English: Oral Communication MIDTERM HANDOUT by: AdDU-SHS English Teachers

LESSON 1: SPEECH CONTEXT most likely to happen if a smaller group of

communication is involved.
1. INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
 A communication process that takes 2) Second is the distance that separates the participants
place within one person. of the comm. process.
 This involves the very common
- Intrapersonal takes place within
experience of talking to oneself.
 This happens when one affirms oneself - Dyadic Interpersonal has a closer distance
for the good things one has done. than that of the small group or public
 This does not only give way to self-audit communication
but also remind oneself on the learning
points gained from an event or situation.
LESSON 2: SPEECH STYLES
2. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
 It takes place between two or more According to the Martin Joss (1976), style is the diversity
people. of language due to different circumstances of language
 An exchange of discourse between or in the relationship between the speaker and the listener.
among individuals.
Speech style is influenced by social factors like social
 As social beings, we always engage in
status, sex, age, social distance, and occupation.
this context of communication.
Everyone has different speech style, for example the
 This can be informal or formal. It is
social status level of the speaker can be read through
informal when talking to a friend or a
specific style which is the upper class usually more
family member; Formal when talking to a
formal. It is totally based on the social status to
person in authority such as a teacher, or
determine the style of people communicate each other.
initiating conversation a conversation
(Joss,1976)
with a stranger.

TYPES OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Five forms of variation in speech based on the usual
1. DYADIC- is an interpersonal communication that level:
takes place between two persons. 1. Frozen (frozen)
2. SMALL GROUP- involves a small number of people
interacting with each other, often with the goal of 2. Formal (official)
solving a problem.
3. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION- involves a large number 3. Consultative (business)
of audience. Unlike the dyadic and small group comm. 4. Casual (casual)
where the interaction is almost simultaneous or
immediate, public comm. is almost similar to a 5. Intimate (intimate)
monologue because the speaker presents the
-Chaer, 2004 as stated by Joss, 1976
prepared message in a formal manner.
4. COMPUTER MEDIATED- is said to be a “wide range Frozen Style
of technologies that facilitate both human comm. and
the interactive sharing of information through  is the highest rank among all
computer networks” (Hybels & Weaver, 2009).  use: Frozen is used for respectful situations or
formal ceremonies like speech for state and
Factors that Influence the Communication Context church.
 This style involves very large group of people
1) First is the number of participants involved:
whose members are unknown to one another.
- one for intrapersonal However, this style is not only addressed to
strangers at that time but also to posterity as
- two or more for interpersonal. well. Nevertheless, the readers or the hearers
The larger the audience, the higher is the level of are not permitted giving question to the speaker.
formality or impersonality. Intimacy and familiarity are
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English: Oral Communication MIDTERM HANDOUT by: AdDU-SHS English Teachers

Formal Style 1. The participant: Who is speaking and who

are speaking to?
 use: formal style is generally used in a formal 2. The setting and social context of the
situation where there is the least amount of interaction: Where they are speaking?
shared background knowledge and where 3. The topic: What is being talked about?
communication is one-way with little or no 4. The function: Why are they speaking?
feedback from the audiences like graduation
speech (large group) and stranger (single
hearer). LESSON 3: SPEECH ACT
Consultative Style
In linguistics, a speech act is an utterance defined in
 use: Consultative style is a speech style that terms of a speaker's intention and the effect it has on a
shows our norm for coming to terms with listener.
strangers who speak our language but whose Speech acts include real-life interactions and require not
personal stock of information may be different. only knowledge of the language but also appropriate use
For example: doctor-patient, teacher-student, of that language within a given culture.
lawyer-client, etc.
 Consultative style is used in a semi-formal Speech-act theory, as introduced by Oxford philosopher
communication situation. John L. Austin (How to Do Things With Words, 1962)
and further developed by American philosopher John R.
Casual Style Searle, considers three levels or components of such
 use: Casual style is a style used between friends utterances:
and non-formal situation such as when the 1. Locutionary
students have a chat outside class room. The 2. Illocutionary
form of sentence in this style is usually short. 3. Perlocutionary
The vocabulary in this style is most influenced
by dialect. There is an absence of background LOCUTIONARY ACT
information and the listeners are assumed to • A locutionary speech act occurs when the
understand what the speakers say in this style. speaker performs an utterance (locution), which
has a meaning in the traditional sense.
Intimate Style • Happens with the utterance of a sound, a word,
 use: Intimate style is an intimate utterance or even a phrase as a natural unit of speech.
pointedly avoids giving the addressed In performing a locutionary act is to perform such
information outside of the speaker’s skin. act as:
Therefore, it is completely a private language 1. Making a statement, question, assertion, claim,
used within family and very close friends. or suggestion
Normally, the intimate style is used in pair. 2. Making promise, pledge, or vow
3. Giving direction or command
Contexts of Language Use 4. Making a declaration or pronouncement
5. Making greetings or apologies
There are some factors that influence speech A locutionary act is the act of using a referring
style. expression (e.g. a noun phrase and a
First is addressee, the better addressor and predicating expression (a verb phrase) to
the addressee know each other, the more express a proposition.
informal speech style they used. Example: You should stop smoking.
On the opposite, if the addressor and the The referring expression is you and the
addressee do not know each other well, the predicating expression is stop smoking.
more formal the speech style they used.
The propositional content of a locutionary act
Language used is designed by some relevant can be either expressed directly or implied.
factors suited to the context and they can be
grouped as follow:  DIRECT
Example: I warn you to stop smoking.

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English: Oral Communication MIDTERM HANDOUT by: AdDU-SHS English Teachers

This constitutes an expressed locutionary act I find you guilty as charged.

because its propositional content predicates a I now pronounce you man and wife.
future act (to stop smoking) of the hearer. I appoint you as chairman.
War is hereby declared.
 IMPLIED I declare the meeting adjourned..
However, I warn you that cigarette smoking is
dangerous. 5. Expressives indicate the speakers
This constitutes an implied locutionary act psychological state or attitude: greetings,
because its propositional content does not apologies, congratulations, condolences,
predicate a future act of the hearer; instead, it thanksgiving.
predicates a property of cigarettes. Ex.
I apologize for stepping on your toe.
ILLOCUTIONARY ACT 2. I congratulate you on winning the race.
• An illocutionary act refers to the type of 3. I thank you for giving me the money.
function a speaker intends to accomplish in the
course of producing an utterance. PERLOCUTIONARY ACT
• An illocutionary act is the performance • A perlocutionary act is an action or state of mind
of the act of saying something with a specific brought about by, or as a consequence of,
intention. saying something.
• A perlocutionary speech act happens when the
Classification of Illocutionary act (John R. speaker says has an effect on the listener.
Searle, 1979)

1. Representatives represent a state of LESSON 4: COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES

affairs: assertions, statements, claims, Communicative Competence - It refers to the ability to
hypotheses, descriptions, questions, use language to communicate successfully.
suggestions. Representatives can generally
be characterized as true or false. Communicative Strategies - These are plans, ways, or
Ex. means of sharing information adopted to achieve a
It is raining. particular social, political, psychological, or linguistic
I predict he will come. response.

Topic Nomination:
2. Commissives commit a speaker to a
course of action: promises, pledges, threats  This is the beginning of all conversations.
and vows.  It simply means initiating a topic for
Ex. conversation.
I promise to pay you the money.  This is a response to the usual question: What
I pledge allegiance to the flag. should I say?
I vow not to get revenge.
 Difficulty in choosing a topic usually occurs when
we talk to strangers.
3. Directives are intended to get the
 In topic nomination, it is best to choose a topic
addressee to carry out an action:
that both parties are familiar with.
commands, requests, challenges,
invitations, entreaties, dares. Topic Restriction:
Ex.
I order you to leave.  It is a process by which a speaker constrains the
I command you to stand at attention. response/reaction within a certain set of
categories.
4. Declaration bring about the state of affairs  Usually, topic restrictions can be identified with
they name: blessings, hirings and firings, questions which have dichotomous responses.
baptisms, arrests, marrying, declaring  Ex: Yes/No Questions, True/False Questions
mistrials.
Ex.

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English: Oral Communication MIDTERM HANDOUT by: AdDU-SHS English Teachers

Turn Taking:  Termination or end of a conversation does not

come abruptly.
 It refers to the alternating pattern of interaction
 Five situations that Paltridge (2012, p. 95)
among speakers.
identifies as the pre-termination requisites:
 finalizing arrangements or details
 Turn-getting: This is done when a speaker
 introducing a new topic which the other
simply wishes to say something.
person may not respond to
Common phrases used are: “Excuse me, but did
 referring to the original purpose of the
you say…?” or “as you pointed out…”
conversation
 referring to what previously was said in the
 Turn-keeping: The speaker wishes to hold on to
conversation and finally
his/her turn.
 leaving other person with well- wishes such
Speakers usually make use of connectors such
as “send my regard to your friends”.
as: moreover, furthermore, also, etc.

 Turn-yielding: The speaker gives up his/her turn.

This is done so that others may be given the
chance to talk as well.

 Turn-accepting: Speakers take alternate roles in

speaking. A speaker may choose the next
speaker by either naming him or by establishing
eye contact.

Topic Control:

 This is concerned with the speaker being able to

steer the conversation into the direction that
he/she wants to take.
 Steering the conversation into a certain direction
is continuous until another speaker interrupts the
conversation flow.

Topic Shifting:

 These are points in the conversation when the

speaker moves from one topic to another.
 Antonio et al. (2011) mentions that topic shifts
occur when the topic gets a little boring or when
one of the participants of the conversation have
little or no knowledge or interest about the topic
being discussed.

Repair:

 According to Paltridge (2012), repair happens

when the speaker self-corrects or corrects what
others have said.
 Repair can also refer to the act of “checking”
what the participants of the conversation may or
may have not understood.

Termination:

 This refers to the end of conversation using

verbal or nonverbal signals.