Teaching Speech Act Performance: Declining an Invitation
Author(s): Carmen García
Source: Hispania, Vol. 79, No. 2 (May, 1996), pp. 267-279
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/344914
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APPLIED LINGUISTICS
Preparedby BarbaraA. Lafford
Teaching Speech Act Performance:
Declining an Invitation
CarmenGarcia
Universityof Virginia
Abstract: Communicatingin a foreignlanguagerequiresunderstandingthe linguisticstrategiesof its speakers as expressions of their frameof participationand underlyingpreferredpoliteness strategiesin orderto
Resultsfromsociolinguisticresearchstudyinga groupof Spanishspeakersdeclining
respondappropriately.
an invitation,alongwith models fromseveralresearchers,led to the design of listeningand speakingactivities for developingstudents'abilityto communicateandtheir avoidanceof cross-culturalmiscommunication.
Key Words: discourse,sociolinguisticcompetence,linguisticstrategies,teachingtechniques
Introduction
Successfullycommunicatingin a foreign
languagerequiresunderstandingwhatthe
speaker is saying and knowinghow to respond. The following dialogue illustrates
the unhappyresults which occurredwhen
one would-becommunicator'sunderstanding and knowledgefell short.
A: (Smiling)Hi, how are you today?
B: I'mexhausted!
A: I knowwhatyou mean.
B:Yeah!This is my firstdayin Washington,
I stillhaveto unpackandget settled,butmy
son is hungry and I have to cook. I don't
know whatto do because...
A: Seventy-fivethirty.
B: Uh?
A: Seventy-fivethirty.
B: Ah, ok! Here you are.
A: Havea nice day.
B: Uh.. uh..
A: Hi, how are you today?
C:Fine, thankyou.
When one first reads (or listens to) this
dialogue it does not seem unusualuntilA
says "seventy-fivethirty."Apparentlyit is a
non sequitur.But, is it really?Or,instead,
is B's '"Thisis my first day..." a non sequitur?To respondto these questionsit might
be useful to know where it took place (a
grocery store), and who the interlocutors
were (A a female cashier and B a foreign
born female graduate student). It is now
clearerwhichis the non sequitur,atleastfor
A andfor the peoplewho shareA'srules of
language use and socio-culturalinformation. For B, however,this was not so clear.
After participatingin this interactionshe
askedherselfwhathadhappened,whatshe
had done wrong, and concluded that she
had done nothingwrong,but ratherthatA
was unfriendly and insincere. If we had
asked the cashier,though, we would have
surely had a completelydifferentanswer.
She wouldhave probablysaid that she felt
imposedon by a completestrangerwho not
only embarrassedher with personalinformation, but kept her from doing her job.
Unfortunately,as in many cross-cultural
verbal interchanges, both A and B were
right andwrong.
In the first place, B had made the mistake of responding to a routine formulae
("howare you today?")as a request for information.She interpretedthe smile and
the question as an opening for a friendly
interchange,and consequentlyproceeded
to startit. She apparentlydidnot knowthat
the onlyappropriate
answerto this question
in this context is "fine,thank you" (as C
later did), and not a detailedor candidac-
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268 HISPANIA 79 MAY 1996
count of how she reallyfelt. Althoughher
linguistic competence in English was
flawless, her sociolinguistic competence
was deficient. She participated in a
"friendly"framewhile the cashier participatedin a "business"frame.The resultwas
miscommunication and, like Green and
Smithsay, "frameclash"(360).
If speakingappropriatelyandeffectively
in a foreignlanguagewere only a matterof
linguisticcompetence,then developingstudents'oralproficiencycouldcenteraround
this alone. Classroom activities could be
limitedto vocabulary,formalgrammatical
and pronunciationexercises. However,although linguistic competence is essential
for developingproficiency,we also need to
developstudents'sociolinguistic,discourse
and strategic competence (Canale and
Swain1980).Withthis in mindthen, teachers shouldprovidethemwith"theinformation, practice,and much of the experience
needed to meet theircommunicativeneeds
in the second language"(28).
Sociolinguisticcompetence,accordingto
Canaleand Swain,is madeup of two sets of
rules: socioculturalrules and rules of discourse. Socioculturalrules focus both on
the extent to which certainpropositionsand communicative functionsareappropriatewithin a given sociocultural
context depending on contextual factors such as topic,
role of participants,setting and norms of interaction ...
[and]the extent to which appropriateattitudeandregister
or style are conveyed by a particulargrammaticalform
within a given sociocultural context. (30)
The rules of discourse refer to the appropriate"combinationof utterancesandcommunicativefunctions"(Canaleand Swain
30), i.e. the combinationof ideas to achieve
cohesion in form and coherence in meaning.
Developingsociolinguisticcompetence,
then, is notthatsimple.In additionto knowing the foreignlanguagestructures,lexicon
andpronunciation,
it requiresknowledgeof
the target culture's rules of language use,
of the native speakers' preferred patterns of
communication, and of their preferred rules
of politeness.
Sociolinguistic research has yielded
valuable information about different cultural groups' rules of language use, that is,
the rulesthatregulatehow differentspeech
acts are performed, interpreted, and respondedto by members of a given speech
community.Some of this researchhas concentratedon interculturalcommunication,
and as such has pointed out possible
sources of cross-culturalmiscommunication like the one pointedabove.Such is the
case of studies of requests (Blum-Kulka
1983; Blum-Kulka and Olshtain 1984;
Garcia1989, 1992;Walters1981);refusals
(Beebe, Takahashiand Uliss-Weltz1990;
Garcia1992), apologies (Blum-Kulkaand
Olshtain 1984;Borkinand Reinhart1978;
CohenandOlshtain,1981;Cohen,Olshtain
and Rosenstein1986;Cohen and Olshtain,
1981; Garcia 1989; Olshtain and Cohen
1983), expression of gratitude(Eisenstein
and Bodman1986),complaining(Olshtain
and Weinbach1987), disagreeing (Garcia
1989),and manymore. Otherstudies have
been culture-specific: the studies of requests in Israeli Hebrew (Blum-Kulka,
Danet,and Gherson1985);complimentsin
American English (Wolfson and Manes
1980;Wolfson1983);directivesinAmerican
English (Ervin-Tripp1976);requests and
their responses in Peruvian Spanish
(Garcia 1993); and, refusals in Peruvian
Spanish (Garcia1992).
Giventhiswealthof information,it would
be advantageous to make use of these
findingsin the foreignlanguageclassroom
to develop students' socioculturalcompetence in additionto their linguisticcompetence.
Along these lines, then, to develop students'sociolinguisticcompetenceit is necessary to develop their understandingof
the framesof interactionandrules of politeness withinthe culture.At the same time,
it is importantto providethem with knowledge of the linguisticformsor stylisticstrategies that are appropriateto conveythe intended meaning in different contexts or
situations.
Frames of Interaction
Bateson (192)uses the notionof frames
of interactionto interpretspeakers'utter-
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APPLIED LINGUISTICS269
ances in terms of how communicationwas
intended.Under this scenarioparticipants
in a conversationneed to understandthe
frame of their interlocutor's message,
whetherit was intendedto be (un)friendly,
antagonizing, deferential, distancing,
(dis)approving,imposing, jovial, ironical,
critical, sarcastic, etc. Omaggio (1993)
pointsoutthattherearetwoforcesthatplay
an integralpartin the process of interpreting messages:
de mi fiesta...,"
A'simperatives("Acuerdate
"No dejes de ir")and her simulatedthreat
("Miraque si no vas, te mato") as commandsandreal threatsratherthanexpressions of closeness and intimacy. Consequently,he interpretsthem as impositions
and participatedwithina "confrontational"
framerespondingwith an accusation,"me
estaisamenazando."Herewe have a "frame
clash." A participates within a "friendly"
framebut B understandsit as "unfriendly."
Giventhis state of affairs,A deems it necone's background knowledge and expectations about
to
witha clarificationof her
objects, events, and situations... [and]... one's knowl- essary respond
of
the
or
discourse
rhetorical
structures
of
different
intentions, "no, no, no, lo que te digo es
edge
types of texts. (136-37).
que..." to repairthe damagecausedby the
no
there
is
"one-toOftentimes,however,
misunderstanding.The importanceof unone correspondencebetweengrammatical derstandingframesof participationcannot
form and communicative function" be underestimated.
(McCarthy7) and misinterpretationof the
intended message occurs. The following Rules of Politeness
example, this time in Spanish, illustrates
this.
In the process of communication,speakers
A woman (A) invites a friend (B) to a reflecttheirpreferencefor some politeness
partyin her house. The conversationgoes strategiesover others, and this preference
as follows:
variesfromcultureto culture(Byrnes1986;
Garcia 1989, 1989b, 1992; Scollon and
A:- Javier,acuerdatede mi fiesta este siba- Scollon 1983).In particular,speakersfrom
do. No dejes de ir. Si no vas, te mato.
some culturespreferdeferentialpoliteness
B:- Pero, ique es eso! ?Me estaisamenazan- strategieswhile those from other cultures
do?Yo pensabaque era libre de elegir en- prefer solidarity politeness strategies
tre ir o no ir.
(Brown and Levinson 1987). Deferential
A:- No, no, no. Lo que te digo es que como strategies create the effect of respect and
tui eres uno de mis mejores amigos, me distance between interlocutors,whereas
gustariamucho que fuerasy si no vas me solidaritystrategiescreate the effect of camaraderie, cooperation, intimacy and
apenariamucho.
friendship. Problems might arise when
A: (- Javier, remember my party this Satur- speaker and hearer favor differentpoliteday.Don't forget to go. If you don'tgo, I'll ness strategies. For example, speakers
kill you.
from a deference politeness culturemight
B: - But, what is this?Are you threatening be offendedby an interlocutorfrom a solime? I thoughtI was free to decidewhether darity politeness culture because of perto go or not.
ceived over-familiarity (Brown and
A: - No, no, no. WhatI'mtellingyou is that Levinson230).This is apparentlywhathapsince you are one of my best friends,I'dlike pened to the cashier in the opening diait very much that you go, and if you don't logue, when she misinterpreted the
customer's unexpected openness. By the
go I would be very sad).
same token, speakersfrom a solidaritypoIn this example A is participating within liteness culturemaybe offendedby somea "friendly"frame. She reminds her friend one from a deference politeness culture
of her party, and expresses her desire to because their level of formalityimplies to
have him there. B, however, understands themmoredistanceand/or a greaterpower
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270 HISPANIA 79 MAY 1996
differencethantheyperceiveto be the case.
This is whathappenedto A; she was taken
abackby the cashier'ssilence and inattention, which she interpretedas a markerof
distanceandlack of interest.
In general,for someone froma Hispanic
culturea numberof optionsare availableto
inviteanotherpersonto a party:"Seriapara
mi un honorsi Ud. pudieravenira mi fiesta
este saibado";"Quisieraque viniera a mi
fiesta este saibado";
"Tienesque venir a mi
fiestaeste sibado";and,"Oye,no te olvides
de mi fiesta este saibado,"among others.
Despitethe fact allthese choices aregrammaticallycorrect,they arenot interchangeable. Onlythe context or situationand the
relationshipbetween the interlocutorswill
decide the appropriate.
The firstoptionreflectsdeferencepoliteness with its attendantpreference for respect.This approachwouldbe appropriate
in the Hispanicculturewhen dealingwith
people with whom there is power and/or
social distance (for example a boss, a
friend'sgrandmother,or an importantgovernmentofficialone has just met).The second option reflects deference politeness
also, but is less ceremonial.It wouldbe appropriatewith acquaintancesand people
with whom one does not hold a close relationship.The third and fourth options, on
the otherhand,reflectsolidaritypoliteness;
that is, preferencefor expression of camaraderie,where informalityand even gentle
impositionis allowed.These are appropriatewheninteractingwithpeoplewithwhom
there is no power or social distance (close
friends and relatives,for example).
b. the appropriaterules of politeness.
c. the specificspeech act one wishes to perform (inviting,requesting,demanding,coercing, threatening,etc.).
Selecting utterancesthat do not reflect
one's actual intentions often gives rise to
whatThomas (1983) calls socio-pragmatic
failure(quotedby Eisensteinand Bodman
1986,172).Suchfailuresarea consequence
of errors resultingfrom non-nativespeakers not knowingwhat to say or not saying
the appropriatethings as a result of transferring incongruent social rules, values,
and belief systems from their native languages and cultures.
But how can instructors develop students'understandingof the appropriateinteractionalframesof participation,and politeness strategies?Howdoes one teachstudents to select the appropriateutterances?
These are the questions that might be addressed using results from sociolinguistic
research. For purposes of illustrationthe
focus will be on developingsociolinguistic
competence in the performance of one
speech act:decliningan invitation.
The Teaching of Speech Acts: Declining an Invitation.
Both makinganddecliningan invitation
are face-threateningto the hearer.An invitation is a type of request and as such, by
uttering it "the speaker impinges on the
hearer'sclaimto freedomof actionandfreedom from imposition" (Blum-Kulkaand
Olshtain1984,201). Similarly,decliningan
invitationentails "tellinga listener something thathe or she does not wantto hear"
Linguistic Strategies
(Beebe, Takahashi,and Uliss-Weltz1990,
To use a language,otherthanone's own, 68) andas such threatensthe person'sneed
effectively requires discerning choosing to be liked and approvedof. For these reathe appropriatelinguisticstrategiesto con- sons, the use of deferentialpolitenessstratvey the desired message. This involves
choosing:
a. the proper frame of participation: (un)
friendly, deferential, (dis)approving, imposing, antagonizing, jovial, ironical, critical,
sarcastic, threatening, etc.
egies are often appropriatefor both making
and declining an invitation:the first because
the person making an invitation wants to
lessen the imposition that the invitation can
produce, and the second because the person declining an invitation wants to make
amends for any offense the rejection might
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APPLIED LINGUISTICS271
cause.
even distrustthe speakers makingthe inWhen participatingin a conversationin vitation, and be offended by their insisa Hispanicculturewhere an invitationto a tence. For example,non-nativesmay interpartymustbe declined,non-nativeSpanish pretthe seeminglackof interestin celebratspeakerscanbe aidedby understandingthe ing a birthdayas incoherentratherthan a
rules of language use such as reflected in strategy for mitigatingan impositionand
the inviting-decliningritual, reported by see insistence as coercion ratherthan an
Garcia (1992) for Peruvians:invitation-re- exaggerated expression of approvaland
fusal;insistence-(token)acceptance.In the interest.
To achievesociolinguisticcompetenceit
invitation-refusal
stage these rules call for
the person makingthe invitationto down- is importantfor the non-nativespeaker to
tone it, that is to diminishits importance understandthat in the Peruvianculture,a
and/or to downplaythe oscasion'selaborat- person having a partydoes not expect all
edness ("Esunacosa pequefia,nadamils") persons accepting an invitation to come
and for the person decliningan invitation, because,
to mitigatethe responseusing one or more
[t]he second stage of the interactionshould be interpreted
of the following:mitigatedrefusal ("Creo as
a mere routine interchange.In this socio-cultural setque no voy a poder ir"), indefinite reply ting, it is evidently expected that the person who makes
("Vamosaver,vamosaver"),expressionof the invitation will insist and thatthe one respondingwill
sorrow ("Cuintolo siento"),reason or ex- accept. (Garcia 1992, 234)
cuse ("Es el cumpleafios de mi madre"),
te agradezco Applications for Teaching
expressinggratitude("Cuainto
en
que hayaspensado mi"),expressingwillTo incorporatethe resultsfromsocioliningness to comply ("C6mo me gustaria
poder ir"), well-wishing ("Que lo pases guistic researchin the classroomwe follow
bien"),promisingto comply("Sipuedovoy OlshtainandCohen's(1991)andDiPietro's
de todas maneras"),promising future ac- (1987) pedagogicalsuggestions. Olshtain
ceptance ("Lapr6xima si voy de todas and Cohen suggest five steps for presentmaneras"), and providing token-accep- ing and practicingspeech acts (161-62):
tance ("Detodasmanerasestoy ahi").Inthe
insistence-(token) acceptance stage, the 1. Diagnostic assessment;2. Model dialog; 3. Evaluation
of the situation;4.
activities; and, 5. Feedback
sociolinguisticrules call for the person in- and discussion. Role-play
vited to nominally accept the invitation
("No, no te preocupes, si voy, de todas Diagnostic Assessment
maneras")even when it has alreadybeen
declined.
Diagnostic asssessment, according to
If non-nativespeakersmakingan invita- Olshtainand Cohen,allowsthe teacher"to
tion simply transferred their native lan- establishthe students'level of awarenessof
guage socioculturalrules to a Peruvianset- speech acts in generalandof the particular
downtone speech act to be taught"(161).
ting,theymightnotappropriately
To diagnosestudents'understandingof
the desire to have a partyor the reasonfor
it which would be seen as arrogance.The speakers'framesof participation,
preferred
same non-nativespeakers might also im- politeness strategies,and stylisticdevices,
properlynot insist when the invitationwas students might be given an interchange
declinedwiththe lack of insistence seen as such as the following and told to choose
insincerity. Finally, non-native speakers
should not interpret acceptance of their insistence as sincere but rather as a strategy
used to mitigate refusal (Garcia 1992).
By the same token, non-native speakers
receiving an invitation may misinterpret or
among three possible responses.
A: - Hola, Josefina, iqub gusto de verte!
B: - Si, itanto tiempo! Cc6moestis?
A-- Bien, bien. Mira,Josefina, ya que te veo,
el pr6ximo sibado es mi cumpleafios y mis
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272 HISPANIA 79 MAY 1996
hermanosme van a haceruna comidaen la
casa de mi hermanoAgusto.Me han dicho
que les avisea mis amigosintimoso sea que
ya sabes, tienes que ir.S61ovanmis hermanos, sobrinosy amigos intimos.No puedes
faltar tii.
The three possible responses are:
(a) ?Me estaisobligandoa ir?iQuees esto?
(b) Eres muy gentil en invitarme.Me siento honradacon tu deferencia.Sinembargo,
me va a ser imposibleasistira tanimportante evento.
(c) Cuinto lo lamento, pero me va a ser
imposibleir.Ese diaes el cumpleafiosde mi
madre tambi6ny se lo vamos a celebrar.
iQuepena!
A:(- Hi, Josephine, how good to see you!
B: - Yes, it's been a long time!How are you
doing?
A:- Fine, fine. ListenJosephine,now that I
see you, next Saturdayis my birthdayand
my brothersare giving me a dinnerat my
brotherAgusto'shouse. They'vetoldme to
tell my close friends,so you know,you have
to go. Only my brothers, nephews and
nieces, and close friends are going. You
can'tmiss it.
tial response. Pragmaticallythis is also incorrect.On receivingsuch a response,the
person makingthe invitationwouldjustly
inferthat somethingwas wrongwith B or,
thatB was being ironic.By choosingoption
(c), the correctresponse,studentsshow an
understandingof A'sframeof participation
andlinguisticchoices, as well as of the preferredpolitenessstrategiesof the interlocutors; that is, those that aim at the creation
of camaraderievs. distance.
After diagnosing understanding of
framesof participation,rules of politeness,
andlinguisticchoices it is helpfulto provide
students with additionalinterchanges to
reinforceand extend their understanding.
The followingis a continuationof the conversation presented above and again has
three possible responses.
A: - Ay, qu6 pena, pero si, haz todo lo posible porir,aunquesea tarde,aunquesea un
ratito.
Three possible responses:
B:- (a) ?Que?pero,?nocomprendesque no
puedo ir?Me estis haciendosentirmal.
(b) No, no, no. Va a ser imposible.Que te
diviertasmucho.
(c) Si, no te preocupes.Voya hacer todo lo
(a) Areyou forcingme to go?Whatis this? posible y si no aunquesea paso un ratitoa
(b) It's very nice of you to invite me. I am tu casa antes de la comida para darte el
honoredby yourthoughtfulness.However, abrazo.
it is going to be impossiblefor me to attend
A: - (Oh,what a shame!but yeah, make an
such an importantevent.
(c) I am very sorry, but it is going to be effort to come, even if it is late, even if it is
impossibleforme to go. Thatdayis also my for a littlewhile.
mother'sbirthdayandwe are going to celThree possible responses:
ebrateit. I am very sorry!)
B: - (a) What?but, don'tyou understandI
Studentschoosing response (a) do not can'tgo? Youare makingme feel bad.
understandA'sframeof participation,inter- (b) No, no, no. It'sgoing to be impossible.
preting it as imposingand forceful,rather Have a good time.
than friendly.The reason may be a literal (c) Yeah, don'tworry. I'll do everything I
interpretation of the command forms can, and if I can'tmake it, at least I'll stop
(tienes que ir, no puedes faltartri) as expressions of authority and power rather than as
part of a friendly request. Students choosing option (b), signal that they understood
the interchange as deferential rather than
friendly, and as such, it called for a deferen-
by for a little while before dinner to greet
you.)
Students choosing option (a) are expressing annoyance at A's insistence, not
understanding its ritualistic nature. Such a
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APPLIED LINGUISTICS273
authenticdiscourse.
Anita:HolaEduardito(kisses) [?c6mo]estais
Eduardo:
[Hola]
Anita:?C6moestin por (0.2) Quelita,
[tus hijas,]
Eduardo[Todosmuy] bien gracias
Anita:Oye cholo mirajusto te estaba por
Ilamarhoy dia miraque te encuentromira
este el sibado va a-es mi cumpleafiosy
vamosa hacerunareuni6nbuenomuy sencilla muy intimainvit6a todas mis hermanas y unas personas muy muy un grupito
pequefiot6isabes que vivo en un departamento chiquitito para ver si te das una
escapaditapues este entresiete, ocho, ocho
y media cosa de tomar un cafecito un
lonchecitoalgo una cosa muy sencilla?ya?
Eduardo:MiraAnitame has chapado
Anita:Ah ?novas a decir que no puedes ir?
Eduardo:No, desgraciadamentetengo un
compromisoantelado
Anita:Ay cara
Eduardo:Y bien sabes que me impidesinceramenteporquehubierasido parami
Anita:Si pues, paraestartodos reunidosun
ratitoalgo
Eduardo:Lamentablemente
Anita:Ay qu6 pena
Eduardo:E son de esas cosas que tienes
[que ir]
Anita:[Mira]tantome hubieragustadopo
-tti te pierdespuestantotiempono has ido
por la casa pues paraver si
Eduardo:Yahabri oportunidad
Anita:Yamira
Eduardo:Pierde cuidadoque uno de estos
dias te [caigo]
Anita: [Yasi] cualquiercosa se presentaray pudierassolucionarte das una escapadita
Model Dialogue
Eduardo:Ah no pierde cuidadopierdecuiThe second step forpresentingandprac- dado
ticing speech acts suggested by Olshtain Anita:Ya Eduarditogusto en verte chau
and Cohen is the use of model dialogues for cholito
responsewouldcertainlybe interpretedas
uncalled for, violating the interlocutor's
need to be likedandapprovedof. Choosing
option (b) expresses a strong,unmitigated
refusal.Althoughthe followingwell-wishing
would mitigatethe negative effects of the
strong refusal,it is not enough to express
both the respect andapprovalnecessary in
this interchange. Again, only option (c)
It expresses a willingwouldbe appropriate.
ness to complyandsuggests an alternative,
which would be enough to satisfy the
need to be likedandapproved
interlocutor's
of.
Aftera series of such exercises, teachers
shouldrespondto theirstudents'choices in
each task. Olshtainand Cohen (161) suggest at this stage that the "teachershould
planteachinggoals andprocedures"which
here would involve explanationsand further activitiesto help studentsidentifyand
understandthe interactionalframe under
which refusaltakes place.
One such activityis to practicethe routine formulaefor making,acceptingor declining an invitation.(AppendixA gives a
series of such routineformulae.)Siskinand
Spinelli(1987)suggest the followingsteps
to this end: first, identificationof routine
formulaeused in the students'native language to performa given function,anddiscussion of their effects in the interaction;
second, identificationof knownroutineformulae to perform a given function in the
target language;third, presentationof additionalroutineformulaethatmightbe used
to perform a given function; and fourth,
practice of these formulae in meaningful
and communicativeactivities.
listening comprehension. These dialogues
could be samples of authentic discourse or
simulated authentic discourse. The ones
presented above for diagnostic assessment
were samples of simulated discourse. The
one presented here, however, is a sample of
Eduardo: Chau
Evaluation of the Situation
It is important that students evaluate the
situation presented in the model dialogue
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274 HISPANIA 79 MAY 1996
to develop their socioculturalawareness.
Goodtools availableto the foreignlanguage
teacherare pre-listeningandpost-listening
activities. What follows is an example of
these activitiesdesigned aroundthe model
dialoguepresentedabove (Sample1).
Eduardohurt in any way as a result of his
response?Justify,illustrate.
i. Are there any arrangements made between Ana and Eduardoto meet again?Illustratewithinformationfromthe dialogue.
Role-play Activities:
General:
a. What are some of the phrases that you
would use to pose an invitationto a friend?
to your future mother-in-law? to your
father'sboss?
b. Whatare some of the phrases thatyour
friend/your mother-in-law/yourfather's
boss would use if they were not able to accept your invitation?
Specific:
a. Now,you are going to listen to a conversation between Ana and Eduardo,where
Ana is inviting Eduardo to her birthday
partyandEduardois expressinghis inability to comply.Beforeyou listen,writedown
whatyou expect Eduardoto say.
b. How do you expectAnato respondafter
Eduardoexpresses his inabilityto go to her
party?
c. How do you expect Eduardoto respond
this time?
Post-listeningactivities:
Afterlistening to the dialogue,answerthe
followingquestions:
a. Whatkindof relationshipexists between
Ana and Eduardo?How do you know this?
b. How does Ana present the invitation?Is
she happyfor the eventthat she is going to
celebrate?Present evidence from the dialogue to justifyyour answer.
c. How does Eduardorespond to the invitation?
d. Is thereanyindicationthathe wouldhave
answereddifferentlyif he could?Justify,illustrate.
e. How does he feel about his response?
Justify, illustrate.
f. How does Ana react to his response? Illustrate.
g. What does Ana insist on? Is this possible?
Why do you think she says this?
h. Is the relationship between Ana and
Sincelearningis enhancedby doingand
practicing,listeningcomprehensionactivities should be followedby role-playactivities. Along these lines, Di Pietro's (1987)
strategic interaction approach becomes
very important.
Strategicinteractionis organizedaround
scenarios,thatis, "real-lifehappeningsthat
entailthe unexpected and requirethe use
of language to resolve them" (Di Pietro
1987,vii).To dealwiththese scenariosstudents go through three stages: rehearsal,
performance and debriefing. During the
first stage, students work in groups
"explor[ing]possible solutionsto the situationof the scenariothathas been assigned
to them" (viii). The teacher's role at this
stage is limitedto that of a consultant.After the rehearsalsstudents "performtheir
roles with support of their respective
groups"(2) andthe teacherandthe rest of
the students are the spectators. Finally,
duringdebriefingthe class, underthe leadership of the teacher,engages in a discussion "ofany aspect of the scenario and its
execution"(viii).
The followingsamplescenariosthatcan
be given in class to be rehearsed, performed and debriefed:
a. Fiesta de cumpleafios.
RolA: Ud. se siente un poco triste porque
el pr6ximosibado es su cumpleafiosy toda
su familiaestaien otra ciudad.Ud. decide
celebrarlo de todas maneras e invita a
algunos(as)de sus amigos(as)a unafiesta.
Rol B: Su amigo(a) lo(a) invita a su fiesta
pero como Ud. no baila, no toma y le fastidian mucho el ruido y el humo de cigarro,
Ud. no quiere ir.
Rol C: Su amigo(a) lo(a) invitaa su cumplea-
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APPLIED LINGUISTICS275
fios y Ud. tiene muchas ganas de ir. Sin party,but since you don'tdance,you don't
embargo,Ud. no tiene dineroy le preocu- drink, and noise and cigarrette smoke
pa los problemasque esto puedaocasionar- botheryou a lot, you don'twantto go.
le.
RoleC:Yourfriendinvitesyou to his or her
RolD: Su amigo(a) celebrasu cumpleafios birthdayandyou wantto go. However,you
este sibado. Ud. muestramucho internsy don'thave anymoneyandyou worryabout
quieresabermis detallesacercade la fiesta the problemsthatthis might cause you.
antes de aceptaro no.
Role D: Yourfriend celebrates a birthday
b. Organizandouna fiesta.
this Saturday.Youare very interestedand
RolA: Ud. esta organizandouna fiesta sor- want to know more detailsaboutthe party
presaparael aniversariode sus padres.Lla- before you acceptor not.
me a dos de sus familiarese invitelos.
b. Organizinga party.
RolB:Uno(a) de sus sobrinoslo(a) invitaa RoleA:Youare organizinga surpriseparty
unafiestaque el/ella estaiorganizandopara for yourparents'anniversary.Calla couple
el aniversariode sus padres,pero Ud. siem- of your relativesand invitethem.
pre estuvo en contra de ese matrimonio.
RoleB: One of yournephewsinvitesyou to
Respondaa la invitaci6n.
a surprise party he is organizing to celRolC:Su primo(a)lo invitaa unafiesta que ebrate his parents' anniversary,but you
dl/ella est' organizandoparael aniversario were neverhappywiththatmarriagein the
de sus padres. Ud. tiene muchas ideas de first place. Respondto the invitation.
c6mo se debe Ilevara caboesa celebraci6n.
Role C:Yourcousin invites you to a party
c. Una cena.
she is organizingfor her parents'anniverRolA: Ud. va a dar una cena formalen su sary.Youhave a lot of ideas of how to celcasa paracelebrarsu ascenso y quiere in- ebratethat occasion.
vitar a su jefe y algunos de sus comc. A dinner.
pafieros(as)de trabajo.Hable con ellos e
RoleA:Youare going to have a formaldininvitelos(as).
ner at your home to celebrateyour promoRol B: Uno(a) de sus mejores tion, andwantto inviteyourboss andsome
empleados(as) lo (a)invitaa una cena en su ofyourofficemates.Talkto themandinvite
casa.Ud.est~muyentusiasmado(a)perosu them.
esposo(a) tiene otros planes paraese dia.
RoleB: One of yourbest employeesinvites
Rol C: Su compafiero(a)de trabajorecibi6 you to a dinnerat his home. You are very
un ascenso y lo (a) invitaa celebrarcon 1/ happyaboutthis butyourspouse has other
ella este sdbado.Ud. piensa que su compa- plans for that day.
fiero no mereciaese ascenso.
Role C:Yourofficemate receiveda promotion and invites you to celebratewith her
(a. Birthdayparty.
Role A: You're feeling sad because your this Saturday.
Youthinkshe didnot deserve
birthday is next Saturday and all your family is out of town. You decide to celebrate
your birthday anyway and invite some of
your friends to a party.
Role B: Your friend invites you to his or her
that promotion.)
Feedback, Discussion,
sions
and Conclu-
Di Pietro's debriefing stage coincides
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276 HISPANIA 79 MAY 1996
with OlshtainandCohen's(1991)feedback ish and, 2) the Hispaniccultureis not hoandteacher-studentdiscussion.This stage mogeneous;whatis appropriatein one culturalgroup might not be in another.Howis necessarybecause
students need to talk about their perceptions, expecta- ever, as Olshtainand Cohen (164) say:
tions, and awareness of similarities and differences between speech act behavior in the target language and in
theirfirstculture.Such feedback ... helps all participants
become more aware of speech act behavior and helps
them recognize areas of interference... (Olshtain and
Cohen 1991, 161-62)
The importanceof debriefing/feedback
cannot be underestimated. Foreign language students should be made aware of
the fact that their participationin a given
communicative activity is influenced by
theirunderstandingandtheirknowledgeof
the linguisticcode and by their own sociocultural expectations of how different
speech acts should be performed. They
shouldalso understandthatthese sociocultural expectations are not universal, but
rather vary extensively across speech
communities.This awareness and understanding will contribute to comprehend
otherculturesandtheirpeople,andto comandeffecmunicatewiththemappropriately
tively.
As we have seen, two people speaking
the same language can completelymisunderstand and think badly of one another
based on culturallybased but differentpreconceptionsof how to communicate.With
grounding in two separate cultures, they
each have differentrules of politenessthey
followwhich can result in differentframes
of participation,andwhen communicating
with each other,frameclash.
There are a numberof ways in which instructors might apply in actual teaching
situationsthe results of sociolinguisticresearchon the linguisticbehaviorof a group
of nativeSpanishspeakerswhen declining
an invitation.These call for developingthe
students'awarenessof the foreignlanguage
sociocultural rules of language use as
reflected in native speakers' use of routine
formulae, stylistic strategies, frames of participation, and preferred politeness strategies.
Two cautions are in order: 1) there is not
sufficient material to illustrate how the different speech acts are performed in Span-
What we are after is the development of an awarenessof
sociocultural and sociolinguistic differences that might
exist between one's first language and the target language. Such awareness will often help explain to both
teachersand learnerswhy sometimes thereis unintended
pragmaticfailure and breakdown in communication. If
we areawareof it, it mightbe easier to findthe appropriate
remedy.
Elaboratingon the above concerns, we
haveto suggest waysto seek "theappropriate remedy" in the classroom. To avoid
cross-culturalmiscommunicationit is imperativenot only to developan awareness,
understanding and respect for different
ways of communicating,but also to provide
communicativeopportunitieswhere studentswouldhaveto use the appropriate
stylistic strategies that will convey their intended meaningand intentions.
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278 HISPANIA 79 MAY 1996
Appendix A
RoutineFormulae
A. Makingan invitation
Me gustariaqueviniera(s)...
?Cree(s)que podria(-s)
(-n)venira...este...?
Estoy preparando/
organizandoun/una.., y
me gustariaque Ud./tfi/
Uds. vinieran...
B. Acceptingan invitation
Con mucho gusto, ?a qu6 hora....?
Muchas/muchisimasgracias
Muy gentil de su parte.
Sera'un placer.
C6mono, con mucho gusto.
C. Decliningan invitation
Me encantariapero...
pero...
iQu lIkstima
iQu6pena!
Cuwntolo siento pero
Yo creo que no va a ser posible.
Con mucho gusto, pero...
Cuwntolo lamento,pero
ese dia tengo/tenemos un
compromiso/es el
cumpleafiosde mi madre/
nos vamosfuerade la ciudad/mipadreestd
muy enfermo.
Me/nos va a ser imposible.
En otraocasi6n sera.
Quizts la pr6ximavez.
La pr6ximade todas maneras.
Su hubiera sabido eso antes, con mucho
gusto
Voya hacer todo lo posible.
I wouldlike you to come..
Do you think you could come to...
this...?
I am preparing/organizing
a..., and I wouldlike that
you wouldcome...
I'llbe glad to, at what time?
Thankyou very much.
That'svery kind of you.
It'llbe my pleasure.
Of course, I'llbe glad to.
I'dlove to, but...
Whata shame, but...
I'msorry but...
I don'tthinkit's going to be possible.
I'msorry but...I/we have otherplans
for that day/
it's my mother'sbirthday/ we are going out of town/
my fatheris very ill.
It'sgoing to be impossiblefor me/us.
Some other time.
Maybenext time.
Next time for sure.
If I had known before, I would have
been able to.
I'lldo everythingI can.
D. Respondingto a decline
iQu6 lIstima/qu6 pena que
no pueda(-s) (-n) venir!
Le/te/los voy/vamos a
echar de menos.
Trata de venir, de todas maneras.
It's a shame thatyou cannotcome!
I/we am/are going to miss you.
Try to come, anyway.
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APPLIED LINGUISTICS279
Si te desocupastemprano,pasapormi casa. Ifyou arefreeearly,stopby myhouse.
E. Respondingto the insistence
iDe todas maneras!
No te procupes,que ahi estoy.
For sure!
Don'tworry,I'llbe there.
E Expressinggood wishes
iQue lo pases bien!
iQue te diviertas!
iEsperoque lo pasen bien!
Havea good time!
Havefun!
I hope you have a good time!
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