How can you teach your students to use language appropriately in different social contexts?

As fore me,I love experimenting and trying different ideas,and yet my favourites are Role-Playing and Discussion and Analysis. Role-Playing:it allows to engage in role-playing activities,simulate various social contexts.I provide scenarios where my students can become other people(that help reduce the stress).Students must use appropriate language,such as a job interview,a casual conversation with friends,or a formal presentation. Discussions.When we ecourage discussions about language choices in real-life situations,we analyze certain changes when speaking to different people or in various settings.My hobby is to use examples from movies,TV shows,or articles that illustrate variations. And it shows that regular people make mistakes too)

- do some surveys, interviews, observations, portfolios or self-assessments to not miss out on things. - design your curriculum and materials to address the gaps and challenges your students face.

Since students of any language are going to be present in various social settings, it is sometimes hard to distinguish what is the best course of action. Something that helps me decide how to assess my students and create a curriculum that suits their needs is to ask a lot of questions and understand more about where my students come from while taking notes on where they want to go. For example, one of my adult students has his own business and is also involved in the mayor’s office. Therefore, social interactions formulate the core of his working life and by understanding how this is applied in his life thoroughly, I am able to identify what that student is really looking for in his language learning journey.

Teaching languages involves many features of a culture, not only the language per se, but also many aspects of society, life, and people's perception of their reality. The teacher's role in this case is to put the students in contexts where they can communicate without any difficulties, to do that it is imperative to show and expose students to environments where they can speak and apply the knowledge given by the teacher. Examples are exchanging languages with international students, either through internet platforms or native speakers, encouraging the student to take any international formation such as languages or post-degree programs, and if it is impossible for the learners to take these options, they can create conversation clubs.

Authentic role-playing is the optimum method. Use target language framed in authentic collocations, encourage students to try, and establish a safe environment whereby making mistakes is seen as an expectation when learning new skills.

Authentic material is an excellent way of being exposed to the target language. By exposing his or her students to real-life language, the teacher will help them acquire more vocabulary, collocations, idiomatic expressions and see how language is used in context. However, the teacher must be aware of the students’ level and interests, so that he or she can find the material that will be suitable for them. The teacher might want to highlight some important words or phrases to help the students better understand the context before reading, listening to or watching it. Some common grammar mistakes that natives make might come up as well. In this case, the teacher should be prepared to help the students identify and correct those mistakes.

Personally, I find that the best kinds of authentic materials to teach students how to use language appropriately in different social contexts are short films and comic strips showing people engaging in the interaction of interest (e.g. asking for directions or participating in a meeting). Short films allow one to analyse the language, relevant structures, ,chunks and collocations, register and appropriateness, intonations and even body language. Key expressions can be "shadowed" by the students so they get a chance to imitate the intonation and body language and practise saying the words. Comic strips have the advantage of being "frozen in time" and of using numerous colloquialisms.

Short video clips can be great material for authentic dialogues. I draw my learners' attention to the expressions used for: - beginning a conversation "So, where are you from?" - turn taking - (how to know when the other has finished talking / not talking over someone) - changing the subject "Speaking of disasters, did you see ....?" - showing interest in others' comments, "Oh, really?" - polite disagreement "I'm not 100% convinced about that" - agreement "Absolutely" - ending a conversation "It was lovely talking to you" - expressing sympathy "I'm sorry to hear that" - expressing empathy "I know how you feel" - apologising "Sorry!" - asking polite opinion questions "Would you say ...?" - using appropriate intonation - usually rising

I wholeheartedly agree that engaging your students in meaningful tasks has to target preparing them for correct language use on a daily basis. There's nothing more frustrating than learning a language based on exercises that don't reflect the students' need nor the context it would be used in. Applying real life examples is a real key here. The authenticity of the language use will not just enable students to understand and produce language in a genuine and authentic context, but - which is in my opinion as critical - show them how capable they are to communicate correctly in real life situations.

The first idea to remind students of is context. Often with a foreign language we may know one way to say something, but did not grow up with the same social conversational conventions. They should probably do some research on the context they will be speaking in. They should then think about how they would respond in this situation. After that, a good model of the conversation utilizing target language could be helpful. Here, noticing some similarities and differences could be useful. Then, once learners notice the language they should have a chance to practice pron and usage in a controlled way. Finally, learners can practice this language in groups, or if alone, with a chatbot.

Optimal input: reading and listening adapted texts at the beginning and choosing more authentic texts is the key. It's necessary to increase cultural context awareness: 1. communicating with speakers from diverse cultural backgrounds; 2. Media Analysis: analyze videos, advertisements, or news articles. 3. Task-based Learning: focus on language functions relevant to different social contexts, such as making requests, giving opinions, or expressing formality. Role-play scenarios that mimic real-life situations, such as job interviews, casual conversations, or academic discussions.

It's absolutely essential to give learners a real-life task to practise in the safe environment of the classroom with a supportive coach, trainer, instructor or teacher. My learners are highly motivated to rehearse their presentations with me. It's a fantastic opportunity to get real time feedback and make any necessary adjustments to the delivery of the content. It's also the perfect time to work on pronunciation and to be sure that the important points are communicated clearly. I also like to play devil's advocate and ask many questions so my learner can practice responding spontaneously and builds confidence in responding to challenging questions that they may not have imagined. They are better prepared for the real event.

To tackle the issue of tone and register, I always compare language with clothes as this analogy resonates with most people. I remind my students of the attire we pick up for a gym, work in the garden or opera house. The same goes for language: we opt for different tools while chatting with a close friend or presenting a new project at a business meeting. After my students recognise the importance of understanding the connotation of words we use or the appropriacy of grammar structures, other questions arise. For example, how can a non-native speaker feel "the character" of the word? At this stage, I teach to work with dictionaries and AI. Understanding language context is part of our exam preparation at The Green Academy.

Learners are usually looking for feedback on all aspects of their speaking skills and it is important to give this feedback constructively in order to build confidence. I like to use a SWOT analysis method collaboratively with my learners. It works so well when I first ask them to evaluate specific skills or points in their performance, rather than me just giving them a list of all the mistakes they made.

It is crucial to convey that diverse situations demand distinct language choices. This encompasses formal scenarios such as interviews, casual interactions like conversations with friends, academic settings, and online communication. Effective strategies involve demonstrating proper language use through role-playing or real-life instances, teaching about formality levels and vocabulary usage, integrating social skills training, fostering class discussions, and offering real-world applications with feedback. Establishing a supportive and open learning environment that encourages students to experiment with language and receive feedback is paramount to their development of appropriate language skills across various social contexts.

The more tailor-made to the learner's specific real life situations, the more effective the language training will be. As other commenters have pointed out, learners find themselves in very specific and diverse situations. We cannot expect them to become masters of all situations, but we can help them to feel comfortable and competent in those situations and roles that matter most to them.