II. Discussion

Task 1. Discuss the following questions with your group mates.

A. Models: Definitions, Functions, Drawbacks.

1. Provide the definition of a model. How are models created?

2. Speak on the necessity to create a model in order to describe a process.

3. Dwell on the main disadvantages of models.

4. What do different communicative models focus on? Comment on the psychological, social constructionist, pragmatic perspectives.

B. The Psychological Model.

1. Speak on the elements of the psychological model.

2. In what case is communication considered to be unsuccessful?

3. State the ways of improving faulty communication.

4. Dwell on the drawbacks of the psychological perspective.

C. The Social Constructionist Perspective.

1. How is communication viewed from the angle of the social constructionist perspective?

2. Dwell on the cultural tools employed by the social constructionist perspective.

3. How is communication conducted according to the social constructionist model?

4. In what case is the communicative process considered to be a failure from the point of view of the social constructionist perspective?

5. Dwell on the necessary preconditions for the communicative process to be successful.

6. What are the drawbacks of the social constructionist perspective?

D. Pragmatic Perspective.

1. What is the main focus of the pragmatic model?

2. Speak on the elements of the pragmatic model (partners, an interact, payoffs, interdependence).

3. What is required to understand communication from the angle of the pragmatic perspective?

4. Comment on the fact that communicative process presupposes interdependence of the partners.

5. What do outcomes imply from the point of view of the pragmatic model?

6. Dwell on the ways to achieve success in the communicative process.

7. What are the disadvantages of the pragmatic perspective?

8. Tackle upon other approaches to communication study. What do they focus on?

E. Hymes’ Model.

1. What is an ethnography of communication?

2. Dwell on the elements of Hymes’ model (speech community, speech situations, speech events, speech acts).

3. What are the specific items stated by Hymes?

Task 2. In the following situations communication is unsuccessful. Applying the psychological model analyze the reasons.

1. Two friends are talking to each other in a bar. But they can hardly hear each other because the music is very loud and there are lots of other people talking and shouting.

2. A passer-by has been approached by a stranger in the street. The stranger addresses the passer-by in English as he is a foreigner. He needs to find the way to his hotel but, unfortunately, he gets no reply.

3. A qualified architect from India came to Britain. He found it very difficult to understand the British mind: sometimes travelling to the office by train he started a conversation with some people and he was even given their telephone numbers. But when he rang and heard the surprised “Who?” he felt embarrassed and hung up.

Task 3. Provide at least one rule to improve communication in the situations given above.

Task 4. Working in pairs, analyze the moves of the communicative partners from the pragmatic point of view. Then compare your results with the group-mates’.

“I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t mind. What’s the matter?”

He looked up at me. “I can’t go through with it,” he said abruptly.

“What?”

“I can’t go through with it,” he said again, a touch of desperation in his voice. “I can’t, Isobel. I need some time. I want to postpone it.”

“The wedding?” I stared at him. “You want to postpone the wedding?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“You are joking,” I croaked finally.

“I’m not joking, Isobel.” His look was anguished. “I need more time.”

Task 5. Analyze your class interaction from the point of view of the context and the elements of communication developed by Dell Hymes.