EDU209 - Oral Communication

Bishop's University Fall 2025 final prep

T/F: English has always been the language of power in England

False - French was widely spoken in early 14th c

T/F:Nobody of any importance in England spoken French until recently

False - French lang of the privileged; Henry V the first to give his coronation speech in English

T/F: William Caxton influenced Eng spelling through ownership of a printing press

True - reflected the spelling of South-East England, standardized spelling of Eng across country

T/F: The form of English that became privileged stdrd was that spoken by the Tudor dynasty

True - dialect from central-east England, “standardized” Eng pronunciation

T/F: French speakers were some of the first paid Eng teachers in England we know of

True - Francophones teaching Eng to other Francophones

What are two criticisms of grammar texts?

1. Many published grammars of Eng ignored how people spoke; taught Eng as it should be spoken, not how it was spoken

2. The grammar rules were often borrowed from Latin + misapplied to Eng

What are five characteristics of dialogues in early ESL textbooks?

1. Sometimes written to exemplify a grammar point

2. Focused on routine exchanges (greetings)

3. Talked about CEs (of the time)

4. Contained info about social + cultural norms of the lang community

5. Spelling could vary even within one text

TPR (Total Physical Response)

Telling the students how to move and the students move that way

The Reading Approach

Emphasis on reading over oral aspects of language; Was common in US uni.s early 1900s

The Direct Method

TL is the only lang used; spoken lang; T does not explain or translate; syllabus organized around situational topics, not linguistic structures; est. in English ~1900

The Oral Approach

Spoken lang first; language points + contexts introduced situationally; only allowed TL in the classroom; involved sequencing of grammar w/ simple grammar patterns first; dev.d by British linguists Harold Palmer + AS Hornsby

The Audio-Lingual Approach

heavy use of repetition; speaking + listening first, grammar second (not explicitly taught); developed in US after WWII by linguists; aka the Army Method

The Grammar-Translation Approach

Ss memorize vocab, learn rules of grammar, then apply these to texts; favored written over oral discourse; taught the rules of written Eng, not spoken Eng; originated in Germany near end of 18th c.

Communicative Language Teaching

Focus on communicative competence; Ss develop communicative + grammatical competence; involves Present-Practice-Produce sequence, Ss presented new language, given opportunities to practice in a well-defined context, invited to produce lang in less controlled contexts

Talk-as-Performance

lectures/monologues given before an audience

Talk-as-Transaction

talk used to get something done/communicate info

Talk-as-Interaction

greetings, small talk, other highly interactive talk to est a relationship

Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)

Language use that is interactive, embedded in context, but not cognitively demanding; skills develop early on in immersion settings

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)

language use that is academic, context-reduced, and cognitively demanding; skills develop slowly over longer periods of time

Weak form/s of the Communicative Approach?

CLT - Communicative Language Teaching

Strong form/s of the Communicative Approach?

TBLT (Task-Based Language Teaching), CBLT (Competency-Based Language Teaching), PBLT (Project-Based Language Teaching)

Two elements of Communicative Competence

1. Grammatical competence (vocabulary, syntax)

2. Pragmatic competence

Deductive/ly

based on inference of instances from a general rule

Inductive/ly

based on inference of general rules from instances

Conv. Analysis - [

the beginning of an overlap

Conv. Analysis - =

no pause between utterances

Conv. Analysis - HHH…

inhalation

Conv. Analysis - hih, ha, H A H, hah, ahah, h h h

laughter

Conv. Analysis - >text<

text is rushed/compressed

Conv. Analysis - <text>

text is slowed/drawn out

Preferred Response

the kind of answer expected

Dispreferred Response

the kind of answer not expected; can even be ‘face-threatening’

Adjacency Pairs

When one utterance produces an expectation of another utterance and often a specific type of response (greeting/response, question/answer, invitation/acceptance)

Elements of the Pre-Task Phase

• T introduces Ss to the topic, task, text

• T interests Ss in the topic/task

• T does NOT give explicit instruction on lang needed to complete task

• T provides input that suggests but doesn’t prescribe different ways to do the task

Elements of the Task Phase

• Ss complete meaning-focused communication towards a clear goal

• goal is not metalinguistic

• usually spontaneous in small-group w/out audience

Elements of the Planning Phase

• Allows time to prepare a report to a larger groupe

• may provide an opportunity for Ss to investigate lang use

Elements of the Report Phase

Gives Ss opportunity to share findings in a larger group

Elements of the Analysis Phase

T may give instruction on lang form, particularly form that is contextually relevant during the cycle

Element of the Practice Phase

Ss have a chance to work on relevant forms