Languages for intercultural communication and education

Table 3.2
The language of conversational support
Type of supporting move
Example of supporting move (in italics)
ask for repetition of a misheard
element
‘He disappeared into the sticks.’
‘
He disappeared into the what?’
confirm that you have heard the right
information
‘He disappeared into the sticks.’
‘
Did he?’/’He didn’t!’
ask for additional information needed
to understand the preceding move
‘He disappeared into the sticks.’
‘
What exactly are ‘the sticks’?’
volunteer further, related, information
for confirmation
‘He disappeared into the sticks.’
‘
Was that because he wanted to run away?’
show that you have understood and
acquiesce with the information
‘He disappeared into the sticks.’
‘
Yeah, I see.’
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(3)
Cultural purpose
: to show sympathy and solidarity with the speaker by
giving conversational support at appropriate points in the conversa-
tion.
(4)
Procedure
: One speaker tells a story, and the other chooses a level of
sympathy with which to respond (e.g. on a scale from 1 to 5), and gives
support appropriate to that level. After the conversation the speaker
(and/or other class members) grade the listener’s responses on the
same scale, to see if they match.
(5)
Language exponents
: main focus is on useful types of supporting move
(see Table 3.2.).
(6)
Opportunity for reflection
: a comparison of the ‘sympathy scale’ can gen-
erate discussion about the appropriate level of back-channelling and
whether the speaker’s and listener’s cultural expectations match.
For example, the first speaker might be given a role card prompting him or her
to tell a story about an unfortunate event – let us say the speaker went on a
walk in the country, and got lost in bad weather. The second speaker chooses a
level of sympathy with which to respond, from bored to over-enthusiastic,
and gives an appropriate level of support (from virtual silence to interrupting
with a variety of supporting moves). The first speaker, and the class, are then
invited to rate the level of sympathy the second speaker has been giving.
The level of support expected in conversational interaction will vary
from culture to culture. The point of this activity is not necessarily to
impose a particular level of support on all learners of English, but to dem-
onstrate that (1) giving support is an important aspect of conversation, and
(2) perceptions of appropriate levels of support vary from participant to