Language+Use+&+Functions

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=LANGUAGE USE & FUNCTIONS = //Hear it , speak it, understand it & use it . // by: nadia qausar, nabilah farhana , hasyira nadiaa , & siti nursakina.

**INTRODUCTION** Language is the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country or area. Language is extremely important when you trying to convince, persuade or otherwise change other peoples mind. Each word is a little packet of meaning from which the other person infers understanding. Acceptable behavior is one that polite, pleasant and considerate of the other person feelings and sensitivities. In this wiki’s site, we will be focusing how to keep communication going and has an interesting; productive interaction. Effective communication involves the use of a wide variety of language functions, which include:
 * Introducing an idea/topic
 * Clarifying/expanding on something
 * Expression of agreement/disagreement
 * Expressing opinions/views
 * Making suggestions
 * Expressing preference
 * Asking for information
 * Asking for clarifications
 * <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Drawing conclusions

1. Introducing an idea/topic ** The first step to start a conversation is of course by introducing your topic/idea. The common expressions that can be used are shown in the table:
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * Introducing an idea/topic || * I would like to start a discussion by saying that…
 * We are here today is to…
 * Right, shall we begin the discussion now?
 * Allow me to start off the discussion by…
 * Okay, our topic today is…
 * Did you hear the news on…?
 * Do you know that the latest…?
 * Eh, have you heard about…? ||


 * 2. Clarifying/expanding on something **
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * Making things clear || * Is everything clear?
 * Are you clear about…?
 * Are there any questions before we start?
 * Have you all understood?
 * Whose still doesn’t understand what they have got to do?
 * Did you all follow that?
 * Shall I go over it again? ||

**3. Expression of agreement/disagreement**

Two things often happen in the course of a discussion. At times you will find yourself agreeing with someone. It is polite and encouraging to acknowledge that you are in agreement with someone. You can give you own reasons why you agree with someone. The useful expressions are in the table below:
 * a) Agreement **
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * To express strong agreement

To express agreement

To express partial agreement || * I strongly agree.
 * I am in complete agreement.
 * I couldn’t agree with you more.
 * Exactly! You have hit the nail on the head.
 * That certainly true.
 * I am glad you mentioned that.


 * I share the same view.
 * Wouldn’t you say so?
 * That’s a great idea.
 * I wonder if you would agree…
 * Yes, I’m beginning to see where you are going with that idea…


 * You could be right but…
 * I do not entirely agree with you…
 * Don’t you think so?
 * You’re suggestion is good but it may not be practical…
 * You have a point but…
 * I see your point but… ||



At times, you will find yourself disagreeing with something someone has said. It is all right to disagree as long as you are always polite and observe social convention. Explain clearly why you do not agree and offer magical reason.
 * b) Disagreement **
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * To express strong disagreement

To express disagreement || * That’s totally out of the creation.
 * No. I don’t like this suggestion that can’t be true at all.
 * I’m afraid you are wrong.
 * I beg to differ.
 * I understand what are you saying but I can’t agree with you.
 * I appreciate your point of view but…
 * I don’t see it that way.
 * I think you are mistaken.
 * I understand what you are saying but I think it is not practical.
 * That’s quite good but I think otherwise.
 * I think it would be better if…..
 * I am not convinced that your suggestion will work.
 * This will give rise to other problems. ||



When offering your opinion, ensure that you do not sound pushy or too opinionated. Be persuasive and firm. Occasionally, ask others what they think about the issue being discussed.
 * 4. Expressing opinions/views **
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * To ask for an opinion

To give an opinion/state point of view || * What do you think about…?
 * What is your view on…?
 * May I know your opinion regarding…?
 * Would you like to share your opinion/view with us?
 * Well, it would appear that…
 * I believe that the best way to solve the problem is to…
 * I feel that we can handle the problem by…
 * As far as I am concern…
 * It’s quite that…
 * It seems to me that…
 * I sincerely feel that… ||



**
 * 5. Making suggestion

I n order to participate in communication, you need to make a suggestion and support it with valid and credible arguments.
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * To make a suggestion

To ask for a suggestion

To accept ideas/opinions/suggestions

To reject ideas/ opinions/suggestions || * I would like to propose that…
 * It might be a good idea to…
 * Don’t you think we should…?
 * It might be a great idea if…
 * Perhaps, we should…
 * One solution would be…

* Would you like to give your suggestion? 6. Expressing preference ** We often use words like //prefer, would prefer, and would rather// to talk or ask about preferences. Usually, we tend to use //'prefer'// to talk generally about //likes, dislikes, what we want// // while //the expressions //'would prefer'// and //'would rather'// we used to be a little more specific. When asking information, be as clear but as well as concise and possible.
 * Do you have any other ways?
 * What are your views regarding this?
 * Is there anything you would like to say about this issue?
 * Would you like to comment on this?
 * I am completely in favor of your recommendation.
 * I have no objection to that.
 * That certainly sounds like an enormous idea.
 * I appreciate your point of view but…
 * That is certainly very interesting but…
 * I am afraid we do not share the same opinion. ||
 * [[image:http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=b5c11d1bb63aa6a958eea38e9a1aa732 width="600" height="184" caption="?fh=b5c11d1bb63aa6a958eea38e9a1aa732" link="http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=b5c11d1bb63aa6a958eea38e9a1aa732&w=900.0"]]
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * To express preference || * // I prefer living on my own. //
 * // Would you prefer to see a movie or go to a club? //
 * // Would you rather go shopping with me? //
 * // He //** prefers ** // reading books. //
 * // I //** prefer ** // going to the beach than going to a swimming pool. // ||
 * 7. Asking for information **
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * To ask for information

To give information || * Could you please explain…?
 * May I know where you got that data from?
 * Could you possibly give us more examples of…?
 * Would you explain to us how…?

|| There are time during the discussion when you are not clear about an idea, suggestion or recommendation by the speaker. You will therefore need to ask for clarification to clarify the statement.
 * One way to curb the problem would be to…
 * I read in the papers that…
 * Based on my personal experience…
 * 8. Asking for clarification **
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * Ask for clarification

Giving clarification || * I don’t understand your point. Could you please explain further…? ** 9. Drawing conclusion **
 * Could you explain what you meant, when you said…?
 * Are you implying that…?
 * Could you please elaborate…?
 * Sorry I don’t quite follow you.
 * Could you clarify that for us, please?
 * Could you please give us some examples? I’m not pretty clear about…
 * What I was trying to say was…
 * I was trying to highlight…
 * I was merely to say that…
 * Well, what I meant was…
 * Certainly. One good example would be…
 * I’m trying to emphasis that… ||



Conclude the discussion firmly and politely. Show your evidence if possible in order to convince people.
 * FUNCTION || EXPRESSION ||
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To conclud e  || * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If there is no objection, I suggest that…
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, if all of us agree, we can decide to…
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our unanimous decision is
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let’s sum up what has been mentioned so far…
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bear in your mind that my suggestion is more pretty practical than yours.
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will briefly summarize the main… ||



<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> RESOURCE PAGE FOR TEACHERS... In this part, we are suggesting 2 classroom activities that can be use to teach students how to use language and to show its function in normal conversation.

__ ACTIVITY 1 __

**GETTING THINGS DONE** <span style="color: #ff7a00; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Aim : directives and other language for getting things done. Level : intermediate Material : drama series or other work based drama Preparation : select sequence where a lot of action is organized.

Procedure Once students understand the sequence well, view it again and look at the language used for organizing action.

Variation Use speech acts to match the acts to the words/people instead of vice versa.

//<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Language from the video // || <span style="color: #a400ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A: Give us a hand here, would you? B: Sorry, I’m busy. || <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A: Perhaps you’d like to look around? Be my guest. B: Don’t mind if I do. || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">// e.g. advising, asking, forbidding, commanding, giving permission, asking permission, urging etc. // || <span style="color: #a400ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">asking || <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Giving permission || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">// e.g. protesting, putting it off, objecting, agreeing, refusing, making an excuse, hesitating etc. // || <span style="color: #a400ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Making an excuse || <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Accepting || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">// e.g. very rude, direct but friendly, natural, polite, very polite, polite but sarcastic etc. // || <span style="color: #a400ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Fairly direct but not rude || <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Indirect(polite irony) || <span style="color: #ff7a00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> __ ACTIVITY 2 __
 * <span style="color: #ff7a00; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> ** Example **
 * <span style="color: #00a4ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** WHAT ARE THEY DOING? **
 * <span style="color: #00a4ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** WHAT IS THE RESPONSE? **
 * <span style="color: #00a4ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** HOW DIRECT ARE THEY? **

**TALKING THE TALK** <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Level : Elementary to advanced (adapt to the needs of a particular level). Aim : To focus on the ways in which we seek and give opinions. Use : Suitable in any task in which students are likely to give their opinions freely. Ranking or value clarification tasks usually generate lots of examples. Preparation : Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the class. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Task sheet __<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1. Make a recording of your group taking part in a discussion. 2. Choose a short section of your recorded discussion where everyone in your group had something to say. Listen in a particular for the ways in which people introduced their own opinions. For example, can you hear any example of the following: - //I think…// - //Well, in my opinion…// - //I believe…// - //As far as I’m concerned…// - //Well, in my country…// Write down all the other examples you hear <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

3. Discuss in your groups - Whether the expressions used to give opinions were grammatically correct or not. Ask your teacher for help if necessary. - Do you think that the expressions are used too often in your discussion? Are people listening to each other enough? Or do they sound as though as they are only interested in their own opinions? Discuss possible improvements <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.

4. Listen to the tape again. Are there any examples of asking for other people’s opinions? Can you hear any examples of the following: - //What do you think, Carmen?// - //Do you agree?// - //What’s your view?// - //Is it like that in your country?// <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Expressions like these involve the other speakers in the discussion and help to make it more fluent and interesting. When you have made a list of examples from your recording, go on to do the following: - Discuss with the group whether they were grammatically correct and how you might improve any that were wrong. - Decide whether more examples of asking for other people’s opinions could have been included. <span style="color: #9200ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> __

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