Abstract
This paper is a first step toward a sociolinguistically based language course. It consists of a lesson on English refusals of invitations and requests. Designed primarily for speakers of Bahasa Indonesia, it could easily be adapted for speakers of other languages. Part One is an outline of the hypothetical course of which this lesson would be a part. The lesson itself makes up Part Two.
The course would be designed for advanced students of English who have attained a 2 or 2+ rating on the U.S. Foreign Service Institute rating scale. The teacher should be a native English speaker with some knowledge of linguistics and the Indonesian language and culture. Each lesson in the syllabus would centre on a particular sociolinguistic skill, such as refusals, naming and addressing people, body language, silence, speaking to strangers, etc.
The lesson on refusals is built around a taped dialogue, which is listened to, discussed, memorized and practiced. Atten tion is focused on both the content and the style of refusals. Once the dialogue has been mastered, the students are required to alter a few of the refusal components in prescribed ways, then to construct refusals from a given detailed situation and, finally, they produce their own refusals in real-life situations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.