Introduction
Hi! I am Chunxiao Han, a second year PhD student at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.
You are invited and very welcome to participate in this section, if your first language is British English and you were raised and currently live in the UK.
You will complete a Discourse Completion Task (DCT), which requires you to record your answers for different scenarios.
The information obtained and your identity will be kept strictly confidential. There is no known risk associated with this research. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me through e-mail: ch945@cam.ac.uk
In the following, you will see 16 scenarios. Each scenario contains a detailed description of the setting. After reading each description, please say what you would say in this situation.
Please note that there is no right or wrong answer, and your natural response would be appreciated.
Steps: Click “Start recording” → Record your answers (can be reviewed and redone) → put in your name (only for Q1) → Click “Send”
1. Asking a friend to lend you class notes
You were absent from last Friday’s history class that you are enrolled in. So, you decide to ask your friend, Sam, for his class notes to catch up with the rest of the class.
You say: _________________________________________________
2. Asking a waiter for a beef steak
You are having dinner in an expensive restaurant. You want to order a beef steak, medium rare. What are you going to say to the waiter?
You say: _________________________________________________
3. Asking a roommate to play music more quietly
Your new roommate at university, James, who is three years younger than you, keeps playing loud music late at night and you are having trouble sleeping. You want James to play the music more quietly.
You say: _________________________________________________
4. Asking the supervisor to reschedule a meeting
You arranged a meeting with your supervisor, Linda Smith, who is recently very busy. On the morning of the meeting, you wake up with a terrible cold. You attend her seminar but feel too ill to meet her afterwards. You go to her during a short break and ask her for another appointment.
You say: _________________________________________________
5. Asking a professor to speak louder
You are attending a seminar. The professor, Paul Johnson, is explaining a new concept, but you cannot hear him very well. You ask him to speak louder. What are you going to say?
You say: _________________________________________________
6. Asking a store manager to exchange a shirt
You have bought a shirt from a big store for your father, but he doesn’t like its colour. You decide to go to the clothes store and ask the manager of the store to allow you to exchange the shirt.
You say: _________________________________________________
7. Asking a policeman to withdrawal a ticket
You park your car in a 5-minute temporary parking zone in a busy commercial area and go to buy some take-away food. You run a bit late as you have to queue in the take-away shop. When you come back to your car, to your horror, you see an officer is about to issue a ticket to your car. You know this will cost you dearly and want to persuade him to withdraw the ticket.
You say: _________________________________________________
8. Asking a professor for directions to the Trent Building
You are in the corridor of your department. Your next seminar is taking place in the Trent Building, but you don’t know where the Trent Building is. A professor, whom you do not know personally, is walking down the corridor towards you. You ask him for directions to the Trent Building.
You say: _________________________________________________
9. Rejecting a friend’s invitation
You meet your friend, Sara, in the library, and she invites you to go hiking this weekend to relax and release some stress. You have an essay due next week, and you want to finalise your project this weekend.
Friend: Oh, I feel I’ve been working around the clock forever! I am thinking about taking a break and hiking this weekend for a break. Would you like to join me?
You say: _________________________________________________
10. Rejecting a classmate’s offer
You are at your classmate, Emma’s house for lunch. She has prepared several delicious dishes that you like very much. The desserts are particularly tasty. She offers you another piece of cake. However, you are full already.
Classmate: How about another piece of cake?
You say: _________________________________________________
11. Rejecting a friend’s proposal
Your friend, Sara, invites you to a dinner tomorrow at Browns in Queens Road. However, your budget is quite tight this term and Browns happens to be very expensive.
Friend: How about going for dinner tomorrow at Browns? We haven’t seen each other for a while. It would be good to catch up.
You say: _________________________________________________
12. Rejecting the supervisor’s invitation
Your supervisor, Linda Smith, invites you to dinner.
Supervisor: How about coming over for dinner Sunday night? We’re having a small dinner party.
You say: _________________________________________________
Supervisor: OK, no worries, maybe another time.
13. Rejecting the supervisor’s offer
You are attending a social event in your department. Your supervisor, Linda Smith, is offering you some Chinese pineapple cake. However, you don’t like it.
Supervisor: This plate of Chinese pineapple cake looks nice. Would you like some?
You say: _________________________________________________
14. Rejecting a classmate’s request
You attend classes regularly and take good notes. Your classmate, Emma, often misses classes and asks you for the lecture notes.
Classmate: Oh God! We have an exam tomorrow, but I don’t have the notes from last week. I am sorry to ask you this, but could you please lend me your notes again?
You say: _________________________________________________
Classmate: OK, then I guess I’ll have to ask somebody else.
15. Rejecting the boss’ request
Working as an intern, you are at the office in a meeting with your boss, Andrew White. It is getting close to the end of the day, and you want to leave work.
Boss: If you don’t mind, I’d like you to spend an extra hour or two tonight so that we can finish up with this work.
You say: _________________________________________________
Boss: That’s too bad. I was hoping you could stay.
16. Rejecting a lecturer’s request
During the break, your course lecturer, Paul Johnson, asks you to give a presentation in next Wednesday’s seminar. You really have many other things to do at the moment, and you don’t have enough time to prepare for the presentation.
Lecturer: Hi, we need more presenters for our seminar next Wednesday. Would you like to present your project?
You say: _________________________________________________
That’s all! 🙂
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