Pass the salt – awareness raising through performance activities
By Scott Granville – Managing Director and Head Writer
In an earlier post on performance opportunities in the English language classroom, I touched briefly on identifying, and using, a range of verbal devices to enhance drama activities.
For the purposes of this discussion, we will look at a simple request – ‘pass the salt’ – and explore ways of incorporating this seemingly innocuous sentence into an engaging lesson covering social interaction awareness and delivery techniques in dramatic performance.
Textbooks, by default, present instruction for the delivery of spoken requests as polite and carefully ordered sentences. This observation is not intended as criticism; a standard interaction between two strangers or low-level acquaintances is most safely approached on polite terms. So when referencing our base request – ‘pass the salt’ – in general terms for learners, it would look something like, ‘Could you pass me the salt, please?’. In an everyday situation, this would constitute an acceptably polite request and all things being equal, the request would be fulfilled by the requestee.
However, that particular scenario only takes into account what transpires in an expected environment. Real-life social interactions often contain dynamic or unpredictable characters and reactions. And this is where teachers and learners are presented with an opportunity to have some fun with the language.
The following is a brief outline for an interactive lesson using the request – ‘pass the salt’.
Step 1: Introduce the request
Write the request on the whiteboard (or similar). Ask students to expand on the sentence to create a polite request (compile a list from the responses). Explain that in most cases, the polite form usage is the safe and sensible option.
Step 2: Situational awareness
Now ask students to consider how a family member might ask another family member for the salt at the dinner table. Would they be expected to use a polite or contracted version of the request? Ask how a rude customer might ask an unsuspecting waiter for salt at a restaurant. Are they still using a polite form?
Step 3: Delivering a request
Next, revisit verbal delivery features, focusing on tone and volume. Explain that a pleasant or friendly tone will present a request in a much different way than that of an angry or hurt tone. A request delivered at a loud volume is going to elicit a different response than one spoken at a ‘normal’ level.
Step 4: Scenario creation and practice
With the request language now framed to provide some context, have students work with a partner. Provide each pair with a short scenario which they keep hidden from their classmates.
Example scenario: A brother and sister having been fighting over the use of a shared device. They are called to the table for a family dinner.
The focus here is on the request – ‘pass the salt’ and the delivery/form based on the prescribed situation.
Step 5: Performance
Once students have prepared and practiced a short scenario featuring the ‘hero’ request, encourage pairs to share with the class.
This is a simple lesson that carries great value around social interaction awareness while allowing students to have fun through the performance stage of the activity. In my next post, I will share another idea for incorporating performance elements into lesson planning and delivery.
Post note: Jono Ryan covers requests in more detail as part of our Fortune Gold teaching resources.