SPEECH ACT

ORAL COMMUNICATION
Grade 11

By: Ms. Gemma F. Lamsen

By the end of the lesson, you will have
been able to :
• define speech acts;
• distinguish types of speech act;
• recognize that communicative competence requires
understanding of speech acts;
• demonstrate effective use of communicative strategy
in a variety of speech situations;
• apply learning and thinking skills, life skills, and ICT
literacy in understanding the types of speech acts;
and
• reflect on your learning on the types of speech acts.
With a partner, take the quiz below and check if you can discern
the meaning behind the utterance. You have five minutes to
answer the exercise. Write the letter of your answer.

1. Consider the phrase: “I now declare Martial

Law.” Who among the following can say this
phrase and make martial law actually happen?
a. President of the country
b. My pregnant neighbor
c. A retired veterinarian
d. A famous rock star
With a partner, take the quiz below and check if you can discern
the meaning behind the utterance. You have five minutes to
answer the exercise. Write the letter of your answer.

1. What do you think does the speaker mean

when he/she says, “Can you open the door?”
a. The speaker wants to know if I have the
ability to open the door.
b. The speaker is requesting me to open the
door.
c. The speaker does not make sense.
d. The speaker is asking me a question.
With a partner, take the quiz below and check if you can discern
the meaning behind the utterance. You have five minutes to
answer the exercise. Write the letter of your answer.

1. You and your friend who has a fever enter your

room. She shivers and tells you, “It’s cold in
here!” How would you interpret what she said?
a. She feels cold.
b. She wants me to increase the temperature in the
room.
c. She does not feel well because of the cold.
d. She is complimenting the temperature in my
room.
With a partner, take the quiz below and check if you can discern
the meaning behind the utterance. You have five minutes to
answer the exercise. Write the letter of your answer.

1. Based on the scenario in item number 3, what

would your next action be?
a. I will thank my friend.
b. I will agree with her and say that the room is
cold.
c. I will increase the temperature to decrease
the coldness.
d. I will ignore my friend.
With a partner, take the quiz below and check if you can discern
the meaning behind the utterance. You have five minutes to
answer the exercise. Write the letter of your answer.

1. In which of the following statements is the

speaker making a commitment?
a. “I checked her Facebook profile yesterday.”
b. “I’m in love and I’m happy!”
c. “I promise to love you for better or for
worse.”
d. “I think following my suggestion will get us a
high grade.”
Exercise I (Pair)
• Watch the first video of telephone conversations
through this link.
• With your partner, discuss your answers to the
following questions.
• a. What greeting is used by the customer service agent?
• b. What form of personal identification is used by the
agent?
• c. What pre-closing signals are used by the agent?
• d. What closing is used by the agent?