Spoken discourse
Adjacency Pairs
 summon → response
o "Waiter!" → "Yes, sir"
 assessment / agreement
-Oh no, that’s terrible → I know, it’s terrible
 assessment / disagreement
-Oh no, that’s terrible → I thought It wasn’t so bad
 complaint → excuse/remedy
-"It's awfully cold in here" → "Oh, sorry, I'll close
the window"
 compliment → acceptance/refusal
-"I really like your new haircut!!" → "Oh, thanks"
-“Oh, you’re just saying that... I don’t believe you.“
 degreeting → degreeting response
o "See you!" → "Yeah, see you later!"
 Accusation / Denial
-”Look! Look what you made me do! ” → “I made
you do? I made you do? I wasn’t near you.“
 Assertion / Disagreement
-”You scared her when you yelled. It was funny.”
→ “It was not yelling. I was warming up my voice.
It was a voice exercise.”
 suggestions/ response (tentatively)-How about
→ That’s a good idea but … / I’d rather not / Why
don’t we
Evaluating suggestions: What do you
suggest?/What are your thoughts/Do you think
this will work?
 Opinion – agree/disagree
I think ít a good idea - I’m sorry, I don’t agree / I’m
not sure about that / Yes, you’re right / Yes,
maybe you’re right
 Announcement – acknowledgement
John is sick today - It's OK, I'll get John to help.
 asking directions giving directions
Features of the text which are typical of spoken
 inform → acknowledge
-"Your phone is over there" → "I know"
 greeting → greeting response
-"Hiya!" → "Oh, hi!"
 offer → acceptance/rejection
-"Would you like to visit the museum with me this
evening?" → "I'd love to!"
-“Sorry, I can’t make it.“
 question → answer
-"What does this big red button do?" → "It causes
two-thirds of the universe to implode"
 request → acceptance/rejection
e.g."Is it OK if I borrow this book?" → "I'd rather
you didn't, it's due back at the library tomorrow"
 Pre-closing sequence – closing response
-Sorry, I really have to go now → OK, maybe, just a
little longer
 Threat-Counterthreat
A: Sit down or I will call your parents!
B: Make me
 Warning-Acknowledgement
A: Look both ways before crossing the street
B: No problem
 Apology – minimalisation
Oh my god! I’m so sorry! – This is getting to be a
habit (acceptance)
 Apology – accepting/rejecting
I'm awfully sorry - That's OK/No you aren't
  Contractions (e.g. it’s, aren’t, I’ve, etc.) -
 There is some informal lexis, including several phrasal verbs, e.g. ripping off, carry off, chatterbox, the use of get in get
sent off, get ahead, get into trouble, also the chunk It’s not fair
 use of ellipsis, e.g. like driving up bus lanes, which I'm guilty of (doing); They might do a little bit… but (they) never
(cheat) at school (line 75)
 use of informal modifiers, intensifiers, hedges and vague language, e.g. It’s not exactly against the law. …a little bit…
quite annoying…..a real chatterbox
 the use of the informal you to mean people in general, almost universal in spoken discourse but less common in written
(used by all 3 children)
 expression of personal feelings and irritations, which is probably more common in spoken than in written English, e.g.
Cheating annoys me….It bothers me….it’s not fair repeated use of I to an extent which would be unusual in a typical
newspaper article, e.g. I cheated a lot at games when I was younger, though. I was a very poor loser, so I would
surreptitiously foul people I was playing football against. (lines 17-24)
 simple linkers such as so, but and because rather than ones typical of more complex sentence structures e.g. They might
do a little bit when they play with their brothers and sisters, but never at school. (lines 71-76)
 parataxis (i.e. short, separated chunks without linking words to indicate coordination or subordination), e.g. Isabel line
99 onwards repetition of the same words rather than using alternative lexis e.g. cheat - Isabel line 99 onwards
 Sudden change of topic / relative lack of the organisational structure found in many written texts, e.g. moving from
talking about playing football (lines 20-25) to cheating in general (lines 26-27) to the concept of what is against the law
(lines 27-31).

FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE

 Ask for opinions/ Give opinions / expressing /asking for / giving reasons for / supporting opinions, e.g. Shall
we … / I think we should …. / I think… In my opinion… / It’s wrong/right that… / For me… / What do you
think? /…because… / …in order to…
 Giving opinions The reason why (I like … is that …), For me … , Personally speaking … In my opinion …
 explaining and justifying opinions/choices e.g. ‘We don’t have much money left so let’s have karaoke’ / ‘I
think we should have the party here because it’s free’
 Language for giving opinions / agreeing and disagreeing e.g. it seems to me that …. I believe ….
 using causative linkers and conjunctions Example: People shouldn’t use their mobiles on public transport
because it disturbs other passengers (causative conjunctions)
 Making suggestions /provide reasons for their suggestions / agree or disagree with suggestions. ‘why don’t
we ….? / How about … ? / Shall we … ? / Can you do … ? / A formal dinner is too expensive / Good idea / I don’t
think that’s a good idea /  Perhaps we could meet up? How about going out for a meal some time?suggestions
should be pronounced with a rising intonation and disagreements with a falling intonation.
 Modals/language for suggesting/expressing obligatione.g.I think all children should …, it would be a good idea
to… it’s essential that …
 Language for justifying / giving reason / expressing purpose e.g. given that …, it is important …. _____ is
important, so ____
 Language for recommending / suggesting / advice e.g. why not … You might like to …
 Language for recommendation e.g. You absolutely must…/ I can’t recommend… enough./ If there is one thing
that I recommend/ that you should do, it’s…
 negotiating / hedging e.g. That’s a fair point, but…, I see what you mean but
 Negotiating(using conditionals)e.g.‘if we get the champagne, we can’t have the expensive snacks’
 Hypothesizing / use of conditionals (1st/2nd/3rd/mixed) e.g. if there were more vocational schools, SS would be
able too specialize earlier. If I had left school earlier, I could have concentrated on a career. If more children go
to vocational school, it will not be seen negatively
  use of zero/first conditional (for giving reasons or examples) Example: (because) if/when children play
computer games they don’t spend time with their friends.
 Accepting or rejecting suggestions politely Example: That’s fine with me. That’s OK. I’m sorry I can’t. I’m afraid
not
 Giving reasons to soften refusal Example: I have to work. I’ve got an appointment
 Stalling (in order to consult diary entries) Example: Er, let me just check. I think so. Hold on a minute.
 des Example: Is Sunday OK with everyone then?
 Summing up and checking final decision Example: So that’s 2 p.m. on Sunday. OK?
 Exponents to acknowledge the problem and give sympathye.g.I know the problem, I know how you feel, It
must be awful
 use of “softeners” in giving advice example: If it really worries you, why not take up running?
 Language for criticism and expressing likes and dislikes e.g. I love the way the scenery was described. I
wasn’t so keen on the long conversations
 accepting others’ ideas / agreement and disagreement / negotiation e.g. ‘Good idea’ / ‘Yes, that’s a nice idea’
/ ‘I agree’ / ‘I’m with x’ / ‘No, I’d rather spend less on that / ‘Yes, but we don’t really have the money for that’ /
 : language of persuasion and expressing the consequences of choices e.g. ‘Karaoke would be fantastic,
everyone will have fun!’ / ‘If we spend £300 on a celebrity then we’ll only have £200 left.’

SUBSKILLS
TURN TAKING

 Recognising the need for turn taking in the group so that everyone is able to contribute (bringing in any non-
contributors in the group, listening to, and responding to the suggestions made by the others, checking any
unclear information given by others) Example: What about you, Peter? Can you make Sunday? Do you mean
Sunday morning or afternoon?
 Inviting people to speak, e.g. Who’d like to start?What do you say, John? What do you think?’, ‘Have you got
any other suggestions?’
 Interrupting politelye.g. Can I just say something?, Can I just add that …
 Recognising cues for end of turne.g. falling intonation pattern / pauses / eye gaze / body movement
 Giving up your turne.g. Does anyone else have anything to say?
 holding the floor (resisting interruption)
-using hesitation devices /fillerse.g. Er, let me think, well, as far as I can see, erm ...
-Addressing interruption e.g. Just a moment, please, If I might just finish, as I was saying, anyway
-Prestructuring e.g. I need to say two things, firstly, there are 2 points here

TOPIC AND INTERACTION MANAGEMENT

 initiating an interaction e.g. ‘So, what about the drinks?’ / ‘Let’s start with the entertainment’
 Organising the discussion / moving the discussion along / summarising
e,g. OK, let’s move on, So I think we all agree that, So it looks as if we all think that…, Let’s write a list
 Transaction markers
e.g. right, now, so, ok etc.
 Topic initiation/shifting
e.g. Have you heard (the latest about X?); By the way (there's some good news); Anyway, (there are other
options). ) e.g. Well, let me straight away tell you what I think, I can't agree with much of that because
  Topic closing
e.g. still, anyway, so, there we are
 summarising / reporting / presenting resultse.g. Everyone in our group agreed that… / No one in our group
thought that… / We all thought that….
 using reported speech Example: Jose said that he thought computer games are bad for children.
 language for talking about quantities Example: Half of us / about 20% of us / the majority of us agree with this

REPAIR STRATEGIES / HELPING THE LISTENER

 REPAIRING: Did you mean to say...? So you mean that... Are you saying...? So the basic/general idea is...
 CHECK SOMEONE IS FOLLOWING Are you with me? Do you see what I'm getting at?Am I making sense?
 INDICATE YOUR LOST IN A CONVERSATION: More or less, yes...,Well, not really.

 Asking for/giving clarification / paraphrasing / circumlocution

e.g. What do you mean by a service station?, you know, the place where you buy petrol

 clarifying what you have said / asking for clarification / paraphrasing repair / negotiation of meaning e.g. I
mean … / Do you mean you believe…?

 Circumlocution
It's the thing that ...
It's when you ...
It's used for ...

 reformulation by rephrasing
It's set in a large building ... like a warehouse or a hanger or something ... and there are ...
 self-correction and backtracking to repeat or correct things or say them more clearly
I started to get on the train ... no, I was still on the platform, in fact, and I saw him ...
 substituting one word for another
That image ... er ... photograph over there is ...
 Wide-range words
a garden tool for ... (instead of hoe, rake, spade, fork, trimmer etc.)
building (instead of cottage, bungalow, office block, mansion etc.)
machine that ... (instead of shredder, lathe, drill, press etc.)
animal (instead of cat, kitten, lion, rhinoceros etc.)
 Mime and gesture.
 Asking for help.
What's the word for the thing / animal / machine / etc. that ...
What's it called when a horse runs really fast?
What's the name of the place where you keep ...

LISTENING STRATEGY TASK – asking for clarification

Using a monologue spoken discourse script, tell SS have a cough and cough every 20 words or so.
S then ask for clarification or predict the word – SS practice in pairs
POLITENESS

 Use subtle, polite, indirect requests in order not to appear too demanding
e.g."Thosefrench fries look good!"
 Give interlocutor more option for more politeness
e.g. Would it be possible…

DISCOURSE INTONATION

 PROMINENCE
This is part of sentence stress and it shows what the speaker feels is important in a sentence. e.g.:He may
come to MORRow.(as a reply to "When is Mr Jones coming?")He MAY come tomorrow.(as a reply to "Is Mr
Jones likely to come tomorrow?")
 REFERRING TONE
a tone that indicates known and/or shared information and so involves rising intonation. it falls and rises, or
just rises e.g. ‘That guy we met at the party is my new teacher', there is a referring tone on ‘That guy we met at
the party' because it is not new information.
 PROCLAIMING TONE
a tone that indicates new or information which is not shared and involves falling intonation. (a rise-fall or a
fall)e,g, In the sentence ‘That guy we met at the party is my new teacher', there is a proclaiming tone on ‘is my
new teacher' because it is new information.
 Control of intonation to show enthusiasm
 EMPATHIC STRESS e.g. I DO love you.
 CONTRASTIVE STRESS – used to distinguish one concept from another, e.g. A: Do you want the red M&M? /
B: No, I want the BLUE one.

Main stress and intonation

|The Bell story began over half a century ago|

• intonation: probably a fall (but could also be a fall-rise)

• reason: giving a message that contains new information (fall-rise if the speaker wants to indicate that there is more
to follow)

|when a young British army officer|

• intonation: probably a fall-rise

• reason: the speaker would want to indicate that the information is incomplete

|was captured as a prisoner of war|

• intonation: fall
• reason: message containing new information complete

TOPIC APPROPRIACY
 what is talked about or written about. In different speech communities (see speech community) there are
different rules about what ---------- may or may not be discussed. For example, in some communities, illness,
death, a person's income, and a person's age may be considered unsuitable ----------- for conversation.

LISTENING (actively)

 contextual interpretation
e.g. anaphora, ellipsis, world knowledge
 Backchannelling
e.g. uh-huh, yeah, mmm, okay, right, wow!, really? That’s interesting, Yes/No.
 Question forms / yes/no / wh- questions/tag questions/indirect questions
e.g. Did you enjoy it? How did you get there?
 Ability to ignore irrelevant information (listening)
e.g. the next train does not stop here
 Asking for clarification
e.g. Are you saying …? What (exactly) do you mean by …? Could you be more specific, please?
 Summarising
e.g. (So) you think … (So) what your saying is …
 Repetition / tag questions
e.g. A: we’ve reduced customer complaints by 30%. B: 30% / Have you?

GRAMMAR

 use of modals (to express obligation/possibility/ability)e.g. children should(n’t) / I can’t understand English
people when they speak fast / you really mustn’t use your phone
 use of zero/first conditional (for giving reasons or examples)e.g. (because) if/when children play computer
games they don’t spend time with theirfriends.
 Using conditionals/modals/cause and effect languagee.g. 2nd conditional (If we rented this shop, we could /
would make more money), 1st conditional If we rent this shop, we can make more money, modals, we
might/could/may get more customers
 Comparing and contrasting / using comparative/superlative structures / talking
aboutadvantages/disadvantages / talking about alternativese.g. The shop next to the launderette is in a much
better position, not so well located as, is the closest to…, on the one hand the launderette is useful but on the
other hand a pub is better for the community
 using reported speeche.g. Jose said that he thought computer games are bad for children.
 using causative linkers and conjunctionse.g. because (causative conjunctions)
 Describing location/prepositions of place e.g. The one on the corner just opposite the restaurant.
 Used to/would (for past habits/states)e.g. I used to go to the beach every summer
 Time linkers / language to indicate time / prepositions/adverbs of time e.g. One day we got up very early.
Meanwhile, they were looking everywhere for us. We went in July, in the end …
 Using language to negotiate a compromise (e.g. conditionals and modals) Example: If I moved my
appointment from Monday to Tuesday, could we meet then

LEXIS

 range of appropriate lexis/collocations relevant to the topic e.g. for 1: seeing friends / making friends / social
skills; for 2 annoying / irritating / makes me angry / disturbs me; for 3 grammar / pronunciation / vocabulary
  language for talking about (quantities)e.g. Half of us / about 20% of us / the majority of us
 Adjectives for (feelings / situations / places) e.g. I was sad. It was lovely. The town was crowded
 Enquiring about and expressing (lack of) availability Example: Are you free on Sunday? What are you doing on
Sunday? Well, I’m free on Sunday; I’m busy all day Tuesday; Tuesday morning suits me better.
 Using dates/days/times efficiently, with appropriate time prepositions Example: At 2 p.m., on the 15th, on
Tuesday, etc
 collocations and phrases related to the items on the list example: ‘I think we should book a DJ’ / ‘We could
order some snacks’ / ‘Shall we invite a celebrity guest?’

STRUCTURE

 initiating / closing / asking for an opinion e.g. expressing an opinion, - responding to the opinion expressed /
adjacency pairs (an opinion needs an agreement / disagreement) / initiating - closing a conversation
 casual conversation (friends, strangers, intimates) e.g. Initiation-response-followup
 discussing alternatives and making a joint decision e.g. initiate – negotiate – check general consensus – come
to an agreement – check decision
 service encounters (shops, ticket office etc)e.g. sale initiation - sale request - sale compliance - sale - purchase
- purchase closure.

INFORMAL EMAIL
 Appropriate, concise subjects for this kind of email Example: Remember me?!.
 Fixed expressions for starting an email to a friend Example: How are things?; I hope you’re well.
 Lexis for life events and activities Example: I’ve met some nice people; I started playing the piano.
 Appropriate narrative tenses to write about recent activity (present perfect, past simple, etc.) Example: I’ve
been working a lot; I visited my sister in Ireland last month.
 Language for introducing personal news Example: I’ve been pretty busy lately; Did I tell you about the course
I’ve been taking?; Do you remember Sam, who I used to work with?
 Appropriate linkers for moving from the news to the suggestion Example: Anyway, I wanted to ask you
something; Actually, the reason I’m writing is to ask if you’d like to meet up.
 Devices for making the suggestion less direct Example: I was wondering if you’d like to meet up; Would you
have time to go out together sometime soon?
 Fixed expressions for closing such an email Example: Let me know; Hope to hear from you soon.
 Features of informal written language Example: Contractions; lexis such as very busy rather than extremely
occupied

LETTER RESPONSE