Lexical resources and interpersonal function at C1

and C2 speaking levels

Siân MorganCentro Linguistico di Ateneo

Università di Modena e Reggio EmiliaItaly

morgan@unimore.it

Today’s session

• research on variables influencing test performance

• examples of interpersonal devices used at B1, B2, C1 and C2 levels

• transcripts of C1 and C2 interactive tasks

• analyse a recording together

Some research findings

• paired or individual format? (Brooks 2009)

• degrees of extroversion (Nakatsuhara 2009)

• similarity of level (Nakatsuhara 2006; Norton 2005)

• familiarity of partner (O’Sullivan 2002)

B1 expressing opinion

In my opinionIt’s a good idea but…I think the best for her is I think it is very boringFor me*As for me, I think*It’s my cup of tea *

B1 Agreeing

Yes I like that idea

I think this is important

I agree with you

Yes I see eye to eye with you*

B1 Qualified agreementand disagreement

Yes it could be nice but I think X could be moreIt could be, but I don’t thinkI partially agree with you

I don’t agree with youI don’t think so I don’t think it’s the best ideaI’d prefer to

B1 Suggesting

I don’t think it’s the best idea

It could be ..

It can be..

B2 Expressing opinion In my opinion (sentence initial position) For me

I think this is a very good thingSo that’s a bit of a waste..which wouldn’t be good for the town

So that’s not really healthy

Maybe this picture

B2 Agreeing

Yes I agree with youI couldn’t agree more Exactly Yeah Repetition + yes Yes + repetitionSynonym + yes Ah yes Yes that’s right

B2 Disagreeing

I don’t know if that’s too good though

Actually, I think….

C1 Expressing opinion‘X is very important’

I think X is essential

I think X is of great importance

If there were any kind of X then I think I would choose that town

I’d say probably the first are

I would say that

I have the impression they are happy

C1 agreement

You’re absolutely right I totally agree with you I agree with you when you sayYou’re right Yes you are right Yes I think that’s right… X are always very

important Yes I see what you mean.

C1 qualified agreement

I totally agree with you about X but I think that ….

You might be right but I think..

I think its surely important but even if

I agree and I disagree with you (uses intonation)

I don’t know

..

C2 expressing opinion

maybe one of the most important things is ..

this might be a useful way toI think it might be

I personally findI personally believe that

It seems to me  It’s an even more prepared pose, no?

C2 agreeing

yeah I agree .. they could represent (agreeing and adding justification)

er yeah so you can discover (agreeing and justifying)

yeah and also ( agreeing and adding another suggestion)

yeah we could include (agreeing and suggesting)

 

Food for thought ?

‘the colourful,the curious, the rare’ …are more psychologically salient’ to the observer’

‘the banal, hidden, subliminal patterns of everyday lexicon stubbornly resist exposure’

(O’ Keefe,Carter & McCarthy)

Mariastella & Veronica• VR: Er I don’t think  so because erm I think that

mm most people are not so good in the kitchen so mmm maybe ..erm it could be also stressing… .to try to cook when you are not so good at …

•  • MS: Really? I don’t think so  because maybe if

you’re not good ..at cooking er you can improve you can learn..it’s a way to learn….above all for for …male since female are better ..

Elisabetta and Chiara 1

..I think it might be interesting

..well these 2 pictures seem to represent  different periods I think 

…and this might be a useful way to raise money

…this idea we hadn’t thought of ….organising courses and encouraging people to effectively produce

 

Elisabetta and Chiara 2

E….. it helps maybe er when you er get funds because people will pay for what they eat or drink

C. For the service …and this might be a useful way to raise money and maybe a small service to a limited budget could organise activities for children …

E: ..and schools

Elisabetta and Chiara 3

E: well in a museum obviously the main activity is the er exposition the exposition and er the description of the collection, permanent and temporary

C: And obviously also a service of tourist guides and..

E: and er maybe a small cafeteria or something like that  to provide er

 

Points for reflection

1. Can ‘fixed expressions’ become a straightjacket even at lower levels if taught too prescriptively?

2. What do we consider to be appropriate discourse and interaction at higher levels?

3. The more native-like the language performance is, might pragmatic error create more of a negative impression because unexpected ?

4. In a world of limited classroom contact, how can we best help students aiming for C2 level?

ReferencesCarter, R & McCarthy, M (1997). Exploring Spoken English, (Cambridge

University Press)

Davies, A. (1995). Proficiency or the native speaker: what are we trying to achieve in ELT?’ in Principle and Practice in Applied linguistics (Oxford University Press).

Galaczi E. (2010). Paired speaking tests: an approach grounded in theory and practice. (in Mader and Urkun eds.) Recent approaches to Teaching and Assessing Speaking. IATEFL Teasig

Hartle, S(2010) What is spoken level and how should we assess it?

(in Mader and Urkun eds.) Recent approaches to Teaching and Assessing Speaking. IATEFL Teasig

McCarthy, M. (2009). English Profile in Teacher talk from Nottingham www.nottingham.ac.uk/ttfn/

O’ Keefe, A. , McCarthy, M. & Carter, R.(2007). From Corpus to Classroom (Cambridge)

Diolch yn Fawr!

Siân MorganLanguage Centre

University of Modena & Reggio Emilia Italy

morgan@unimore.it