Requests in films and in efl textbooks: a comparison

ELIA 4, 2003, 17-34 REQUESTS IN FILMS AND IN EFL TEXTBOOKS: A COMPARISON1 Ana Fe nández Gue a y Alicia Ma ínez Flo Uni e si a Jaume I Resea ch in he ield o in e language p agma ics has shown ha o eign language lea ne s’ g amma ical and p agma ic compe ences do no always ma ch, his can pe haps be due o a lack o app op ia e p agma ic p esen a ion in cu en EFL ex books. Hence, he e seems o be a necessi y o b inging au hen ic discou se in o he class oom. One o he possibili ies could be using ilms as inpu o de elop class oom asks. In his pape we analyse and compa e he ype, s a egy and equency o eques s in bo h ex books and ilms, in o de o ealise whe he hey p o ide an adequa e ea men o his p agma ic issue. Resul s show an insu icien , un eal, de- con ex ualised, and p agma ically inapp op ia e use o eques ing s a egies in he EFL ex books analysed. We he e o e p opose using scenes om ilms as an au hen ic and mo i a ing ype o ma e ial which p o ides ins ances o eal use o language and p esen s di e en eques s in con ex ualised si ua ions. Key wo ds: p agma ic compe ence, eques s, ilms, EFL ex books. 1 This s udy is pa o a esea ch p ojec unded by a g an om he Au onomous Go e nmen o he Valencian Communi y (GV-00-147-09) and a g an om Caixa Cas elló-Bancaixa (P1.1A2000-14). Es udios de lingüís ica inglesa aplicada 18 A. Fdez Gue a y A. M nez Flo ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 1. In oduc ion The aim o his pape is wo old: (1) o compa e he occu ence and ealisa ion o eques s in h ee widely used EFL ex books and h ee Ame ican ilms; and (2) o explo e he possibili ies o using ilms as a use ul ool o de eloping p agma ic compe ence in he class oom. Fi s , howe e , we will e iew he li e a u e dealing wi h p agma ic compe ence and speech ac ealisa ion. Celce-Mu cia e al. (1995: 9), o ins ance, e e o p agma ic compe ence as ac ional compe ence, and de ine i as “compe ence in con eying and unde s anding communica i e in en by pe o ming and in e p e ing speech ac s and speech ac se s”. Being one o he main componen s o communica i e compe ence, p agma ic o ac ional compe ence is now one o he main cen es o a en ion o many esea che s and me hodologis s. This conce n is clea i we ake in o accoun ha an inapp op ia e use o language can lead o p agma ic ailu e. Ac ually, esea ch in he ield o in e language p agma ics has shown ha o eign language lea ne s’ g amma ical and p agma ic compe ences o en do no ma ch, due, o some ex en , o a lack o app op ia e p agma ic p esen a ion in cu en EFL ex books. Fo eign language s uden s —unlike second language lea ne s, who a e in con ac wi h he a ge language—, ha e only go he possibili y, in mos cases, o acqui e he p agma ic-discou se aspec s o he o eign language in an ins uc ional con ex . Thus, he inpu lea ne s a e exposed o in he class oom by means o eache alk and ex books is a key ac o in de e mining hei communica i e compe ence. 1.1. P agma ic compe ence and EFL ex books Se e al esea che s ha e a gued ha he e is a lack o na u al con e sa ional models ep esen ing he eal use o language, as well as an a i icial p esen a ion o speech ac s a egies in he ex books s uden s ha e o use du ing hei lea ning p ocess (Ba do i-Ha lig e al., 1991; Boxe and Picke ing, 1995; Meie , 1997; Salaza and Usó, 2001; Alcón and Sa on , Reques s in ilms and in EFL ex books… 19 ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 2001; e c.). Among he s udies dealing wi h speech ac s, Boxe and Picke ing (1995) ocused on he ealisa ion o complain s in se en ELT ' unc ional' ex s. They de e mined ha he examples con aining complain s we e based on he au ho s’ in ui ions, only p esen ing ins ances o di ec complain s (ins ead o ep esen ing he ac ual speech beha iou in spon aneous in e ac ions, in which indi ec complain s seem o be much mo e equen han di ec complain s). They also epo ed a lack o unde lying social s a egies in he speech ac p esen a ion. Simila ly, Meie (1997) c i icised he p esen a ion o speech ac s in EFL ma e ials along a di ec ness/poli eness scale, and concluded ha ex books exhibi an a bi a y selec ion which does no pay a en ion o con ex ual ac o s, and ha his inapp op ia e p esen a ion o speech ac s may also cause lea ne s’ ailu e and p oblems o misunde s anding in he a ge language. This inapp op ia e ea men o speech ac s was also he ocus o a en ion in he s udy ca ied ou by Salaza and Usó (2001), who examined eques s in se e al ou ism cou sebooks, and ound ha he speech ac unde analysis was embedded in exe cises ocusing on syn ac ic s uc u es lea ing aside he communica i e in en o eques ing. Alcón and Sa on (2001) compa ed he occu ence o eques s, sugges ions and ad ice in EFL ma e ials and in an o al co pus con aining spon aneous con e sa ions, and came o simila conclusions ega ding he a i icial and inapp op ia e desc ip ion o speech ac s in he ex books, since only he linguis ic o ms had been aken in o accoun . 1.2. P agma ic compe ence and he use o ilms in he class oom Bea ing in mind his a i iciali y in he p esen a ion o p agma ic in o ma ion in ex books, he e seems o be a necessi y o b inging au hen ic discou se in o he class oom, and one possible way may be h ough audio isual media. Video inpu , in ac , has long been used as a language eaching esou ce; and a ai ly la ge numbe o schola s (A hu , 1999; Canning-Wilson, 2000; G an and S a ks, 2001; Rose, 2001; and Ryan, 1998, among o he s) ha e al eady p aised he use o ideo sequences in he class oom. Ryan (1998), o ins ance, sugges s he use o ilms in he class oom in o de o de elop lea ne mo i a ion and ac i a e hei cogni i e domains. Canning-Wilson 20 A. Fdez Gue a y A. M nez Flo ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 (2000), Henessey (1995), Ha (1992) and Wybu d (1995) also poin ou ha he use o audio isual ma e ials p o ide a con ex ualised iew o language and helps lea ne s isualise wo ds and meanings. Along hese lines, A hu (1999) epo s ha Video can gi e s uden s ealis ic models o imi a e o ole-play; can inc ease awa eness o o he cul u es by eaching app op ia eness and sui abili y; can s eng hen audio/ isual linguis ic pe cep ions simul ane- ously; can widen he class oom epe oi e and ange o ac i i ies; can help u ilize he la es echnology o acili a e language lea ning; can each di ec obse a ion o he pa alinguis ic ea u es ound in associa ion wi h he a ge language; can be used o help when aining s uden s in ESP ela ed scena ios and language; can o e a isual ein o cemen o he a ge language and can lowe anxie y when p ac icing he skill o lis ening. Mo ing on o speci ic discou se-p agma ic aspec s ha migh a ec lea ne s' p agma ic compe ence, Rose (1997, 2001) has ca ied ou se e al s udies suppo ing he use o ilms, a guing ha “in o eign language con ex s, exposu e o ilm is gene ally he closes ha language lea ne s will e e ge o wi nessing o pa icipa ing in na i e speake in e ac ion” (Rose, 1997: 283). In he same way, G an and S a k (2001: 49) claim ha ele ision con e sa ions p o ide a wide a ie y o unc ional con e sa ional English, imi a e na u al speech and ollow cul u al and linguis ic beha iou o bo h he language and he pa icipan s. 2. The s udy Based on he p e ious da a and he ele an li e a u e men ioned abo e, his s udy ocuses on a speci ic aspec o p agma ic compe ence: con eying and unde s anding communica i e in en by pe o ming and in e p e ing he speech ac o eques ing; and o mula es he ollowing esea ch ques ions: 1. Is he e an app op ia e p esen a ion o eques s in EFL ex books? 2. Can agmen s o ilms be an e ec i e means o p esen ing and aising lea ne s' awa eness on his issue? Reques s in ilms and in EFL ex books… 21 ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 In o de o answe hese ques ions, we decided o use h ee p o iciency-le el ex books and h ee Ame ican ilms. Among all he ex books a ailable, we chose P o iciency GOLD (Newb ook and Wilson, 2000), P o iciency Mas e class (Gude and Duckwo h, 1997), and The Nelson P o iciency Cou se (Mo is and S an on, 1993), no only because o hei wide use in some Spanish uni e si ies, bu also because no s udy up o da e has ocused on ELT ma e ials add essing an exam, such as he Camb idge P o iciency. The h ee ilms analysed, sui able o gene al audiences, we e As good as i ge s (1997), While you we e sleeping (1995), and Wa games (1983). The da a ob ained we e analysed ollowed T osbo g’s (1995: 205) ypology conce ning eques ealisa ion s a egies and classi ied in o i e main ypes: (1) Indi ec eques s (gi ing hin s), such as using s a emen s o gi ing excuses. (2) Con en ionally indi ec eques s based on he hea e , such as hose based on he hea e 's abili y o pe o m he ac (Can/could you...?), he hea e 's willingness (Would you...?), asking o pe mission (May/migh I...?); o using sugges o y o mulae (How abou ...?, Le 's ...). (3) Con en ionally indi ec eques s based on he speake 's wishes, desi es o needs (I wish...; I would like...; I wan you o...; I need o ...). (4) Di ec eques s, such as showing obliga ion (You mus ...; You ha e o...), using pe o ma i e e bs (like I ask you o...), impe a i es (as in Do some hing, don' do i ), o ellip ical ph ases ( o example, a woman asking he son o ake ou he ga bage by saying The ga bage!). (5) O he ypes o s a egies. Tex books we e analysed comple ely, aking in o accoun no only ex s and asks, bu also he ins uc ions gi en o do he exe cises, i.e. all ins ances whe e a eques is ealised; i s o all, because s uden s a e 22 A. Fdez Gue a y A. M nez Flo ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 exposed o all hese linguis ic o ms when dealing wi h he con en s o hei ex book; and secondly, because he e u ned ou o be almos no examples o eques ing in he main eading ex s and asks2. 3. Resul s and Discussion Table 1 shows he di e en ealisa ions ha appea in all h ee ex books. Needless o say, one o he quan i ies is eally shocking: 85,70% o he eques s we e pe o med using impe a i es and, as can be obse ed, he h ee ex books con ibu e o his ex emely high pe cen age. Type S a egy P o iciency Gold P o iciency Mas e class The Nelson P o iciency Indi ec Hin s 0 0 3 3 0,08% Abili y 56 70 64 190 5,52% Willingness 23 33 8 64 1,85% Pe mission 1 1 5 7 0,20% Con en ionally indi ec (hea e -based) Sugges o y Fo mulae 0 1 3 4 0,11% Wishes 0 3 15 18 0,52% Desi es 0 0 5 5 0,14% Con en ionally indi ec (speake -based) Needs 0 3 1 4 0,11% Obliga ion 22 10 75 107 3,10% 2 In ac , and al hough ins uc ions p eceding exe cises and eading ex s can e en be conside a 'gen e' on i s own (in which lea ne s a e usually eques ed o do some hing), his g ouping u ned o be qui e e ealing: o example, ou o 1,404 occu ences o eques s ound in P o iciency Gold (Longman, 2000), a o al o 1,398 eques s we e in he Ins uc ion sec ions, whe eas only 6 ins ances appea ed in he asks and ex s (see Resul s and Discussion below). Reques s in ilms and in EFL ex books… 23 ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 Pe o ma i e e bs 2 0 2 4 0,11% Impe a i e 1,283 810 856 2,949 85,70% Nega i e impe a i e 7 5 42 54 1,56% Di ec Ellip ical ph ase 0 0 4 4 0,11% O he ypes o s a egies 10 0 18 28 0,81% TOTAL 1,404 936 1,101 3,441 100% Table 1. Reques s in ex books. This eques ing beha iou clea ly limi s s uden s’ exposu e o he ange o possible eques s a egies used in eal-li e and, hus, p e en s hem om de eloping hei p agma ic compe ence as ega ds his pa icula speech ac . We should, howe e , men ion ha (1) mos o hese occu ences belong o he ins uc ions gi en o s uden s o ca y ou he exe cises, and ha (2) hese ex books do no p o ide exempli ica ion o na u al dialogues o any communica i e ac i i ies p omp ing his use. In ac , he e is a eally small amoun o eques s in he eading ex s and in he ac i i ies: 6 occu ences in P o iciency Gold, 14 in P o iciency Mas e class, and 199 eques s in The Nelson P o iciency. He e is jus a small sample o his abusi e use o impe a i es we ha e jus men ioned: (1) Read he ollowing sen ences and ma ch hem o he hin s below. (P o iciency Gold, 172) Please send us a copy o ou di ec o y. (Mas e class, 122) Comple e each sen ence wi h one o he wo ds o ph ases gi en (Nelson P o iciency, 2) 24 A. Fdez Gue a y A. M nez Flo ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 Di e en s a egies used o make eques s appea only in isola ed sen ences wi hou conside ing he con ex in which hey migh be ealised. Example (2) shows some o hese o he uses: (2) Can you help me ackle his p oblem? (P o iciency Gold, 67) Would you mind no smoking in he lib a y? (Mas e class, 149) ... you mus sho en i . (Nelson, 14) We should also s a e ha he e is no explici explana ion o he ealisa ion o eques s, excep o a sho g amma ical sec ion in P o iciency Gold (Newb ook and Wilson, 2000: 67) dealing wi h modal e bs: (3) The modal e bs may and migh used in eques s a e e y poli e and o mal. Wi h a ce ain in ona ion, hey can sound sa cas ic and unpleasan . Which o hese sen ences is poli e and which sa cas ic? 1. I wonde i I migh ask you a big a ou ? 2. Pe haps I migh sugges ha you do his in you own ime? 3. And wha ha e you been doing, may I ask? As onishing as i may seem, none o he h ee ex books p o ides any communica i e exe cises o he s uden s o p ac ise he use o hese modal e bs exp essing he speech ac o eques ing; wha 's mo e, nei he ex s no exe cises p o ide exempli ica ion o eal-wo ld speech (excep o a ew ph ases ha a e quo ed in he eading ex s o in he sen ences lea ne s ha e o comple e). As ega ds eques ing in ilms, he i s hing o commen upon is he p esen a ion o con ex ualised speech ac s in eal-wo ld con e sa ions, showing he ela ionship be ween pa icipan s, se ing, social s a us, and he like. Reques s also appea mi iga ed by he use o modi ica ional de ices, such as excuse me, please, jus o eally. Table 2 below illus a es he di e en s a egies used when eques ing in he h ee ilms: Reques s in ilms and in EFL ex books… 25 ELIA 4, 2003, pp. 17-34 Type S a egy As good as i ge s While you we e sleeping Wa games Occu ences Pe cen age Indi ec Hin s 3 17 14 34 6,65% Abili y 18 16 14 48 9,39% Willingness 2 8 21 31 6,06% Pe mission 6 3 2 11 2,15% Con en ionally indi ec (hea e -based) Sugges o y Fo mulae 5 3 3 11 2,15% Wishes 0 3 0 3 0,58% Desi es 6 7 18 31 6,06% Con en ionally indi ec (speake - based) Needs 2 6 4 12 2,34% Obliga ion 4 8 6 18 3,52% Pe o ma i e e bs 2 3 0 5 0,97% Impe a i e 76 33 104 213 41,68% Nega i e impe a i e 14 7 11 32 6,26% Di ec Ellip ical ph ase 0 0 10 10 1,95% O he ypes o s a egies 27 19 6 52 10,17% TOTAL 165 133 213 511 100% Table 2. Reques s in ilms. As can be obse ed, he e is a wide a ie y o eques s a egies which ange om indi ec o di ec ealisa ions, al hough he mos employed ca ego y belongs o he impe a i e ype (41,68%), due o he si ua ion o 32 A. 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