg teenagers who are going to attend a summer course in Britain
  and will be staying with host families. Advantage for the learners : Lessons
  on functions such as asking for permission, apologising, introducing friends,
  asking for directions, paying and accepting compliments  etc can give them confidence that they will
  be able to communicate appropriately while they are there.

•      Some
  functions, eg polite requests, are extremely complex as they involve decisions
  relating to appropriacy
  which – if made incorrectly – can cause offence. These include: the level
  of directness of the exponents used, knowledge of formulaic replies, the place
  of the request in an adjacency
  pair format – whether it can be made directly or needs a pre-sequence, the existence of preferred
  and dispreferred seconds, how dispreferred seconds need to be
  expressed etc. This all needs to be taught, as it is culturally determined and
  may not be the same in the L’s own culture/L1. For example, the polite response
  to a compliment in Thailand is silence (showing humility) rather than the thanks
  or downplaying used in English (Oh, it’s
  just something I picked up at the market…) Advantage : A functional
  organisation of the lesson is the clearest way of presenting and practising all
  this.

What
types of activity can be used to teach functions and develop pragmatic
competence?

•      If
  the Ls have met a certain number of the exponents before then a Test-Teach-Test
  format can be used. The learners can be given a situation to roleplay,
  possibly in the form of a conversation
  frame, where prompts are given for each utterance in the conversation,
   and the teacher can monitor to see which
  exponents they are using and whether they are using them accurately and
  appropriately. This gives the T. important information for the Teach stage –
  s/he can decide whether time needs to be spent correcting, revising and
  consolidating previously known exponents, or whether the Ls are ready to meet
  more complex structures.

•       Roleplays may also be used for free
  practice in the final stage of the TTT sequence or in the Production stage of a
  PPP
  sequence. The learners might be asked to repeat the initial roleplay with a
  different partner, but incorporating the new exponents they have focused on.  

•      If
  the learners are eg beginners and have never met any exponents of the function
  before, then a limited number of exponents, suitable for the level, need first
  to be presented. To do this a recorded dialogue may be used, and after
  gist comprehension work, a transcript with the exponents highlighted  can be used to provide examples for a
  language focus stage. A recorded dialogue can also be used if the Ls
  complete the initial Test stage using exponents they are “comfortable” with. They
  can then listen to and compare their performance with the language used in a
  dialogue using more complex exponents, possibly using a gapped transcript. Both
  the highlighted and gapped transcripts will help promote “noticing”
  (Schmidt) ensuring the language is processed at a deeper cognitive level than
  otherwise.

•      Controlled
  practice activities will be similar to those used for other language systems
  areas. However, repetition work may be particularly important as the
  degree of politeness/appropriacy of a functional exponent is often dependent on
  the stress and intonation pattern used.

•      Other
  practice activities (or an alternative format for the initial “test” section)
  might be a What would you say?
  activity – which is really a series of mini roleplays. Eg in an intermediate+  lesson on requests, learners have a list of
  five to ten situations such as You’ve just
  realised you left your purse/wallet at home. Ask a friend to lend you £5. / You’re
  at work. Your mother-in-law is coming to dinner and you need to get home to
  cook. Ask your boss if you can leave half an hour early and make up the time by
  working late tomorrow. etc.

Related Articles on the Notebook

Teaching Polite Requests : Part One

Teaching Polite Requests : Part Two