Meeting with advisors
Speech acts: Practice Refusals
Refusing a Friend's Invitation
Refusing a Professor's Advice:
| Situation 1 | Selecting a linguistics class for next year |
|---|---|
| Situation 2 | Selecting an English class for next year |
| Situation 3 | Final Paper Review |
For each of the situations, imagine yourself at your advisor's office. Read each situation carefully and press [start] when you are ready to begin the advising session. Take a minute to look over the conversation. You will have 15 seconds to respond.
Situation 1: Selecting a linguistics class for next year
ADVISOR-STUDENT. It is class registration time and you go to your advisor's office to finalize your schedule for next year. After exchanging greetings, your professor begins advising session.
Press [start] when you are ready.
ADVISOR: [Professor begins advising session] [Tone]
YOU: Respond: Briefly agree with your professor's suggestion and provide a reason for not taking the class. [Tone]
ADVISOR: [Professor responds] [Tone]
YOU: Respond. Provide a partial agreement response, then an alternative or a suggestion. [Tone]
ADVISOR: [Professor ends advising session].
Situation 2: Selecting an English class for next year
PROFESSOR-STUDENT. It is class registration time. You go to your advisor's office to finalize your schedule for next year. After exchanging greetings, your professor begins advising session.
Press [start] when you are ready.
ADVISOR: [Professor begins advising session] [Tone]
YOU: Respond: Briefly agree with your professor's suggestion and offer a mitigated refusal for not taking the class. [Tone]
ADVISOR: [Professor responds] [Tone]
YOU: Respond. After a partial agreement response, end the conversation with a strategy that postpones this class. [Tone]
ADVISOR: [Professor ends advising session]
Situation 3: Final paper review
PROFESSOR-STUDENT. You go to your advisor's office to discuss the comments she gave you on your final paper. After exchanging greetings, your professor begins advising session.
Press [start] when you are ready.
ADVISOR: [Professor begins advising session] [Tone]
STUDENT: Respond. Briefly acknowledge your professor's suggestions, and provide a reason that shows your partial disagreement with your professor's suggestion. [Tone]
ADVISOR: [Professor responds] [Tone]
STUDENT: Respond. Open your turn with a brief positive response, and offer a suggestion or an alternative. [Tone]
ADVISOR: [Professor responds]
Refusing a Friend's Invitation
| Situation 1 | Refusing a Friend's Invitation |
|---|---|
| Situation 2 | Refusing a Friend's Invitation |
Select Situation #1 if you are a male student (male friends) or Situation #2 if you are a female student (female friends).
For each of the following situations imagine that you run into one of your friends on campus. Read each situation carefully and press START] when you are ready to begin the conversation.
Take a minute to look over the conversation. You will have 15 seconds to respond.
Situation 1: Refusing a male's friend's invitation
MALE-MALE. You are walking on campus and you run into a friend who invites you to his birthday party. When your friend sees you he begins the conversation.
Press [start] when you are ready.
FRIEND: Your friend says hi to you]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond and greet your friend.
[Tone]
FRIEND: Your friend responds and talks about his birthday party]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. Ask for the date again?
[Tone]
FRIEND: Your friend responds]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. Explain why you can't attend the party.
FRIEND: Your friend responds]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. Begin your response with a brief expression of agreement or positive opinion. Decline your friend's invitation again. Be firm and polite in your response. Then, respond with a suggestion of getting together at another time for drinks, lunch, or dinner.
[Tone]
FRIEND: Your friend responds]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. Ask your friend if it's okay
[Tone]
FRIEND: Your friend responds]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. End the conversation with a brief good-bye response.
Situation #2: Refusing a female friend's invitation to her graduation party
FEMALE-FEMALE. You are walking on campus and you run into a friend who invites you to her graduation party. When your friend sees you she begins the conversation.
Press [start] when you are ready.
FRIEND: Your friend says hi]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond and greet your friend.
[Tone]
FRIEND: Your friend responds and talks about his birthday party]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. Provide a brief positive response and thank your friend for inviting you. Explain why you can't come. Be firm and polite in your response.
[Tone]
FRIEND: [Your friend responds]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. Express regret for missing this important event and make a suggestion to go out later and celebrate.
[Tone]
FRIEND: [Your friend responds]
[Tone]
YOU: Respond. End the conversation.