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Unit 4 Interacting in a Group

 

Culture Learning Questions

 

1 Which do you feel is more difficult, communication between two people or communication in a group?

2 Which is more difficult when you are speaking your own language? Which is more difficult when you are speaking English? Give examples from your own experience.

3 Do you think that people who lead the meetings in your culture would take the time to speak slowly and explain difficult words to non-native speakers of your language? Explain your answer.

 

Cultural Note

 

You probably find yourself in situations where there are conversations or discussions among three or more people. These include class discussions, meetings at work, and social conversations. It is often difficult for non-native speakers of English to participate in group discussions and conversations when the others are native speakers of English.

It is not always possible to follow the conversation in a group discussion or meeting. You can be more prepared if you know certain phases to get into a conversation and if you try to use them. You can also remind people, both directly and indirectly, that you are non-native speaker of English and that group discussions or meetings are sometimes difficult to follow. The following list includes ways to help you participate in and understand meetings and group discussions.

1 Find a person who can help you understand a meeting or group discussion while it is going on and after it has ended.

2 Tape record meetings and discussions whenever possible.

3 If it is a meeting at work, for example, have your supervisor show you the agenda before the meeting starts.

4 Know and use phrases for getting into conversations.

5 Be willing to participate even if you are not used to speaking up in a group.

Using the skills of holding your turn and interrupting can be very important in a group interaction, especially if you are the only non-native speaker of English. Sometimes it is necessary to interrupt quickly before the topic of conversation changes.

There are several ways how to get into a group conversation. When you want to get into, or break into a group conversation, you have to wait for a pause and then interrupt quickly. You should use the interruption phrases.

 

a) Phrases and Expressions for Getting into a Group Conversation

“Excuse me. I have something to add here”.

“Uhm… I have a question about that.”

“Could I ask a question?”

“Could I interrupt for a quick second?”

“Just a quick interruption”.

 

You could interrupt, hold your turn and then say what you want to say.

“So… this is what we need to do”.

“Do you mean, uh…?

“Can you tell me…?”

“Uh, I’d like to know…”

“I can add something here…”

“Ah, you know…”

“Well… you know…”

If you miss the chance to say what you want to say, you can often go back to it later in the conversation.

 

a) Phrases and Expressions for Going back to Earlier Topics:

“Going back to what we were talking about earlier…”



“Could we go back to [state the topic] that we were discussing earlier?”

“I had a question earlier about [state the topic].”

“I wanted to add something to what we were saying earlier.”

To be an active participant in group discussions or meetings you should do the following:

Initiate Begin discussion, bring up new ideas and topics, and make

suggestions

Ask Ask people for opinions, information and explanations.

Offer Offer opinions and give information when needed.

Repeat Repeat ideas, information and explanations for the rest of the

group when something has not been understood.

Summarize Summarize information to make sure that something has been

understood.

Encourage Encourage people to speak by being cooperative and by

accepting different points of view.

Following are some examples of each:

Interacting in a Group

Initiate

“I have an idea about how we could solve the problem.”

“May I make a suggestion?”

“One solution of the problem might be to talk to Mr. Jones about it.”

“Perhaps we could begin by discussing our problem”.

“Could I suggest that we get everyone’s opinion on that?”

Ask

“Ms. Smith, could you tell us what you think?

“I’m not clear about this. Could someone explain it to me?”

“I missed the explanation. Would you mind repeating it?”

“Mr. Water, would you mind telling us a little bit more about your experiences with this type of problem?”

“Does anyone know some more about this?”

 

Offer

“I believe that there isn’t much more we can do.”

“In my opinion there are only two choices.”

“It seems to me that the only solution is to lower the prices.”

“My feeling is that we should go ahead and buy the product.”

“I can show you the numbers, if that will help.”

Repeat

“Can I repeat that for anyone?”

“I’m not sure if everyone heard. Let me repeat that.”

 

Summarize

“So you’d like us to discuss this at the next meeting?”

“You mean we all need to meet one more time before we can decide?”

“If I can summarize what we’ve been talking about…”

“Let me see if I understand…”

“To summarize, we all agree that it is best to wait until we have more information.

Encourage

“Do you have the same opinion, Adam?”

“I think some people here probably disagree with this. I’d like to hear what they have to say.”

“I know Sara has a different point of view. I’d be interested in hearing it.”

“I hope we can all talk about this, even though some of us may disagree.”

“Maybe we can figure out a way to make everyone happy, even though we disagree on the subject.”

“Noga, you haven’t had a chance to give your thoughts on this. What do you think?”

 

Cross-Cultural Interaction

 

1 Match the following phrases with the skills of interacting in a group:

For example:

“Do you have the same opinion?” Encouragement

 

1 “In my opinion there are only two choices.” _________________

2 “Perhaps we could begin by discussing our problem.”__________

3 “You haven’t had a chance to give your thoughts on this. What do you think?”____________

4 “My feeling is that we should go ahead and accept this plan”. ____

5 “I’m not sure if everyone heard. Let me repeat what I think on this matter”.______________

6 “You mean we all need to meet one more time before we can decide?”______________

7 “It seems to me that the only solution is to lower the prices.”______________

8 “Maybe we can figure out a way to make everyone happy”. _____

9 “I missed the explanation. Would you mind repeating it?”_______

10 “Could we go back to that we were discussing earlier?”_____________

 

2 Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F):

1 If two people are speaking and a third would like to speak, he or she should never interrupt two speakers.

2 In a group conversation or discussion, it is rude to talk again about a topic already talked about earlier.

3 Americans will usually give non-native speakers of English extra thinking time and extra time to translate from their own language to English.

4 Americans generally think that it is good to speak up in meetings rather than be silent.

5 Americans are expected to bring up new ideas and suggestions in most meetings.

 

3 Study the following example of ineffective communication and answer the questions given below.

Situation: Bill is leading a staff meeting in a company in the U.S. There are eight people who are all American, except Anna, who is from Hungary. She is a supervisor in the manufacturing department. Today Bill is talking about two things at the meeting. The first is a new health insurance plan for the employees. The second is vacation schedules. The meeting has been going on for twenty minutes. Bill has just finished explaining the insurance plan.

Bill: Okay, so that’s the insurance plan. Any questions?

Anna: Yes, I…

Margie: (Margie interrupts Anna.). Bill, where do I sign up for this insurance?

Anna: (Anna thinks to herself, “What did Margie ask?” I couldn’t hear the question.” Anna does not speak.)

Bill: See John in the Personnel office. (Then Bill looks at Anna).

Anna: Personnel office?

Bill: You don’t know where the Personnel office is?

Anna: (Anna thinks to herself, “No, that’s not my question. I want to know what Margie asked you.” Anna is not sure what to say, so she says nothing).

Bill: Margie, after the meeting will you show Anna where the Personnel office is?

Margie: Okay.

Bill: Any other questions?

Anna: (Anna thinks to herself, “Yes, I have a question about the insurance, and I still don’t know what Margie’s question was. What did they mean about the ‘Personnel office’? How can I interrupt? Anna looks confused, but says nothing).

Bill: (No one asks a question, so he continues speaking quickly). Okay, let’s move on then. Have you all turned in your vacation schedules for this year?

Anna: (Anna thinks to herself, “What does he mean, ‘turned in’? I’m not going to ask since everyone else probably understands.”)

 

a) Analysis: Can you explain?

1 Bill looks at Anna after he answers Margie’s question. Why do you think he does?

2 Anna thinks to herself, “No, that’s not my question.” Why doesn’t she

say this, aloud, to Bill?

3 Bill asks Margie to show Anna where the Personnel office is, even

though this was not Anna’s question. Why do you think Bill did this?

 

b) Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F):

1 Margie needs to see John in the Personnel office to sign up for insurance.

2 Anna wants to know where the Personnel office is.

3 Anna asks Margie to show her where the Personnel office is.

4 Anna doesn’t ask the question that she wanted to ask before Margie interrupted.

 

4 Read the skills listed below and then read the dialogue. Identify the skill that is being used and saying “What is happening”. The first one is done.

• Gives feedback (1 example)

• Interrupts (2 examples)

• Checks bits of information (1 example)

• Asks for focused repetition (1 example)

• Asks for focused explanation or more information (1 example)

• Holds her turn (2 examples, one is marked)

 

Dialogue What is Happening

Bill: Okay, so that’s the insurance plan. Any holds her turn

questions?

Anna: Yes, uh… can you tell me…

Margie: (She interrupts Anna). Bill, where do I sign

up for this insurance?

Bill: See John in the Personnel office

(Bill looks at Anna)

Anna: Excuse me, Bill, what was Margie’s question? __________ Bill: Uh… Margie asked where to sign up for the

insurance.

Anna: I see, thank you. We can sign up in the

Personnel office? __________

Bill: That’s right. Uh, now…let’s move on…

Anna: Before you move on, I’ve got another question. __________ Bill: Oh, yes. What was it?”

Anna: I am not sure I understand about the dental

insurance. Is it for my children? _________ Bill: Let me check the pamphlet that I gave you.

Anna: Oh, thank you. Um… I can read it and then ask

you later if I still have any questions. _________ Bill: Okay. Fine. (He is speaking more slowly). Are there

any more questions before I go on to vacation

schedules? (Bill pauses and makes eye contact

around the room).

 

5 Expand the following statements trying to use phrases and expressions of Initiating, Asking people for opinions, information and explanations, Offering opinions and giving information when needed, Repeating ideas, information and explanations, Summarizing and Encouraging:

1 A: I know she wants to continue her studies. She is planning to major in art at the University of Washington.

B: Oh, once I used to visit art galleries.

A: _____________________

2 A: She has a successful career as a fashion designer.

B: There are so many fashionable clothes nowadays.

A: _______________________________

3 A: You have to get a good education if you want to get ahead in life.

B: By the way I am going to sign up for an exercise class at the gym of our University.

C: ______________________________

4 A: The information in lectures is the same as the information in textbooks, so attending lectures is usually not necessary.

B: In fact, the ability to write well is not very important for undergraduates.

D: _______________________

5 A: If you cheat and are caught, you might have to leave the university.

B: Sometimes students take exams in a written form.

C: Just the same it is difficult to pass an exam and not to fail it.

D: _____________________________

 

6 With two other who speak your language, demonstrate for the class how you would break into a conversation in your language.

- See if the class can identify any “interruption sounds” you use (in English, “Uh” and “Uhm” are interruption sounds).

- Translate into English the phrases and expressions that you used to break into the conversation.

 

7 Respond to the following situations and act them out:

a) Some students are discussing the problems of speaking a second language and solutions to those problems. You would like to join this conversation.

b) Compare a typical school or work day in your native country with that of other students from Great Britan or the U.S.

 


Date: 2015-01-12; view: 872


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