Language and Culture: Interpersonal Communication
This domain tests your ability to design spontaneous, unrehearsed interaction in which learners negotiate meaning and sustain conversation in the target language.
Core rules and concepts
- Interpersonal communication is two-way and spontaneous; both participants contribute, clarify, and repair breakdowns.
- Tasks need information gaps, opinions, and unpredictable elements. Yes/no questions do not sustain interaction.
- Aim for at least 90% target-language use with comprehensible input; use recasts and clarification requests rather than interrupting every error.
- Culture lives in interaction: register, politeness, turn-taking, and gesture are part of what students learn.
Worked example
Novice-high pairs plan a weekend outing with a 50-euro budget using a map and transit schedule. Each partner has different opening hours for two sites. The teacher circulates and records evidence against Can-Do statements. Reasoning: the differing information forces negotiation; the budget and schedule constrain language; assessment focuses on task completion, comprehensibility, and repair rather than grammar accuracy alone.
Traps that cost marks
- Grading a scripted dialogue as interpersonal communication.
- Correcting every error and stopping the flow.
- Assigning tasks each student can complete alone.
- Assessing only vocabulary recall instead of interaction.
- Ignoring register and politeness as cultural content.