Teaching functional language

communicate

Two definitions

If you have followed the guide to form, function and meaning, you will be familiar with the fact that a functional approach to analysing language is one which:

starts from the understanding that language is primarily a tool for getting meaning across and that it is best analysed by looking at the functions bits of the language actually perform.

A functional view of language lies at the heart of a communicative approach to teaching it. Communicative Language Teaching is defined elsewhere on this site as:

an approach to teaching which focuses more on successful communication than structural or formal accuracy. There are two forms:
Weak form: in which the study of grammar is combined with a focus on function but communicative competence remains the objective.
Strong form: in which there is no study of structure or form at all. Competence in this area is deemed to flow from authentic language use alone.

a word of caution

If you take the strong form of the approach, you may bewilder and worry your learners, many of whom take the view that, although they need above all to communicate effectively, learning the formal structures, grammar, lexical systems and pronunciation of the language is part and parcel of being able to do so.
They would not be alone in thinking so. As Widdowson puts it:

... language learning is essentially learning how grammar functions in the achievement of meaning and it is a mistake to suppose otherwise.
.... A communicative approach does not involve the rejection of grammar. On the contrary, it involves a recognition of its central mediating role in the use of and learning of language.
Widdowson (1990: 97/8)

Add in lexical systems and pronunciation and you have (probably) the majority view.

Analysing functions

This is not the place to repeat what has been said in the guide to form, function and meaning but two essential aspects stand out:

Form and function do not exist in a one-to-one relationship. A single form can exhibit a number of functions and a single function can be realised in a number of linguistic ways.
Functions rarely occur in isolation. Communication is a two-way process and the participants need to respond to the other person's functions with those of their own.

Think about those two statements a little and see if you can exemplify what they mean.
Click here when you have done that.

Form and function do not exist in a one-to-one relationship.
For example:
1. Can I get the plates? is a question form which could function as:
  A simple question: Do I have the ability or permission to get the plates?
  An offer: I will get the plates for you.
  A question about something else: Is it time to get the plates?
  A statement as a reminder: We need the plates now.
  A suggestion: Should the plates be got?
2. The function of disagreeing with an opinion can be realised by:
  Are you sure about that? (an interrogative)
  I'm unconvinced (a statement)
  Think that through a bit more (an imperative or order)
  Doesn't that make it nonsense? (a negative question)
  If you say so, I'll have to accept it but I'm still not too sure (a complex conditional)
  That can't be true! (an exclamation with a modal auxiliary verb)
Functions rarely occur in isolation. We have what are called adjacency pairs.
Offering is matched with accepting or declining, asking for information is matched with giving information, excusing oneself is matched by accepting or rejecting an excuse and so on.
For example, if someone makes a suggestion, such as Shall we go now?, there are three possible response types:
1. Agree to a suggestion: OK, let's get our coats.
2. Reject a suggestion: I'm happy where I am, thanks.
3. Temporise: Let's stay a little longer.

It becomes obvious that we can't teach functions one at a time. There is very little point in being able to make an offer if you can't understand or produce the possible responses.

What to teach?

Two key publications listing lots of functions are from the Council of Europe and are available on the web:
Waystage 1990 by Van Ek and Trim
Threshold 1990 by Van Ek and Trim

When we are teaching structure or lexis, it is quite straightforward to select by the level of the students what language to teach, building on previous knowledge to extend our learners' repertoire and lexicon. In other words, we teach the easy, common stuff first and leave the hard grammar and lexis till later.
When it comes to choosing a function or set of functions to focus on, however, things get more difficult because it is harder to state that, e.g., apologising is more difficult than asking for directions or greeting people is easier than asking for their opinion.

For example, even an apparently simple function such as saying sorry can be realised linguistically at various levels of complexity:

complexity

So much depends on the language we teach to allow our learners to realise the function.

Because, as you know, there is no one-to-one relationship between form and function, this means that the same function may be addressed a number of times, each time extending and developing the amount of subtlety and sophistication in language use.

However, it is possible to have a rough idea about which functions should be taught at each level based on:

how frequently they are likely to be needed and
how complex the language is that we need to express the function

Here's a very rough guide related to the Common European Framework of language levels.

A1 / A2	B1 / B2	C1/C2
agreeing/disagreeing apologising/accepting apologies asking/talking about ability asking about/talking about likes and dislikes asking for/giving/refusing permission asking about/talking about plans asking for/giving information asking for/giving opinion asking about/talking about wants asking for/giving directions greetings introductions inviting/accepting/declining making/suggesting arrangements offering/accepting/declining offering/accepting help phatic statements saying goodbye suasion* thanking/accepting thanks	accusing/denying/admitting arrangements asking/talking about intellectual attitudes asking for/giving opinion asking/talking about obligation attracting attention expressing degrees of certainty expressing degrees of gratitude expressing remorse/regret expressing deductions expressing sympathy expressing (dis)interest expressing hope expressing surprise expressing fear expressing forgetfulness making/confirming/suggesting alternative arrangements socialising formally suasion* suggesting/responding to suggestion warning	beginning a meal correcting others expressing (dis)satisfaction expressing degrees of (dis)agreement expressing moral shock expressing indifference expressing desire expressing disappointment expressing worry expressing disbelief granting forgiveness inquiring whether invitation is accepted or declined inquiring about whether something is remembered proposing a toast suasion* recommending courses of action tact in declining

* The term suasion appears in all three columns. It has been defined as the category of utterance designed to affect the behaviour of others (Wilkins, 1976: 46). In other words, getting things done and that's something we all need to be able to do. There is a guide to suasion on this site if you need to know more.

As was said, this is a very rough guide indeed. There's no doubt, for example, that learners at all levels may need many of the functions, such as expressing disbelief, which are listed under more advanced levels. It is also the case that learners' needs and settings vary and what is appropriate to teach to one learner may be unnecessary or inappropriate in another case.
It is, however, somewhere to start.

Teaching functional language

4 things to consider before you plan to teach

the intentions of the participants: Learners need to be aware of what they want to do with the language. Am I offering something, demanding something, asking for something, persuading someone or what?
There is a clear difference between interactional and transactional purposes.
However, where the dividing lines are and how the terms are used in the profession are not quite so clear.
Transactions have clear goals and often involve service encounters and communication in specific settings (shops, services, offices, factories etc.).
Interactions, on the other hand, are concerned with oiling social wheels and getting along with other people.
It is important to be aware that most encounters involve both kinds of language. Even when you are only buying a sandwich some of what is said will be purely interactional (greetings, expressions of gratitude, politeness forms etc.) and some will be purely transactional (expressing needs and wants, giving information about price etc.).
the context and setting: You can't learn, use or understand language in a vacuum. Where people are talking and what they are doing are important data. For example, a conversation at work will differ from one in a café, a letter to a friend will differ from one to a landlord and so on.
the relationships: Who the people are, what the power relationships between them are and even what their ages and sexes are is important information.
the medium: Am I speaking, reading, texting, emailing, writing formally, scratching a quick note or what? All of these will affect what language I select and the style of what I say / write.

Think of examples of the way in which what we say is affected by these 4 considerations and then click here.

the intentions of the participants: Here are just two examples.
If I am asking for information, I have a number of means at my disposal.
I can, for example, use a question form (such as Do you have my address?), a question tag (You have my address, don't you?), a statement with rising intonation (You have my address?) and so on.
If I am making an offer, I can also select from a range of forms:
Can I help?
Let me help.
I'll help.
You can't do that alone.
and so on.
the context and setting: Here the speaker / writer needs to consider style, i.e., the level of formality which is appropriate:
Open the window.
Please open the window.
Do you mind if we have the window open?
I wonder if you could open the window.
Dear Bill,
Dear Mr. Williams,
I am writing to enquire whether ...
Tell me ...
the relationships: Style matters here, too but so does the level of directness and the type of function which is even appropriate at all.
Boss to employee: Come and see me tomorrow and talk about your holiday dates, will you?
Employee to boss: Can you let me have a bit of time later on to discuss my holiday dates?
Employee to employee: Let's sort out my holiday dates today.
the medium: Spoken language tends, on the whole, to be less formal, come in shorter chunks, be characterised by hesitation and false starts, leaves understood information out and is less complex. Writing is more complex, more coherent and includes all the data. Prepared speech is more like written language spoken aloud.
Spoken: There's he is! That's him ... the man, I mean. He was in the pub yesterday, wasn't he? He .. err you spoke to ... to him. Well, had an argument really.
Written: Do you remember the man you spoke to, or rather argued with, who was in the pub yesterday?

Here's a cut-out-and-keep overview. Click here if you would like a copy as a PDF file.

overview

Presenting

Spoken language is often presented via a dialogue (read or heard) or some other kind of text. It can also be embedded in interaction in the classroom. Whether this is done after the learners have tried to express the target function for themselves (a test-teach-test approach) or at the outset (a present-practice-produce approach) is not our concern here.
Visuals or other aids help to make the setting clear but learners still need the information under the 4 sections above to make sense of the input.

At lower levels such dialogues can be pretty short and simple, along the lines of:

A tourist approaching strangers in the street.

Excuse me, can you tell me where the Police Station is?
I'm sorry, I'm a stranger here.
Oh, well, thanks anyway.
Excuse me, can you tell me where the Tourist Information Office is?
Err, I'm not too sure. I think it's in the station. Down there on the right but you should ask someone else. I may be wrong.
OK. I'll try that. Thanks.
Excuse me, can you tell me where the City College is?
Yes. It's just down here. Go to the end of the road, turn right and it's on your left.
Thanks.

This is a simple way to introduce how to use an indirect question to make a request for directions and the three ways to respond to it. The dialogues can be read, seen, heard or all three.

At higher levels, things can get a bit more sophisticated. For example,

The situation:
John and Peggy are colleagues who have worked together for a long time. They do the same job.
Julie is their boss.
Peggy is single and lives alone.
John is married to Angela who works in a hospital and has two school-age children.
In their break, they are discussing holiday dates and trying to reach agreement.
Listen to / read / watch the conversation and see how they try to persuade each other.

Peggy: Fine. OK. Right. Head Office has asked me for my holiday dates this year, by the way.
John: I got the same email. They ask earlier every year.
Peggy: Don't they, though? (laughs) Anyway, I was, well, thinking a bit about it and ... err ... thought, you know, I'd like to get away in summer for a change.
John: Oh, that's a change for you.
Peggy: Yes, well, actually, it's because someone's asked me to go with them to Greece. In August, actually.
John: I can see that's tempting but it's a bit awkward. We can't both be away. Julie will never stand for it.
Peggy: I know. She's made that pretty clear. It's just that this is really important to me. And, well, I was thinking, you always get, I mean, nearly always, some time in August. I know that's because of the kids and all but I was wondering whether you could, like, erm, take July instead. Would that work for you?
John: It might I guess but Angela's already asked for time in August and it might be too late. They're pretty strict at the hospital nowadays.
Peggy: I know it's a bit awkward and so on but could you see if Angela could change her dates? I don't need to go until the last two weeks of August.
John: Ouch. Angela's booked the first three weeks already and the kids aren't back from camp until the end of July.
Peggy: I can see it's difficult but this matters to me, John.
John: I know it does. But what can I do? You know Angela.
Peggy: Yeah, well, if that doesn't work, we could talk to Julie and see if we can overlap for a week. If we talk to her together, she might bend a bit. I can't see it'd matter all that much.
John: OK. Let's see if she's got some time this afternoon. OK?
Peggy: Yeah, thanks John.

What language in particular is being presented here? Click here when you have an answer.

A dialogue of this sort is intended to highlight the way we use a bit of give and take in negotiations and are careful to show we understand the other person's position with phrases like I can see it's difficult, I can see that's tempting, I know it does.
It shows how we appeal to outside people and pressures (Julie and Angela) to support our position.
It shows how we back up requests and statements with reasons, e.g., someone's asked me, they're pretty strict at the hospital etc.
It also shows that the language we use when we are persuading someone else to do something is slightly different from the language we use when we are trying to get them to cooperate with us. Compare, e.g., Could you ... with Let's ... . (There is more on this in the guide to suasion.)
This whole exchange could, incidentally, be presented in written form as a series of emails between John and Peggy. The medium would change and with it the style but the functions would remain the same.
It could then be contrasted with the way people talk to authority figures by going on to present the conversation between Peggy, John and Julie later that day.

Practising

Before learners can effectively and confidently produce language, it needs to be highlighted and practised. There are lots of ways to do this, including:

Listening to and repeating parts of the dialogue, aping intonation and so on.
Memorising the dialogue and acting it out together.
Reading the dialogue in a way that makes one or other of the characters aggressive or meek.
Using the dialogue as a model to construct one in a similar vein on a different subject.
Practising small parts of the dialogue focusing on the intonation and stress on the main verb in things like
    I can see it's difficult
    I can see that's tempting
    I know it does.

or any combination of these and other ways.

Producing

It isn't really difficult to set up a similar situation and then get the learners to do the negotiating. However, we must bear in mind that:

the role relationships should be equal.
the participants are not close friends.
there are external pressures on both of them. We will need to identify what those pressures are, of course.

For example:

You share a flat with two friends and take it in turns to babysit once a week for your landlady (who reduces the rent). There are three roles (Learners A, B and C):

It is your turn tomorrow. You have a new boy/girlfriend who has invited you out so you don't want to babysit. This is important to you.
You know it is A's turn and you have done the babysitting for him/her twice this month already. You have an essay to write and want the evening to yourself.
You are free tomorrow evening but you want to go to the cinema to see a film you have read about. The last night of the film is tomorrow.

This will have to be a carefully monitored exercise and the learners will need time to prepare it together before they act it out. They may need quite a lot of input and help.
Then they can try again with no preparation and different partners (with the same or a different scenario). And again, probably. It may seem a bit dull to you to do the same thing three or four times but if you change the grouping and alter the scenario, it won't be for your learners.
By the way, the learners may also need a nudge to realise that they can agree to appeal to the landlady and see how important babysitting actually is tomorrow (see the model dialogue and the agreement to appeal to Julie).

Related guides
form, function and meaning	for the essential guide to the differences
suasion	for the guide to a particular type of function: getting other people to do things
the index to essential functions	for the index to this area in the initial plus section
the in-service index	this is where you will find links to more technical guides

References:
Van Ek, J and Trim, J, Waystage 1990, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Van Ek, J and Trim, J, Threshold 1990, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Widdowson, H, 1990, Aspects of Language teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Wilkins, DA, 1972, Linguistics and Language Teaching, London: Edward Arnold