FLUENT AMERICAN ENGLISH: A Video Series on Conversational Styles (2 Programs)
This program with functional oral skill building allows ESL/EFL students to "break the code" on global communicative styles. Viewers report that it also improves cross-cultural understanding in multinational classes and teaches students to "style switch" based upon the context in which they find themselves.
Designed for intermediate to advanced college/adult language learners, Intensive English Programs, ESL/EFL educators, linguistics departments, corporate training settings, international agencies, multicultural trainers, etc. Can be used as a core text in an advanced speaking skills class, as a reference tool in language laboratories, for self-study, and for workplace training.
The Conversational style inventory is an assessment tool that calculates individual communicative style preference and measures capacity for comfort and compatibility with other global styles. A 20-question format, it comes with a scoring rubric and bar graph charts for easy classroom or workshop posting. Suggested for use prior to viewing videos. Evokes animated discussions.
"Conversational Styles around the Globe" (Part one) uses the metaphor of three popular sports to highlight differences in pacing, topic changes, interruptions, body language, level of participation, turn taking, overlapping, and rapport among speakers around the world. Contrasting communicative styles are analyzed on film using the classic values clarification activity of Alligator River.
Conversational Style in the U.S.A." (Part Two) takes advanced ESL/EFL students through 12 functional steps to learning the conversational style of American English (represented by the sport of basketball). Steps include: interrupting politely, asking the right questions, using a hesitation techniques, using backchanneling, understanding body language, being direct, etc.
WHY USE SPORTS ANALOGIES?
Bowling represents "high considerate" characteristics (term coined by Deborah Tannen) as found in Japan, Korea and other Asian cultures. As in the game of bowling, turn taking, polite watching and waiting, single player on the floor, are major features of "high considerate" style.
Rugby represents "high involvement" characteristics (Deborah Tannen) as found in Latin American, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, African, Eastern European and other cultures. Features such as interruption, overlapping, constant change of topic, variety in pitch and volume, and exaggerated use of body language appear in these cultures, corresponding to the intensity of the sport of rugby.
Basketball represents a hybrid of the above two styles, partly "considerate" and partly "involvement". Modern American English reflects such a hybrid, where interruption is tolerated (stealing the ball) and dribbling (hesitating), shooting for the hoop (making your point) and passing the ball to another player (including others in a conversation) are regular features.
The sports analogies help language learners to concretely grasp deep underlying patterns of communication across cultures. The use of sports provides a visual anchor to train viewers in 'code-switching' (adopting a new communication pattern) based upon the cultural setting they find themselves in.
Video is the perfect medium for visual insight; hence, this film makes use of three sports as analogies of cultural tendencies in communication patterns.
*Includes downloadable transcript with Teaching Guidelines
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