Valeria Lapina, Ph.D.

Moscow City Pedagogical University, Institute of Foreign Languages

Sociolinguistic Competence in Listening

It is currently argued that language teaching should be based on the competence-based approach. The Common European Framework of Reference was created to make it easy for both teachers and students to see what exactly they should be able to do using the language at a certain level. One of the key competences (as defined in the document) is the sociolinguistic one. The term was introduced by linguist D. Hymes and then widely used to describe the ability of an individual to control the appropriateness of his / her language to the social context of communication (M. Canale, M. Swain 1983; D. Hymes 1974; J. van Ek 1986, 1991). Basically, that means the correct usage of speech etiquette and registers.

Numerous attempts have been made to clarify what elements sociolinguistic competence includes. One of the most cited lists of skills that constitute this competence comes from the works of L. Bachman. The scholar suggested that apart from knowing how to use speech etiquette and registers there should be other, perceiving skills, considered. Sociolinguistic competence can be manifested not only in speaking, but in listening as well. Namely, being sensitive to accents and dialects was singled out as an aspect of this competence.

Clearly, the ability to recognize accents and dialects became important because of the changes in the attitude towards non-standard pronunciation and the need of L2 learners to communicate with speakers of English from all over the world and different background.

As a result, in the most recent edition of The Common European Framework of Reference, which is supposed to be used as guidelines in teaching languages, this skill, along with the others, is included into the list of sociolinguistic skills that L2 learners should develop.

Nevertheless, we can hardly find any ready-made materials for teachers who wish to help their students to learn more about accents and dialects and to develop sociolinguistic sensitivity. This skill has not seen enough attention in the literature dedicated to language teaching; consequently we cannot find any activities designed for developing the ability to recognize accents and dialogues.

Clearly, sociolinguistic competence is not easy to develop outside the natural environment of the language in question. There is a lot of interference from the culture of the student where he or she spends most time. Moreover, most non-native speakers cannot define regional accents [Best 1995]. Obviously, the teacher here, even if he or she is a native speaker, can only teach certain phrases appropriate for using in the classroom.

On the one hand, to master sociolinguistic competence students need to become a part of the society where the language is used and accumulate enough experience learning by trial and error. On the other hand, this way of learning is extremely time-consuming and not always efficient as not all speakers of L2 have interest and natural talents that would allow them to acquire sensitivity for accents and dialects through practising in real life. At the same time, in teaching practice we see that students of L2 who have already got some experience of using English outside the classroom want to be able to understand and recognize various accents and dialects.

It is worth noting that phonetic features of speech are usually more evident than grammatical or lexical ones [Trudgill 2001, Wells 1982]. So, if we see dialect identification as an objective, we can concentrate on recognizing accents because any dialect has its pronunciation peculiarities.

Let us have a look at the benefits of sensitivity to accents, and see what the teacher can do to improve language learning tools and techniques to satisfy the needs of modern L2 learners of English and reach the targets defined in The Common European Framework.

If we cannot invite representatives of various regions, where English is spoken, to the class, we can use media tools. Video sources have already been recommended by some EFL specialists for developing the students’ awareness of accents [de Kantzow 2000]. Feature films, interviews, TV and radio programmes offer a lot of language material marked with accents and dialects.

Here are some basic techniques that can help to develop and improve sensitivity to accents and dialects.

First of all, students should realize that English exists in a number of variants and regional forms. Also, they should be aware of the cultural differences existing between different English speaking communities. This versatility of the language and culture can be introduced with the help of feature films and even comedy shows where accents are imitated.

Now let us have a look at the technical aspect of teaching regional speech recognition. As far as accents and dialects are usually seen as something different from the norm, we have to juxtapose samples of speech that have regional traits to the pronunciation that the students are used to. The learners can compare how the same word or an entire phrase is pronounced in different variants of the same language and try to work out the peculiarities of different forms of pronunciation.

The teacher may help the students and direct their attention to one specific trait of an accent that really stands out. A printed version of the text can be given out to the learners so that they could mark the bits where they can actually hear the regional trait the teacher has told them about.

The final stage of developing sociolinguistic competence in listening is testing that should simulate real life situations and involve discussing motives of different speakers’ behaviour. For example, the teacher can show them an interview where a person with Scottish accent speaks about local cuisine. The students only see a fragment of the TV show and have to understand where the food is typical (which region) by pinpointing the presenter / chef’s accent. Some other tasks can include discussions of why two characters of a feature film mock each other’s accents or why film critics call an actor’s accent implausible and unconvincing for his or her role.

Currently, the problem of creating a consistent course for different levels of learners that and would aim at developing sociolinguistic competence in listening remains topical. Further research should be done to select suitable authentic material and design efficient tasks that can bridge purely linguistic analysis of speech and intercultural communication practice.

References

1. Bachman L. F. The development and use of criterion-referenced tests of language ability in language program evaluation // The Second Language Curriculum. Ed. by Johnson R.K. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. – P. 242-258.

2. Best K. (1995) A direct realist view of cross-language speech perception: New Directions in Research and Theory // Speech perception and linguistic experience: Theoretical and methodological issues. - Baltimore: York Press. pp. 171–204.

3. Canale M. Theoretical Bases of Communicative approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing / M. Canale, M. Swain // Applied Linguistics. – 1980. – N1. – P. 11-47.

4. Kantzow, de M. (2000). Targeting Media. Blake Education, Leichhardt.

5. Rosewarne D. Estuary English: Tomorrow’s RP? // English Today, 1994 – N 37, Vol. 10/1. – P. 3-8.

6. Trudgill P. (2001) Sociolinguistic Variation and Change. – Oxford: Oxford University Press.

7. Wells J.C. (1982) Accents of English: in 3 vols. + cassette / J.C. Wells. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

8. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/framework_en.pdf]