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Home > English Language Programs Teaching Pragmatics > Comment-Response Mingle

Comment-Response Mingle

Linda Yates
La Trobe University, Australia

Level: Can be adapted to suit most levels; illustrated below for intermediate to advanced ESL or EFL students

Time: 10-30 minutes, depending on purpose and level being taught

Resources: Cut-up comment-response strips similar to those shown below. The exact response will vary according to the target variety of English and the community in which it is to be used. Since responses to situations of this kind vary according to the speech community (e.g., different English-speaking countries, different age groups), the cards below are intended as a guide only.

Goal: To help students become more aware of appropriate formulaic responses to common situations and give them practice in using the responses; to explore culturally appropriate responses to situations in greater depth (as indicated in the section Alternatives and Caveats)

Description of the Activity
In this activity students are given a card on which is written one part of a two-part comment and response, which they must memorize and then leave behind on their desks. The students must then mingle with each other to find the student who has memorized the appropriate comment or response that completes their comment-response sequence. They can only say the comment or response that was on their card. When everyone thinks they have found the person with the appropriate first or second part, each pair of students says their comment and response in front of the class. The other students and the teacher listen and comment on whether they are appropriately matched. This is a good opportunity for students to practice delivery with appropriate stress, intonation, and body language and to explore cultural phenomena based on similar events in their own cultures and the target culture.

Procedure

1) Teacher distributes cards, each with a comment or response written on it, taking care that these are well shuffled and that students only get to see the card they are given. Shorter, simpler utterances could be given to students who are less confident or who have severe pronunciation problems.

2) Teacher explains that students have on their card either a comment or a response to a comment. Without saying anything to anyone, they should try to decide whether they have a comment or a response, and then memorize what is written on their card so that they can say it without the card. They should do this silently.

3) Students then leave the card behind on their desk (or teacher collects them again) and mingle with each other. They must say only what was on their card to the various students they meet and continue doing this until they find the student who they believe has the appropriate match to their card, that is, until they find the student with the appropriate response or comment card.

4) When they have found a likely first or second part to complement their own, student pairs should ensure that they both agree. Some negotiation may take place at this point.

5) The activity should continue until all pairs have found each other or until there is some sort of deadlock because some students are left without appropriate pairs.

6) At this point the teacher has the students say their respective comments and responses, in turn, in front of the class.

7) As each pair says their comment and response, the teacher should elicit from the class what it thinks the situation is, and let the students comment on whether the two parts are compatible. The teacher should use this opportunity to ensure that students understand the force of and appropriate pronunciation of each utterance. Aspects of the delivery, such as prosody, facial expression, and body language appropriate to the situation should be highlighted and practiced.

8) All student pairs can then practice each comment/response, not just the one they were originally given.

9) As an extension to this activity, students can be asked to compare what they think would happen or be said in their own culture when faced with a similar situation as that in the English cards. More advanced classes or groups could practice variations in comments and responses (see section on Alternatives and Caveats below).

Rationale
Students who interact with native speakers in a target culture often find themselves in situations in which they are unable to provide a suitable response in English in a timely manner. When this happens, they run the risk of being misunderstood or of being seen as rude or insensitive. Oftentimes, students who have studied English in formal settings, which tend to concentrate on grammar and literacy, have had little opportunity to practice saying brief, but appropriate, responses to comments. Crucial to the success of such social exchanges is appropriate delivery, which requires that students also have opportunity to practice this as they say the appropriate words.

The short, common routines discussed here may be used as a quick warm-up activity at the start of a class. However, because many of the language routines reflect cultural attitudes to events or situations, they also allow deeper investigation and practice of appropriate behaviour in the target culture and comparisons between the target culture and students' own culture in similar situations. From this exploration useful discussion of values, customs and attitudes can emerge.

Teachers may wish to encourage students to suggest other situations about which they may feel uncomfortable or uncertain about how to respond. Teachers could also encourage students to explore other modes of communication, such as writing, e-mail, or the telephone.. If so, the activity discussed here can be used as part of a longer lesson or series of lessons that can be supplemented using some of the extension activities suggested below.

Alternatives and Caveats
This activity can be extended or built into a longer class on the topic of culturally appropriate behaviour, based on one or more of the following suggestions:

1) After completion of the activity, as suggested in the Procedure section, the teacher can facilitate a class discussion on the nature of the situation, who the speakers are, what their relationship might be, and so on. Pairs can be asked to construct the dialogue of which these adjacency pairs would be a part. They could work on these, then perform them in front of the class, with the teacher offering appropriate support on matters of formality / informality, naturalness, and so on.

2) This activity could lead to a closer examination of what expressions, gestures and attitudes are appropriate in each of the situations explored in students' first culture and in the target culture. For example, what happens when a grandmother dies? Is it appropriate to offer flowers? Is there a mourning period? Do customs differ according to the status of the deceased in the family?

3) The activity focuses on spoken language, but appropriate responses to similar situations could also be explored in different kinds of writing, such as letters, cards, or e-mail).

4) Students can identify situations about which they are unsure how to appropriately respond. These situations can be discussed and practiced in a similar way. A follow-up mingle could be done as a revision of these and the original adjacency pairs.

5) In settings where mingling in class is difficult (e.g., a class with large numbers of students, fixed desks, or limited classroom space), the activity may be conducted as a matching exercise. Students could be put in pairs and given one complete set of shuffled cards. They would then be instructed to form matched pairs of appropriate comment-response pairs. In the feedback stage of the activity, one student from one side of the room could start with what he or she considers a first part, then that student could nominate a student from the other side of the class to supply the appropriate second part. These pairings could then be commented upon and practiced as described in the Procedure section without students having to leave their seats.

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