Grade 11/12 • Unit 3: Functions of Communication

LESSON 3.1
Regulation or Control and Social Interaction
Table of Contents

Learning Competency 1

Specific Objectives 1

Learning Content 1
Topic 1
Materials 1
Reference 2
Time Frame 2

Learning Activities 2

Essential Question 2
Motivation 2
Warm-Up 2
Lesson Proper 3
Springboard 3
Review 3
Presentation of Lesson 3
Discussion 3

Evaluation 6
Drills 6

Values Integration 8

Synthesis 8
Synthesis Activity 8
Possible Answers to the Essential Question 9

Assignment 9

Bibliography 10
 Grade 11/12 • Unit 3: Functions of Communication

Unit 3 | Functions of Communication

Lesson 1: Regulation or Control and Social
Interaction

Learning Competency
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to examine sample oral
communication activities (EN11/12OC-Ibe-8, EN11/12OC-Ibe-9,
EN11/12OC-Ibe-11).

Specific Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to do the following:
● Distinguish and explain the functions of communication.
● Identify the speaker's purpose.
● Ascertain the verbal and nonverbal cues a speaker uses to achieve his or
her purpose.

Learning Content

Topic
Regulation or Control and Social Interaction

Materials
● Presentation slides
● Copies of the drills

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Reference
Quipper Study Guide: Oral Communication in Context Unit 3 Lesson 1: Regulation or
Control and Social Interaction

Time Frame
60 minutes

Learning Activities

Essential Question
1. If using technology, refer to slide 5 of the slide presentation.
2. If not using technology, write it on the board.
“How do control and social interaction differ from each other?”
3. Instruct students to reflect on the question for a minute; call on a few to give
responses. Consolidate the responses and prepare the students for the warm-up
activity.

Motivation
Warm-Up
1. For specific instructions regarding the activity, you may say “Group
yourselves into three. Choose among the following situations and act it out in
front of the class: class recitation, a parent scolding his or her son or
daughter for arriving home late, a sales agent talking to a customer, a
networker approaching a random person inside a restaurant, or two friends
gossiping about a transferee being kicked out of his or her previous school.”
○ If using technology, go to slide 6 of the slide presentation.
○ If not using technology, write the situations on the board.
2. After all the performances, group the students again. This time, instruct them
to share their insights and thoughts, guided by the following questions:
○ How did the characters interact based on each situation?

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○ How did the characters show control based on the situation they are
in?
3. Start out with the question and ask some students to share their responses
and make sure that they are able to explain their answers. Encourage the
other students to give feedback on the responses shared.

Lesson Proper
Springboard
The teacher may say:
“We are faced with many kinds of speech situations every day. These could be in the
form of visiting a doctor and being given a prescription for your ailment or having a
casual conversation with a stranger or a friend. These are all forms of
communication. The situations from the previous activity are different scenarios
that constitute control and social interaction. These are functions of
communication that are used by individuals based on different situations they are
in.”

Review
Before the lesson proper, conduct a short review of the previous lesson about
communication. You may say:
“Before we discuss control and social interaction as functions of
communication, let us go over the definition of communication. ’What is
communication?’”

Presentation of Lesson
1. After the review of the lesson, proceed to the lesson proper.
2. If using technology, refer to slide 10 of the slide presentation.
Presentation File Link

Discussion
Regulation or control and social interaction are functions of communication that

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individuals use based on different situations they are in.

One of the functions of communication is regulation or control. Communication is

used to regulate or control the pace and flow of conversations or the speaking of a
participant so that interruptions and awkward silences between speakers are
avoided. Both verbal and nonverbal cues are used to help achieve this purpose.

Verbal cues - Some verbal cues used for this purpose include the following:
● “That’s it” and “Thank you” – the signal that a speaker is done
speaking
● “Yeah” and “Uh-huh” – encourage a speaker to continue speaking
● “Well . . .” and “Um . . .” – indicate that a speaker is not finished
speaking or is still thinking about what to say next
● “Is that clear?” and “Do you follow?” – check the continuous flow of
conversation and may also be used to assert authority over someone
when telling him or her to do something

Take a look at this conversation between Jannah and Klyde:

Jannah: Hey, Klyde! Are you busy? I just want to ask for advice.
Klyde: Yeah. Go on. I’ll listen.
Jannah: I have a friend who is younger than I am. I am like his older sister. I found
out that he has not been studying lately and failed in one of his classes.
Klyde: Uh-huh. Go on.
Jannah: He said that he was helping his grandmother sell vegetables in the market,
and he had no time to study at home. What should I tell him?
Klyde: Well, you can tell him that he should make time to study at home. Studying
is important. It will help him get a good job in the future and eventually help his
grandmother. You know what? I have an idea. We can all have a study time
together. We just need to set aside a few minutes after school to do that.
Jannah: Thank you, Klyde. I agree with you. That would really help.

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The dialogue shows various verbal cues that indicate what each speaker
means while they are talking. The underlined words indicate if they are still
talking or listening or if they are done.

Nonverbal cues - The meanings of nonverbal cues may vary depending on

culture. Nonverbal cues used for this purpose include the following:

● Eye contact
1. When a speaker looks at a listener, the speaker is signaling that
he or she is requesting feedback or wants the listener to take
the floor.
2. When a listener looks at and slightly up at the speaker, the
listener is signaling that he or she wants the floor.
3. When a speaker looks away or avoids eye contact with a
listener who wishes to take the floor, the speaker is
suppressing the listener's attempt to take the floor.
● Head-shaking - indicates that the listener wants the speaker to stop
talking
● Raising the index finger - signals that the speaker is not finished
speaking or that the listener would like to say something
● Leaning back - signals that the speaker is done talking and is now
yielding the floor

Let’s take a look at this situation:

As a student leader, you are talking to a group of younger students about an

upcoming school project. While you are speaking, one of the students leans
forward and opens her mouth, signaling that she has something to say.

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In this situation, the younger student is signaling that she wishes to speak.
This is signaled by the student leaning forward and opening her mouth.
Another function of communication is social interaction. It is through
communication that social interaction takes place. In social interaction, an exchange
takes place between two or more individuals for social fulfillment. Among the
situations that involve social interaction include introducing oneself, making social
calls, and inviting someone or accepting invitations.

Let’s take a look at the following conversation between Jacob and Kiel:

Jacob: Hi, Kiel!

Kiel: Hey, Jacob! Nice to see you. How are you?
Jacob: I’m fine. Would you like to join us this afternoon? The members of the
design committee will plan the stage design at the students’ lounge.
Kiel: I’d love to join you, but I have enrichment classes after dismissal. If my classes
finish early, I can drop by.
Kiel: That’s all right. Let me know beforehand. Let’s exchange numbers so that we
can keep in touch.

The given dialogue shows the interaction between two friends. It is clear from their
conversation that the purpose of communication is for social interaction.

Evaluation
Drills
Ask the students to work on the following exercises. You may print out copies from
here.

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Determine whether each of the following shows verbal or nonverbal cues.

verbal cue 1. “Thank you.”

verbal cue 2. “Um“

nonverbal cue 3. leaning back

nonverbal cue 4. raising a hand

verbal cue 5. “Well”

verbal cue 6. “Do you understand?”

verbal cue 7. “Is that clear?”

verbal cue 8. “That’s it!”

nonverbal cue 9. shaking one’s head

nonverbal cue 10. establishing eye contact

Determine the function of communication (control or social interaction)

shown in each of the following situations. Write C if it is control and SI if it is
social interaction.

SI 1. two people talking about almost anything without any

interruptions

SI 2. two relatives having a chat in a grand family reunion

C 3. a student raising her hand to answer the teacher’s question

C 4. a supervisor getting full management of the conversation

C 5. a trainor regulating talks and chitchats by suggesting topics

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and eliminating off-topic statements

C 6. a teacher leading her class to what should be talked about

SI 7. two scholars diplomatically exchanging ideas

SI 8. a group of girls giggling and laughing while talking about their

childhood crush

C 9. a discussion between two employees, the other establishing

eye contact and asking “What do you think?”

SI 10. one teenage girl inviting her friend to attend her birthday
party

Values Integration
Ask students the following question to help them connect their learning to real-world
situations:
As a member of the family, how would you use control and social interaction as
functions of communication in establishing and maintaining a harmonious
relationship with your parents and siblings?

Synthesis
Synthesis Activity
1. Divide the class into two groups. Each group will prepare a short skit or drama that
features one of the functions of communication that we have discussed. One
group will show “control or regulation,” and the other group will show “social
interaction.”
2. After the performance of each group, ask students to answer the following
questions:
○ What is the situation depicted?
○ Was the group successful in showing the function of communication

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assigned to them through their performance? Why or why not?

Possible Answers to the Essential Question

Possible answer 1: Control and social interaction are functions of communication. In
control, communication is used to control or regulate the pace and flow of
conversation, while in social interaction, communication is used to attain social
fulfillment.

Possible answer 2: Control and social interaction are functions of communication.

Regulation or control focuses on avoiding interruptions and awkwardness between
speakers; whereas, social interaction zeroes in on achievement of social fulfillment
between and among speakers.

Assignment
1. Instruct the students to do the following at home:
○ Think of all the communication instances that you have experienced today.
Choose one (whether it functions as “control” or social interaction”) that you
think is significant. Recall the whole conversation and put it in writing; make
sure that even nonverbal cues are also included. Then, make an analysis by
focusing on how communication was used in the flow of conversation—was
it for regulation or social interaction?

Alternative Digital Output

As an alternative, students may submit their assignments online via Google Docs.
Assign the folder where all outputs will be saved. Make sure to instruct students to
“get shareable link” for their documents in comment mode. This way, other members
of the class may give comments on their submitted work.

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Bibliography

Agravante, Josefina A., and Villy Ath Buenaventura. 1999. Speech Communication. Quezon
City: UP Open University.

Dunn, Daniel M., and Lisa J. Goodnight. 2003. Communication: Embracing Difference. Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.

Hybels, Saundra, and Richard Weaver II. 2011. Communicating Effectively. 10th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill.

Vicker, Beverly. “Communicative Functions or Purposes of Communication.” Indiana

University Bloomington. Accessed April 20, 2018.
https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/Communicative-Functions-or-Purposes-of-Com
munication.

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