Focus on the following stages in order to build your PEEEL paragraphs for your assessment. Ensure that you check the assessment question with your teacher and have the correct transcript to enable you to do this well at home.

At a wedding reception, J is talking about family history with her cousin, E, her friend, T, and her aunts M and S. The latter only laughs in this transcript. J:so which which of our grandmothers made Queen Mary’s cami-knickers E: Queen Mary’s cami-knickers J:that is the important question T:I’m surprised they weren’t signed in whatever some official secrets thing All:(laughter) E:what what that Queen Mary wore cami-knickers actually J: yeah E:wore cami-knickers J:she wore cami-knickers M:did she actually wear knickers well you know (laughter) it’s a big question J:it is a big question M:well I do know mum made underwear whether she made (.) for whoever it is I don’t know This overlap could be a sign of support and it could also be that E anticipates the mention of cami-knickers and finds it amusing. Overlaps are common where a speaker seems to have come to the end of an utterance. Years of listening mean we are attuned to the subtle signals of this and often anticipate it. This filler allows thinking time. Spontaneous means unplanned – so we think as we speak and hesitations are a way of gaining time. A speaker can be interrupted during a pause, but this is less likely with a filler. This overlap is co-operative, showing support for the speaker. An overlap here could mean J wants to speak, but waiting her turn might result in another speaker intercepting and the approval / support being lost. The hedges here could be to spare the listeners’ feelings. M is questioning J’s original assumption that a grandparent made a queen’s underwear, and then is softening the impact further with a laugh and question. Even in friendly chatter, the need to soften contradictions is important to us. These two speakers repeat themselves. In these instances it seems that the repetition gains them thinking time – rather than pausing in case the talk is taken by another speaker. J does not say the more casual It’s, but it is; thus emphasising her utterance. Example annotations: ensure that you have annotated your transcript first and that it is as detailed as this.

You then need to select the BEST techniques (the ones which you feel you can discuss in lots of depth) and practise writing PEEEL paragraphs which answer the question that your teacher has given you. Create a mind map or table to plan your paragraphs, intro and conclusion.

Now turn your mind map plan into FOUR detailed PEEEL paragraphs, using this structure to help you: Point: Introduce which technique you’re discussing and what part of the transcript it is in (beginning, middle, end). Explain when and why this might normally be used. Evidence: Provide your evidence. Explain: Explain the reasons why the speaker may be speaking like this- why is that feature of spoken language normally used by some one and what is its normal effect? Explore: Now go into more depth, exploring the effect on the audience when the speaker uses that technique. Search for alternative meanings and potential reactions for the higher marks. If it’s an interruption, for example, the audience may think that’s rude OR they see it as him being excited or over enthusiastic. Link: Now explain any paralinguistic features that are used at the same time, for example tone of voice. Does it also change at this moment and what does this suggest? AND discuss the context. Why might this be appropriate for a the situation that the speaker is in? Is it actually inappropriate for the situation? If so, how and what negative effect may this have?

In the conversation between Scott mills and John Bishop, their ideolects are different. Socialect is where you talk differently in certain groups and use certain words in those groups, for example teachers and students. In this case it’s a radio DJ and a stand-up comedian. Scott Mills uses …………………………………………… and John Bishop uses …………………………………………………… These both demonstrate that the speakers feel comfortable in their situations, as they are using their own, informal turns of phrase. They are, perhaps, both friends and can relax around one another. It could, however, demonstrate that they both have strong personalities and ……………………………………….. This conversation is a friendly and light-hearted one and they don’t fall out by the end of it, so their use of ideolect has worked well. Furthermore, this is suitable for a national radio station because ……………………………………………………………………………………….. Here is an example paragraph from last year’s assessments to help you get started. It has parts of PEEEL missing or not completed but you can use some of the sentence starters and phrasings to help you. Use it as an example of how to set your work out, then do yours BETTER.

BAND 4: Confident explanation and analysis of how others use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes Confident analysis and reflection on features found in some spoken language data Confident analysis of some issues arising from public attitudes to spoken language varieties In the conversation between Scott mills and John Bishop, their ideolects are different. Socialect is where you talk differently in certain groups and use certain words in those groups, for example teachers and students This can be used to show that a person is feeling relaxed, or can demonstrate that they are asserting their individuality or trying to alienate someone. In this case it’s a radio DJ and a stand-up comedian. Scott Mills uses …………………………………………… and John Bishop uses …………………………………………………… These both demonstrate that the speakers feel comfortable in their situations, as they are using their own, informal turns of phrase. They are, perhaps, both friends and can relax around one another. It could, however, demonstrate that they both have strong personalities and that they are confident enough to use words or phrases that others may not understand. This could be seen as impolite, however both speakers seem to enjoy the conversation and do not take the ideolect as rude. In another situation, such as a job interview, this may alienate others and cause the to think you are rude.