When it comes to teaching English in the foreign language classroom, we can build on Ishihara’s statement that interventional studies indicate that pragmatics may be taught and learned. Compliments and responses to compliments are no exception. After the description of the linguistic realization of compliments and responses to compliments, the readers will be provided with a teaching concept consisting of: a lesson plan, an analysis of teaching and learning requirements, an analysis of the subject matter, a didactic and method analysis, which provide pedagogical suggestions and practical tools for teaching English learners in the foreign language classroom (upper secondary education, 11th grade). Subsequently, the most important aspects will be recapitulated in the conclusion. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to practice giving compliments and responding to compliments in English.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Approaching Compliments and Responses
2. Theoretical Foundations: The Linguistic Realization of Compliments/Responses to Compliments and a Cross-Cultural Perspective
2.1 Compliments: Syntactic Categories and Word Choice
2.2 Responses to Compliments: Semantic Categories
2.3 Generalizations from a Cross-Cultural Perspective
3. Teaching Concept for English Learners in the Foreign Language Classroom
3.1 Lesson Plan
3.2 An Analysis of Teaching and Learning Requirements
3.3 An Analysis of the Subject Matter
3.4 A Didactic Analysis
3.5 An Analysis of the Method
4. One-Week-Activity: “Collecting Compliments”
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Focus Areas
The primary objective of this paper is to provide a pedagogical framework for teaching English language learners how to effectively understand and produce compliments and their respective responses in diverse social contexts. By integrating linguistic theory with practical classroom activities, the work aims to enhance the intercultural communicative competence of upper secondary students, helping them navigate social nuances and avoid cross-cultural misunderstandings.
- The linguistic realization of compliments and semantic categories of responses in American English.
- Cross-cultural perspectives on complimenting behavior, specifically addressing Japanese and Greek norms.
- A structured teaching concept including lesson planning, didactic analysis, and methodology for 11th-grade classrooms.
- Practical classroom role-play scenarios and longitudinal activities for observing real-world compliment usage.
Excerpt from the Publication
2.1 Compliments: Syntactic Categories and Word Choice
The main referents of compliments are the conversational partner's characteristics, such as appearance/possessions, performance/skills/abilities, or personality traits (Ishihara & Cohen 2010: 58). Ishihara states in Speech Act Performance that Wolfson and Manes gathered approximately 1200 spontaneously occurring compliments in American English in the 1980s (Ishihara 2010: 180). The following are the nine categories defined by Manes and Wolfson (Manes /Wolfson, 1981, as cited in Ishihara, 2010, p. 180):
1. Your blouse is/looks (really) beautiful. (NP is/looks (really) ADJ)
2. I (really) like/love your car. (I (really) like/love NP)
3. That’s a (really) nice wall hanging. (PRO is (really) a ADJ NP)
4. You did a (really) good job. (You V a (really) ADV NP)
5. You really handled that situation well. (You V (NP) (really) ADV)
6. You have such beautiful hair! (You have (a) ADJ NP!)
7. What a lovely baby you have! (What (a) ADJ NP!)
8. Nice game! (ADJ NP!)
9. Isn’t your ring beautiful! (Isn’t NP ADJ!)
(Ishihara 2010: 180)
The authors’ research results show that eighty-five percent of compliments fit into one of the first three structures, and 97 % used one of the nine compliments (Manes /Wolfson, 1981, as cited in Ishihara, 2010, p. 180). According to Manes and Wolfson, the most frequently used adjectives in compliments were nice, good, pretty, great, and beautiful (ibid.).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Approaching Compliments and Responses: This chapter introduces the communicative importance of compliments as social tools and outlines the purpose of the paper to provide pedagogical guidelines for the classroom.
2. Theoretical Foundations: The Linguistic Realization of Compliments/Responses to Compliments and a Cross-Cultural Perspective: This chapter defines the linguistic structures of common compliments, semantic categorizations of responses, and how sociocultural factors influence complimenting norms globally.
3. Teaching Concept for English Learners in the Foreign Language Classroom: This chapter develops a comprehensive lesson plan for 11th-grade students including specific didactic and methodological analyses for teaching pragmatics.
4. One-Week-Activity: “Collecting Compliments”: This chapter proposes a practical field study where students observe and collect real-life compliments to perform contrastive language analysis.
5. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the teaching concept, emphasizing its role in fostering intercultural competence and enabling students to reflect on their own communicative behavior.
Keywords
Pragmatics, Teaching English, Foreign Language Classroom, Compliments, Compliment Responses, Intercultural Communicative Competence, Sociolinguistics, Language Teaching, Upper Secondary Education, Didactic Analysis, Role-Play, Cross-Cultural Communication, Speech Acts, Lesson Planning, Linguistic Realization
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on the pedagogical implementation of pragmatics in a foreign language classroom, specifically teaching students how to give and respond to compliments in English.
Which central topics are covered in the theoretical analysis?
The work covers syntactic categories and word choice for compliments, semantic categories for responses, and generalizations concerning cultural differences in language use.
What is the primary goal of the teaching concept presented?
The goal is to increase students' intercultural communicative competence by helping them understand the social norms involved in complimenting and how to behave appropriately in different cultural contexts.
Which teaching methods does the author recommend?
The author favors a mix of theoretical input followed by active, small-group role-play scenarios that push students to consider varying social statuses and relationships.
How is the subject matter of the lesson justified?
The lesson is justified by its alignment with the "Fachanforderungen" (subject requirements) for upper secondary English education, specifically within the "Individual and Society" domain.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include pragmatics, intercultural communicative competence, compliment strategies, and foreign language teaching.
Why are Japanese and Greek cultures specifically highlighted?
These cultures are used as specific case studies to demonstrate significant differences in how social status, gender, and the act of complimenting itself are perceived compared to Western norms.
How does the "Collecting Compliments" activity work?
Students act as researchers for one week, collecting personal compliments from their social life or digital platforms and analyzing them through contrastive language viewing to understand cultural variations.
- Quote paper
- Ilayda Can (Author), 2021, Practicing Compliments & Responses with English Learners, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1383273
