1. 1 Core English 1 Listening Task – p 158 Rhetorical Function Questions

2. 2 Rhetorical function indicates a speaker's intention, reaction, or attempt to influence the listener. Recognize such ideas as a plan, apology, compliment, criticism, complaint, or joke, etc. Hear what is said and understand why it is said.

3. 3 Qs depend on exactly how something is said. These qs often replay excerpts from the conversation or lecture. Listen actively and then relate a statement to what was said before and what is said after.

4. 4 Strategy 1: Be prepared to infer. Don't rely just on key words or structures.

5. 5 Strategy 3: Recognize the attitudes of the speakers. What kind of feelings are the speakers showing through intonation and vocabulary. If a professor describes a concept as extremely complex and sounds doubtful about the class's preparation, she might decide to delay the discussion of it until later.

6. 6 Strategy 4: Distinguish between rhetorical and interrogative questions. An interrogative question is a question used to gather information. It needs an answer. A rhetorical question is designed to influence the listener. There is no answer expected.

7. 7 Context and tone usually distinguish the difference between an interrogative and rhetorical question. Eg "How old are you?" Two students getting to know each other often want to find out each other's age. Most likely, she would stress the word old when asking the question: "How OLD are you?"

8. 8 A college student is misbehaving in class. The professor might ask "HOW old ARE you?" This gives a tone of sarcasm. The professor doesn't really want to know the student's age; he is trying to discourage the student's bad behavior by embarrassing him and implying that he is acting like a child.

9. 9 Other purposes of rhetorical questions: To express an opinion: "How can they charge so much?" a reaction to a very high price. To express a feeling: "Why me?" a response to the third bad thing that has happened in one day. To make a request or give a command: "Would you stop talking?" a teacher's response to students in class.

10. 10 Strategy 5: Pay attention to stress and intonation. Although stress is a common and natural part of English, speakers often stress certain words to convey specific meaning.

11. 11 Eg A teacher is giving a demonstration of a chemical experiment: Professor: Now, once you add the powder, the TUBE will become VERY HOT. The professor is not just describing the reaction; she is also warning the students to be careful. Because the statement is serious, the teacher would use a falling, or low, tone.

12. 12 Question Forms Why does the student say/mention/refer to X? Why does the professor say/mention/refer to X? Listen again to part of the conversation/lecture... [An excerpt is heard] What does the student/professor mean when she/he says this: [A specific part of the excerpt is repeated]

13. 13 Distracters Distracter 1: The answer choice repeats vocabulary, but it is impossible or highly unlikely. This type of distracter repeats a word, phrase, or whole expression from the passage, but the answer choice is illogical based on the context.

14. 14 Eg, a conversation between a student and professor: Professor: Hello, John. What can I do for you? Student: Actually, Professor, I'd hate to sound inconsiderate, but can I run back to my dorm for a second? I just realized that my notes are still on my desk. Professor: (falling intonation) As you can see, John, there is a line of students outside my office waiting to see me during these office hours.

15. 15 "Why does the professor refer to the students waiting to speak with him?" The context (time, place, identity, tone, surrounding statements) is extremely important for understanding the rhetorical function of the professor's statement. The statement follows the student's request and the falling intonation indicates a negative attitude.

16. 16 If you ignore or miss the context, you may choose an incorrect answer, such as "to recommend that he borrow notes from a student in line!' This choice repeats the nouns notes and line from the conversation, but the choice is not logical. There's no reason for the professor to make the suggestion. Instead, the professor's statement is best understood as a negative reaction or response to the student's request. A correct answer could be that the professor wants "to insist that the student not waste time" or "to show disapproval of the student's request."

17. 17 Distracter 2: The answer choice is a possible rhetorical function in a different context. The choice is still wrong based on the specific context of the conversation or lecture that you hear in the test. Eg, the professor's reference to the line could indicate pride or surprise in different contexts, so an example of Distracter 2 could describe the function of the professor's statement as "to boast about his popularity" or "to show surprise at the number of students!'

18. 18 A boast would be off-topic or irrelevant. A boast would probably come from someone else, not a professor, since it seems inappropriate for a professor to brag about his popularity (although it isn't impossible). There are no clues that the line up is unexpected, so an expression of surprise would seem off-topic. To be correct, the distracters would also require a slight change in intonation. The falling intonation indicated in the transcript suggests displeasure, and an expression of pride or surprise would require a more positive, rising, or fluctuating intonation.

19. 19 Practice P 161 Now, practice Rhetorical Function questions for a conversation and a lecture. Also, for the lecture, you can review main idea and detail questions. CD 1, Track 12 Q 16 CD 1, Track 13 Q 17 CD 1, Track 14 CD 1, Track 15 Q 18 CD 1, Track 16 Qs 19, 20, 21, 22