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Spoken Discourse: Paying Attention to Your Language
In our discussion about pragmatics, we learned about how important context is to meaning. Let’s think about how spoken language contributes to context. Do you think about how you say things? If you don’t, then you need to as a teacher of ELLs. Understanding the nuances of oral language is very important. Are you using questions when the response you hope to elicit might be more properly gained from a declarative?
Classroom example: “Is everybody clear on tonight’s homework?”
A more effective way to check for understanding would be to re-phrase the above as follows: “Abdul, please explain tonight’s homework so everyone can hear it explained one more time.”
There’s a subtle difference here, but the second is a more thoughtfully constructed sentence designed to elicit a more engaged response. This kind of conscious attention to the language you use in the classroom will be appreciated by ELLs.
In our discussion about pragmatics, we learned about how important context is to meaning. Let’s think about how spoken language contributes to context. Do you think about how you say things? If you don’t, then you need to as a teacher of ELLs. Understanding the nuances of oral language is very important. Are you using questions when the response you hope to elicit might be more properly gained from a declarative?
Classroom example: “Is everybody clear on tonight’s homework?”
A more effective way to check for understanding would be to re-phrase the above as follows: “Abdul, please explain tonight’s homework so everyone can hear it explained one more time.”
There’s a subtle difference here, but the second is a more thoughtfully constructed sentence designed to elicit a more engaged response. This kind of conscious attention to the language you use in the classroom will be appreciated by ELLs.