Benjamin L. Stewart

5 min read

DA Module 10 From Sound to Evidence
DA Module 12 Processing Speech and Writing

Discourse Analysis Module 11: Speech Acts, Turn-Taking, and Role-Play Design

Module Overview
This module transitions students from macro-level conversational structures into micro-pragmatic coding and instructional design. Students evaluate authentic vs. synthetic spoken discourse, investigate speech acts and conversational mechanics, and bridge discourse findings into feasible ELT role-play tasks.

🧭 Unit III Context & Summary: The Dynamics of Spoken Interaction

Theoretical Framework & Scope

Unit III (Spoken Interaction) shifts analytical focus from static, written text to real-time, interactive spoken communication. Unlike written discourse—which often emphasizes planned thematic progression and explicit cohesion—spoken discourse is collaborative, fleeting, and highly context-dependent.

Key pillars covered across Unit III include:

  1. Pragmatics & Action Theory:
    • Austin & Searle’s Speech Act Theory: Analyzing utterances not merely as grammatical sentences, but as functional actions classified into locutionary (literal form), illocutionary (communicative intent/force), and perlocutionary (consequential effect on the hearer) acts.
    • Direct vs. Indirect Speech Acts: How politeness, hedging, and social distance shape conversational choices.
  2. Conversational Analysis (CA) Mechanics:
    • Adjacency Pairs & Preference Organization: Ordered two-part exchanges (e.g., greeting–greeting, question–answer, invitation–acceptance/refusal) and the structural asymmetry between preferred (unmarked) and dispreferred (marked, hesitant, justified) responses.
    • Turn-Taking System: The management of Transition Relevance Places (TRPs), interruptions, overlaps, pause management, and backchannel signaling.
    • Transactional vs. Interactional Talk: Distinguishing message-oriented exchanges (e.g., ordering food, asking for directions) from relationship-maintaining exchanges (e.g., small talk, phatic communion).
  3. Pedagogical Translation to ELT:
    • Deconstructing the unnatural, artificial nature of traditional ELT dialogue scripts.
    • Leveraging pragmatic awareness to build realistic listening comprehension tasks, authentic speaking rubrics, and inclusive, communicative classroom activities.

🎯 Module 11 Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

  • Analyze raw conversational transcripts using Speech Act Theory and Conversational Analysis conventions.
  • Critically audit GenAI-generated dialogue to identify artificiality, dispreferred turn markers, or pragmatic drift.
  • Design a Universal Design for Learning (UDL)-aligned role-play task for an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom based on verified spoken interaction data.

📚 Required Readings & References

  • Cook, G. (1989). Discourse. Oxford University Press. (Section 1: Spoken Discourse).
  • McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 5: Spoken Language).
  • Searle, J. R. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press.

🧩 Module Breakdown: The 4-Stage Learning Loop

1. Applied Linguistics (Conceptual)

  • Speech Acts in Context: Exploring how speaker intention is coded and decoded. Understanding indirect speech acts (e.g., “Can you pass the salt?” functioning as a directive request rather than an ability inquiry).
  • The Turn-Taking Machinery: Identifying how participants signal speaker transition, negotiate conversational floors, and deploy repair sequences when miscommunication occurs.

2. English Language Analysis (Procedural)

  • Corpus & Interaction Coding: Annotating transcripts for:
    • Adjacency pairs and response preferences.
    • Discourse markers (well, you know, anyway).
    • Ellipsis and non-fluency features (fillers, false starts, hesitations) typical of naturally occurring spoken English.

3. Learning Methodologies (Pedagogical Practice)

  • Critiquing Coursebook Dialogue vs. Real Talk: Why scripted textbook dialogues often hinder pragmatic fluency by presenting sterile, perfectly balanced exchanges devoid of real turn-taking dynamics.
  • Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Integration: Designing interactive role-play tasks with multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression to support diverse proficiency levels.

4. Practice & GenAI Integration (Critical AI Literacy — Level 3/4)

AI Practice Protocol: The Transcript Audit

  1. Prompting: Use a generative AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) to produce a 12-to-15 turn spoken transcript between two speakers handling a high-stakes, indirect transactional interaction (e.g., negotiating a late assignment or disputing a billing charge).
  2. Critical Verification & Coding:
    • Annotate every turn for illocutionary force.
    • Flag where the AI produces overly explicit, unnatural, or grammatically hyper-correct dialogue that violates authentic spoken turn-taking conventions.
  3. Human Revision: Manually edit and reconstruct the transcript to restore authentic pragmatic markers, conversational overlap, hesitations, and culturally appropriate face-saving strategies.

📝 Module 11 Formative Deliverable

Submit your work to Microsoft Teams / Capacities.io with the following components:

ComponentFocus / CriteriaWeight
1. Annotated TranscriptCoding of speech acts, adjacency pairs, and turn-taking mechanics in an authentic/revised transcript.40%
2. AI Critical Audit & Prompt LogA documented revision trail highlighting AI hallucinations, register mismatches, or unnatural conversational flows.25%
3. UDL Role-Play PlanA 1-page instructional role-play plan for an EFL context detailing pedagogical rationale, scaffolding, and communicative goals.35%

Graph View

Backlinks