SPEAKING model

The text I chose to read and reflect upon is about the SPEAKING model created by a sociolinguist Dell Hymes in order to promote the analysis of discourse within a cultural context. SPEAKING is an acronym under which there are sixteen elements grouped into eight categories. According to  Hymes, a speech situation can be understood if besides linguistic, other aspects are taken into consideration, such as: the setting of the communication, its goals, and the information about the participants.

 Acronym SPEAKING is formed by the words setting and scene, participants, ends, acts sequence, key, instrumentalities, norms and genre. Under this eight divisions there are sixteen components, and they can be applied to many sorts of discourse.: message form; message content; setting, scene; speaker/sender; addressor; hearer/receiver/audience; addressee; purposes (outcomes); purposes (goals); key; channels; forms of speech; norms of interaction; norms of interpretation and genres.

Having in mind the eight above mentioned divisions, I would like to mention that the one that I found the most interesting for my line of work is the setting and scene. Setting or  the place where the communication is taking place, for example a University lecture classroom and the scene i.e. the mood and the context or the formality, playfulness or seriousness of this context. I find this interesting when applied to the classroom situation, where the same information can be given in a formal or playful way. In my opinion the last one requires more effort from the teacher in order to prepare, but can as well be more effective and, in the long term, more fruitful for both students and the teacher. I have seen that it promotes openness and involvement even with the grown up students. This relates to one more of the above mentioned categories of the SPEAKING model- the Norms. In this case the rules set by the teacher on how to develop the class, regulate the involvement of the students who can be either invited or dissuaded to interrupt the teacher depending on the rigid or flexible way of developing the class.