Speech Acts and Language Components in Education

L 1: Speech Acts

a) Utterance Acts (Locution)

The articulation of linguistic elements in a particular grammatical order.

b) Propositional Acts (Proposition)

The formulation of the content of an utterance through:

• Reference (reference to an object): e.g., "This snake."
• Predication (attribution of a particular characteristic): e.g., "is poisonous."

c) Illocutionary Act

The way the proposition is related to the word and the communicative function of the speech act (e.g., an assertion).

Theories of Language

Searle's Theory

Semantically oriented.

Lives of Thought

Pragmatically oriented.

Language Segments

1. Sounds
2. Words
3. Vocabulary
4. Grammar
5. Culture

2. Words

Related to children's world and interests. Conceptualized as topic and semantic field.

Topic for 5–6 Year Olds

Family, toys, animals vs. wild animals, money, pirates, dinosaurs, food, teddies.

Grammar Fundamentals for Children

• Verb tenses (sentence level)
• Subject-verb agreement
• Mood

L 3.1: Word/Meaning

Types of Words Conveying Meaning

1. Content Words

Convey information:

• Nouns
• Lexical verbs
• Adjectives
• Adverbs

2. Function Words

Express a grammatical relationship:

• Determiners
• Conjunctions
• Prepositions

Communication

The process of sending and receiving messages through verbal or nonverbal means: speech, writing, signs.

Key Elements

• The sender
• The receiver
• The message
• The channel
• The context
• Noise
• Feedback

Effective Communication

When the message is fully understood by the receiver.

Non-verbal Communication

(Examples include: signs, eye contact, eye gaze, facial expressions, gestures, paralinguistic features, posture and movement, proxemics, haptics, appearance.)

Language Skills: Listening

Listening includes three aspects:

1. Hearing
2. Understanding
3. Judging

Purposes for Listening

1. To stir when bored or tired.
2. To settle pupils when boisterous.
3. To develop aspects of language (pronunciation, stress, intonation, familiarity with new words/structures).
4. To interact with others (asking questions, checking meaning).

Strategies for Listening

1. Grasping the main idea.
2. Hunting for key words.
3. Working out meaning from context.
4. Reproducing listening content.

Listening Stages

1. Pre-listening
2. While-Listening
3. Post-listening

Listening Techniques

1. Listen and discriminate between sounds.
2. Listen and point to things or follow instructions.
3. Listen to a description and draw, colour, or label a picture.

Teaching Speaking

Stages of Teaching Speaking

1. Early stage
2. Intermediate
3. Later stage

Speaking Techniques

1. Teach formulaic language (BICS) through: basic vocabulary, greetings, social English, routines, communication strategies.
2. Look, listen, and speak.
3. Dialogues and role-play.