This document discusses various types of spoken discourse including transactions, topics, interactional vs transactional talk, stories and speech grammar. Transactions help manage longer stretches of conversation using boundary markers. Topics are bounded by topic and transaction markers. Stories are often told collaboratively and listeners actively engage through responses. Spoken language can contain grammatical features not accepted in writing such as verbless clauses, ellipses and agreement errors.

1. Đỗ Thị Thanh Lài B1201267
Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Mỹ Trang B1201287
Lê Thị Huế Trâm B1201364
Lâm Thị Ngọc Mỹ B1201272
Group 8

2. 1. Transactions and topics
2. Interactional and transactional talk
3. Stories, anecdotes, jokes
4. Other spoken discourse types
5. Speech and grammar

3. 1.1 TRANSACTIONS
-Transaction: Manage the longer stretches of talk.
-Boundary makers  marking out openings and
closings in conversation.
- Examples: Right, now, so, okay,…
Hello, what’s new?, Anyway I must go...

4.  Task-based learning: A task is an acrivity where
the target language is used by the learner for a
communicative purpose in order to achieve an out
come.
+Task: How to arrange a room for a school
open day.
+Description: Dividing class into groups, each
group has to discuss to decide where they put the
furniture for the classroom and what extra furniture
will be needed then they write a note to the school
caretaker.
=> During their discussion, they employ opening and
closing boundary markers.
1.1 TRANSACTIONS

5. A: Now (high key)... Where shall we have the
table?
B: On the right corner.
A: Okay. And the projector should be on the
left of the black board.
C: All right (low key).
An example conversation:
=> Generating the natural use of
transaction markers.

6. Topping-and-tailing activity:
+ The beginning+ the ending sentences are
removed => a “middle” dialogue.
+ Students then discuss dialogue to add the
beginning and ending sentences => they meet &
talk, then apart.
=> The activity generates: greeting (opening
markers), leave-taking (closing marker).
1.1 TRANSACTIONS

7. • What is a topic?
 Topics as stretches of talk bounded by certain
topic and/or transaction markers.
 Topic as titles for the 'subject matter’of speech
events.
 Topics can be the reason for talk.
1.2 TOPICS

8. Example of speaking topically
Example
A: When did you last speak to Jan?
B: I’m not sure. About a week ago. Why?
A: I’ve heard from C that she has got engaged
/…/
(participant A provides the reason)
1.2. TOPICS

9. => What is a sub-topic?
A subject that forms part of a topic.
1.2. TOPICS
• Sub-topic
• Look at example 5.13 page 132
• Define topic and sub-topic

10. • Topic-shift is a point in discourse at which the
topic is shifted from one to another.
• Some types of topic-shifts:
– A shift to a new topic related to the previous
following a pause.
– A gradual topic shift during a longer
monologue.
– A shift caused by entering of a new participant
+ Topic shifts occur in the vicinity of short
silences, indicated by’…..’ in the transcript.
2. TOPICS

11. The interactive features of topics
The use of marker:
- Opening topics
( by the way, incidentally, I meant to ask you, talking of X)
- Closing topics
( still, anyway, so there we are)
- Summarizing a stretch of talk
(sounds awful, it was all rather unsettling, quite strange, really)
1.2. TOPICS

12. 2. Interactional talk Transactional talk
Talk focuses more about how the
SPEAKERS relate to each other,
than what they are talking about.
Talk focuses more on
INFORMATION, than on the
relationship between the speakers.
Create social interaction
(relationship)
(Ex: Greeting, small talk and
chit chat, recounting recent
experiences, compliments)
+ Giving and receiving information
(Ex: Asking for directions,
describing how to use some thing...)
+Getting goods and services
(business) (Ex: Checking in a hotel,
buying something in a store...)
Reflects speakers’ identity Making the listeners understand
completely
Unpredictable Predictable

13. In the transactional of setting, people often engage
in interactional talk.
Ex1: At the chemist’s shop:
Customer: Can you give me a strong pankiller for an abscess //,
or else a suide note.
Asisstant: (laughing) Oh dear! Well, we’ve got…
 Successful conversation
Ex2: A universty porter registering some newly arrived students
at their campus accommodation:
Porter: So,Foti… and Spampina….(writes their names), are you
Italians? // I’m study Italian Art, only part time, of course, I love
it, I love Italian Art.
Asisstant: (looking bewildered) Excuse me?…
 Broken conversation
3. INTERACTION & TRANSACTION TALK

14. According to Belton (1988): In language teaching:
+ Overemphasize transactional language
=> interactional language is limited => Should balance
between the two.
+Solution: Service encounter role play, listening
activities.
3. INTERACTION & TRANSACTION TALK

15. - The telling of stories, anecdotes, jokes and
other kinds of narratives are engaged in almost
conversation.
-The ability to tell a good story or joke is a
highly regarded talent, probably in all cultures.
4. STORIES, ANECDOTES, JOKES

16. -Abstract (optional): short statement of what the story is
going to be about (It was an unhappy love story)
-Orientation: time, place and characters. (It happened in her
early twenties when she was a university student)
-Complicating event: the main event that make the story
happen. (She came to know her lover’s betrayal)
-Resolution: how the events end. (She dumped him)
-Coda (optional): a bridge between the story world and the
telling moment. (Since then, she no longer believes in men.)
E
v
a
l
u
a
t
i
o
n
Labov model of narrative
4. STORIES, ANECDOTES, JOKES

17.  Expecting a learner to tell a decent story in L2 is a tall order
-Jokes are particularly difficult to tell in an L2. However,
awareness of narrative skills can be raised by observing, teaching
and practicing.
- Some common openers and regularly occurring markers for
complicating events. (page 139)
- Evaluation (comments on the event) is added to the basic story
4. STORIES, ANECDOTES, JOKES

18. When looking at real data, it is noticeable that:
-Stories are often told collaboratively, by more than one
person.
-Listeners are active, constantly reacting (usually with back-
channel responses) to the narrative and ask questions that
filled out unspecified detail.
4. STORIES, ANECDOTES, JOKES

19. -Look at extract 5.17, page 139:
+ A and B are collaboratively telling a series of
stories to C
+ C reacts by using back-channel responses
‘yeah’, ‘God’, ‘good God,…’, ‘well, well, great,
yeah.’, and asking questions ‘You went right
round the city.’, ‘Yeah, what was that?’
4. STORIES, ANECDOTES, JOKES

20. What difficulties do learners have when telling or listening to
stories?
=> Moment-by-moment lexico-grammatical encoding at clause
level => Lower-level learners get the bare facts of stories with
little evaluation.
See extract 5.18, page 140
+ A had a real-life accident told to B.
+ B listened to the story without having any back-channel
response. B only asked questions for more details as
instructed
4. STORIES, ANECDOTES, JOKES

21. situation*
Information
&
Instruction
Ending
5. OTHER SPOKEN DISCOURE TYPES

22. A: Excuse me?
Please tell me how do I get to the post office?
B: Are you coming by car or by bus?
A: I am coming by car.
B: Ok from here you take the second right.
Then go along the supermarket you will see
the post office on the right
 A: Would you draw me a map, please? I don't
know the area.
B: yes.
A : Thank you so much.
B: You are welcome.
Situatio
n
Information
&
Instruction
Endin
g
At the traffic light

23. • Spoken data contain forms that would be
considered ungrammatical in writing.
• Such “mistakes” occur frequently in
natural talk
• Some common grammatical mistakes in
speech :verbless clause, ellipses, lack of
concord, false starts, slips of the tongue ,
changes of direction midstream…
6. SPEECH AND GRAMMAR

24. Definition of verbless clause:
A clause-like construction in which a verb element is
implied but not present. Such clauses are
usually adverbial, and the omitted verb is a form of be.
Verbless clause example:
1. John believes the prisoner innocent.
John believes the prisoner TO BE innocent.
(a reduced version of the to-infinitive clause)
2. He considered the girl a good student.
=> He considered the girl IS a good student.
(the omitted verb to be)
6. SPEECH AND GRAMMAR

25. Definition of ellipsis
- Ellipsis is the omission of one or more words, which
must be supplied by the listener or reader.
- Ellipsis clause (also known as an elliptical
expression or elliptical clause).
Examples:
1. How do you feel? Very happy!
=> ( I feel very happy)
2. Bill couldn’t hear you, I could .
=> Bill couldn’t hear you, I could hear you.
6. SPEECH AND GRAMMAR

26. Definition
Agreement or concord happens when a word changes
form depending on the other words to which it relates.
Lack of concord ( subject- verb agreement) examples:
1. Each of the divers have an oxygen tank.
 Each of the divers has an oxygen tank.
2. There are a unicorn in the garden.
=> There is a unicorn in the garden.
6. SPEECH AND GRAMMAR

27. False starts examples:
1. Someone is shown a picture and asked to describe it.
He or she says:
"This is a picture of a…of an ice skater, you know.“
( wrong article)
2. She...er, "he" was late. (wrong sex)
3. Sally...no, it was Mary who blushed. (wrong
name/person)
Definition
False starts are when you start to say something then
quickly change your mind and never finish saying it.
6. SPEECH AND GRAMMAR

28. Slips of tounge examples:
- A sound error: "flower pot," one says "power flot.“
- - A morpheme error: "self-destruct instruction," one
says, "self-instruct destruction.“
- - Word errors: "reading a book to my dog," one says,
"reading a dog to my book."
6. SPEECH AND GRAMMAR
Definition of Slips of tounge :
A mistake in speaking, usually trivial( not
important), sometimes amusing.
These types include sound errors, morpheme
errors, and word errors.

29. REFERENCES
 http://www.professorjackrichards.com/teaching-
speaking-interactional-versus-transactional-
purposes/
 http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/verblessclausete
rm.htm
 http://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=67236
(pdf)
 http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/sliptongueterm.
htm
 http://mercercognitivepsychology.pbworks.com/w
/page/33015683/Slip-of-the-Tongue%20Errors