Thesis Sugar 2015 [619524]

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MASARYK UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF EDUCATION

ANALYSES OF SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCES IN THE ELT
TEXT BOOKS IN A2 LEVEL ACCORDING TO THE CEFR

Mgr. Ivana Sugar

doc. PhDr. Renata Povolná , Ph.D.
2015

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Declaration
I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the sources listed in
the bibliography .

……………..……………………………………..
Ivana Sugar

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Acknowledgements

I take this opportunity to express gratitude to doc. PhDr. Renata Povolná, Ph.D., for
her great patience, kind support, valuable advice, comments and guidance during the
supervision of my final thesis.
I also thank my family for their continuous encouragement and support.

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Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………. 6
II. THEORY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………….. 7
2.1 Politeness ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……….. 7
2.2 Sociolinguistics ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………….. 11
2.3 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
Learning, Teaching, Assessment ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………… 16
2.3.1 Historical Events Which Led to Establishing the CEFR …………………. 16
2.3.2 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ……… 19
2.3.3 Sociolinguistic Competence Defined in CEFR ………………………….. ……….. 20
2.3.4 Communicative Activities and Strategies Defined in CEFR with a
Focus on Sociolinguistic Compete nce for Level A2 …………………………. 23
III. METHODOLOGY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……… 28
IV. TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC
ASPECTS ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………….. 30
4.1 A Brief Overview of the Evaluated Textbooks ………………………….. ……………………… 30
4.1.1 Way to Win ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………….. 30
4.1.2 Project ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………… 31
4.2 Analysis of the Sociolinguistic Aspects in Way to Win and Project
Textbook s ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……. 33
4.2.1 Cross -Cultural Awareness ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………. 34
4.2.2 Greeting, Addressing and Showing Interest ………………………….. ………….. 43
4.2.3 Expressions for Introductions and Invitations ………………………….. …….. 49
4.2.4 Degree of Politeness ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. 51
4.2.5 Requests ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 51
4.2.6 Expressions for Suggestions and Offers ………………………….. …………………. 56
4.2.7 Giving Opinion ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 58
4.2.8 Making Arrangements ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………. 58
4.2.9 Expressions for Apologies and Polite Refusals ………………………….. …….. 60
4.2.10 Expressions for Gratitude and Politeness Markers ………………………… 61
4.2.11 Intonation ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………. 62
4.2.12 Mediation ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………. 64
4.2.13 Combination of Competences in Dialogues ………………………….. …………… 65
V. CONCLUSION ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 69
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………. 72
VII. APPENDICES ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 75
7.1 Cross -Cultural awareness ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …. 75
7.2 Greeting, Addressing and Showing Interest ………………………….. ……………………….. 85
7.3 Expressions for Introductions and Invitations ………………………….. ………………….. 89

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7.4 Degree of Politeness ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 91
7.5 Requests ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……… 91
7.6 Expressions for Suggestions and Offers ………………………….. ………………………….. …… 94
7.7 Giving Opinion ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………. 95
7.8 Making Arrangements ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……….. 96
7.9 Expressions for Apologies and Polite Refusals ………………………….. ………………….. 97
7.10 Expressions for Gratitude and Politeness Markers ………………………….. …………. 98
7.11 Intonation ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. .. 100
7.12 Mediation Skill ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………… 101
7.13 Combination of Competences in Dialogues ………………………….. ……………………… 102

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I. Introduction

Politeness is an expression in relation to other people’s feelings. Being polite
involves a combination of suitable words, grammar or intonation in its context. The
learners should, alongside their linguistic and pragmatic skills, be able to express
speci fic attitudes, such as respect, friendliness or courtesy; and be able to recognise
other person’s attitudes. Such competence, called sociolinguistic competence, should be
a part of the process of acquiring a new language.
The main aim of the thesis is to ascertain whether and how the sociolinguistic
competence is dealt with in two series of textbooks, namely Way to Win and Project .
Both analysed series of textbooks belong to the A2 level according to the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languag es: Learning, Teaching, Assessment
(CEFR) , and therefore they are suitable for the 6th to 9th grade learners in the Czech
educational system.
The theoretical part begins with a general introduction to the phenomenon of
politeness; moreover, sociolinguist ic competence is described and observed from the
CEFR document.
In the practical part, selected activities that emphasize the content of the
sociolinguistic competences are compared and analysed; also their quality and methods
that should effectively enha nce the sociolinguistic competence within four skills, i.e.,
speaking, writing, reading and listening, in each textbook.

There are three hypotheses I have researched in this thesis which are to be
verified:
1. Do the textbooks provide suitable activities for enhancing the sociolinguistic
competences?
2. In what form and quality are delivered to learners via the selected textbooks
the activities that should intensify the sociolinguistic awareness?
3. Do the activities with sociolinguistic competences features meet
recommendations according to the CEFR?

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II. Theory

2.1 Politeness
DEFINITION OF POLITEN ESS
Politeness is behaving or acting in a way that is correct for the social situation
you are in, and showing that you are careful to consider other people’s needs and
feelings .1 In other words, politeness shows awareness of another person's public self –
image.2

DIFFERENT VIEWS ON POLITENESS STRATEGIES
According to Brown and Levinson (19 87: 13 ), politeness should match with the
foundation of human social life. Since politeness deals with human interaction, there
must be some universal principles . This universality suits to any society in the world,
regardless the complexity of its social and econ omic life.

The politeness principle was introduced by Leech (1983 : 83). According to Leech,
the politeness principle works in conjunction with the co-operative principle which was
introduced by Grice (1975) . Leech identifies six associated politeness maxims . The
maxims are labelled as tact, generosity, approbation , modesty, agreement , and sympathy .
These maxims vary from culture to culture. The purpose of those principles is to
establish a feeling of community and social relationship.

Yule (1996: 60) argues that “politeness may be considered as a fixed concept ,
more specifically, as “polite social behaviour, or etiquette, within a culture” .

POLITENESS FOR APPROPRIATENESS
Meier (1997:21) holds the view that “research invoking Brown and Levinson’s theory of
politeness in order to determine ‘rules of politeness’ should not form the basis of the
reaching of ‘politeness phenomena’ in foreign and second language pedagogy. Rather, a
refocusing is called for which v iews politeness as appropriateness. Such a view has
implications for the foreign and second language classroom that centre on cultural

1 Definition of politeness according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. ( 2005).
2 Definition of politeness according to Yule, G. (1996) Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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awareness -raising.” Meier ( Ibid. ) also proposes that “the most useful working definition
of politeness for appropriateness second language pedagogy is that of appropriateness .”
With regard to the above -mentioned fact , the contextual factors become very important.
Contextual factors as well as communicative acts have often different values and
interpretations ac ross cultures. What is , therefore, seen as a formal context in one
culture may be seen as informal in another.

CONTEXT OF SITUATION
According to Halliday’s theory of context of situation (1971), an act of
communication is a social process which happens for a specific purpose in specific
circumstances; therefore, different context is used in different situations. It has three
significant components: the underlying social activity, the persons involved in that
activity and the particular functions accorded to the text within it: technically labelled as
the field, the tenor and the mode of discourse. These three elements make possible for
the speaker/writer to orient himself/herself in the context of situation (as stated in
Dontcheva -Navratilova 2005: 11 -12). Halliday (1971: 165) explains that "context is in
this kind of model a construct of cultural meanings, realised functionally in the form of
acts of meaning in the various semiotic modes, of which language is one. The ongoing
processes of linguistic c hoice, whereby a speaker is selecting within the resources of the
linguistic system, are effectively cultural choices, and acts of meaning are cultural acts."

FIRST AND SECOND ORDER (IM)POLITENESS
Watts (2003 : 47 ) brings a rather different approach of linguistic politeness – a
concept of a first -order and second -order (im )politeness. In this theory there are
distinguished unprofessional , folk interpretations of politeness adopted in the
community from the linguistic and professional theoretical terms th at have a basis in a
pragmatic and sociolinguistic discipline. Watts points out that the proper object of study
in politeness theory must be “common sense” definiti ons of politeness and impoliteness.
The same linguist (2003: 9) also emphasizes that “…investigating the first -order
politeness is the only valid means of developing a social theory of politeness.” Moreover ,
he seeks to demonstrate how (im)politeness is historically and culturally variable,
constituted by and through power relations.

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IRONY AND OTHER POLITENESS STRATEGIES
In their latest study, Brown and Levinson (2004: 28) state that “irony is another
phenomenon [they] considered which has received considerable attention recently,
partially as a critical case used to challenge or ref ine other theories.” The use of irony
and joking behaviour in conversations shows positively polite stressing of in -group
knowledge and common attitudes. Other linguistic realizations of positive politeness
strategies are the use of slang or ritual abu se. Brown and Levinson’s (Ibid.) study of
“deixis in kin term usage provides evidence that quite young children can do this ki nd of
point -of-view switching.”

The politeness phenomena are widely complicated. For example, according to the
study by Walper and V altin (2005), the intimate relationship within a family is in
contrast with the friendships. In family, children are more opened, whereas
relationships among friends seem to have less weight with honesty.

Watts, Ide and Ehlich (2005: 5) hold the view that “a speaker for whom politeness
directly or indirectly implies social stigmatisation and exclusion from the institutional
acquisition of status and thereby the ability to exercise power over others is not likely to
think o f politeness in positive term s.”

Name Year of edition View on politeness strategies
Brown and Levinson 1978 universal principles of politeness
Leech 1983 six “polite maxims”: maxims of tact, generosity,
approbation, modesty, agreement, and
sympathy.
Yule 1996 politeness as a “fixed concept” within society
Meier 1997 politeness for “ appropriateness”
Watts 2003 concept of a first -order (im )politeness and
second order (im )politeness.
Table 1: Overview of the research into the politeness phenomena

POLITENES STRATEGIES IN TEXTB OOKS
Politeness strategies can also be understood as part of a more general framework
of strategic behaviour. For example, requests can be divided into direct requests, such as
Close the door, please and indirect requests, such as Could you close the door, please? and
hints, for instance, It is cold in here, where intentions and attitudes can be inferred.
Negotiation strategies imply that a meaning can be formulated according to the
particular situati on and context.

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A brief review into a nationwide survey in the U.S. shows that the majority of
TESOL3 programmes include pragmatics in the teacher education curriculum in some
ways. However, the same survey has also found out that the treatment of pragmat ics in
teacher training courses often centres on theory rather than on practical applications
(Ishihara, 2011).

Figure 1: TESOL programmes which contain the study of pragmatics. (Adapted from “Co-Constructing
Pragmatic Awareness: Instructional Pragmatics in EFL Teacher Development in Japan” (Ishihara 2011 )).

CONCLUSION
As part of pragmatics, the politeness phenomena have drawn attention of many
researchers, especially since Brown and Levinson's universality of politeness was
published in 1987. Many researchers have come up with their reactions against this
universality by showing s ome evidence that the politeness phenomena are different
from one culture to another. These differences can create misunderstanding and
miscommunication which is called pragmatic failure. Pragmatic failure occurs not only
in the utterances of non -native sp eakers of English, but it may also occur in the
utterances produced by the native speakers of English who lack the pragmatic
competence. In the teaching of English as a foreign language, the pragmatic competence
of the teachers and learners should become a great concern. Research studies in
pragmatics area have shown that both teachers and learners of English as a second or
foreign language tend to lack pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence (Darmach,
2009) .

3 TESOL – the abbreviation stands for a professional association with attitude to Teaching English to
Speakers of Other Languages.
TESOL p rogramm es include the study of pragmatic s
theoretical orientation
practical orientation

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2.2 Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics is a branch of linguistics . It is a combination of sociology and
linguistic s and it is also comple men ted with other scientific fields , such as social
psychology, gender studies, public policy management, political science and history
(Spolsky,1998: 7) .
Another explanation is made by Spolsky (1998: 3) who states that
“Sociolinguistics is the field that studies the relation between language and society,
between the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of language
live. It is a fiel d of study that assumes that human society is made up of many related
patterns and behaviours, some of which are linguistic.”
As the language is a means of communication, its consequent function is also to
develop social relationships. Almost every person is able to build a social relationship
with varieties of groups and use an appropriate style of communication in certain social
groups to achieve his/her communication purpose. One will use a different style of
addressing, possibly the informal and famili ar style, with the friends and family
members and the formal style, for example with the respected members of the Royal
family. Spolsky (1998: 5) also pointed out the fact that “The existence of patterned
variation in language makes it possible to identify ourselves and others as belonging to
certain groups.”

LANGUAGE AND ITS USE IN SOCIAL CONTEXT
Sociolinguistics studies the complex connection between the variations within
the language and variations within the social groups. Such differences can show t he
specific variations of pronunciation and grammar. Those minor variations can reveal
whether the speaker is a native or non -native one, what nation he/she is from; or even
the geographical information, such as what part of the country and city the speake r
comes from. It can also naturally reveal his/her social or economic background.
Sociolinguistics studies those aspects of language which can inform us about the social
and regional variations.

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(Spolsky 1998 : 6) claims that “As much as speech itself communicates content, so
the form of speech, the selection among available society marked variants,
communicates important social information about the speaker and the listener and
about their relationship to each other.”
Another view on the social communi cation is called sociology of language which
focuses on the language and its role in the society.

FUNCIONS OF LANGUAGE
According to Jakobson (1960), the act of communication is a process of exchange
of meanings in particular situations. Jakobson distin guishes various components of the
communication act. The communication is made between the participants, the addresser ,
who is a person who speaks, and the addressee , i.e., the person who receives the
information. The message carries the meaning and cannot be understood without its
context (as stated in Dontcheva -Navratilova 2005: 15).
The context of a given message relies on the surrounding reality, such as shared
knowledge and cultural background, the environment, or – in the case of a written
message – the co-text which can influence the meaning of the message. The contact can
be realized by a f ace-to-face interaction, through the communicating media as a letter,
phone or e -mail. The code is a system of sings used to encode and decode the language.
In other words, it refers to the knowledge of a common language both participants speak
(Ibid. : 15) .

Chart 1: Language components by R. Jacobson (Adapted from Dontcheva -Navrátilová 2005) . CONTEXT
MESSAGE
ADDRESSER ADDRESEE
CONTACT
CODE

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Each of these six labels has a different function of language. The diversity in these
functions is a result of a different hierarchical order of functions. These six functions of
communication can be analyzed as follows :
The Referential function is connected with the context in space and time; it is
typically expressed by statements , thus being the most obvious function of language.
The Emotive function focuses on the addresser to express feelings and emotions, such as
surprise, pleasure or annoyance; it is typically expressed by interjections, exclamation
marks and emphatic intonation patterns. The Conative function focuses on the addressee
to affect his /her behaviour; it is typically expressed by vocatives and imperatives. The
Phatic function focuses on the contac t and its function is to establish, maintain or end the
communication act . The Metalingual function focuses on the code and it is very often
used in the process of language learning or when the language is used to speak about the
language itself. The Poetic function is oriented toward s the message ; it is used in
advertisement s, newspaper headline s or public speaking with the main purpose to
emphasize the form by using , e.g., repetition, neologism, rhythm or sound change (Ibid.:
17).

Chart 2: Language functions by Jacobson (adopted from Dontcheva -Navrátilová 2005)

ETHNOGRAPHY OF SPEAKING
The e thnography of speaking is one of the fields of sociolinguistics. It is derived
from anthropology and it also co mprises the basic study of conversation and politeness.
In the 1960s, a US sociolinguist Dell Hymes opened the new subject to explore in
the Ethnography of speaking , which examines the use of a language in the context of the
situation together with its speakers and their speaking habits as one subject. The EMOTIVE
METALINGUAL PHATIC REFERENTIAL
POETIC
CONATIVE

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sociocultural context is therefore the chief aspect. Hymes defines eight distinct factors,
each associated with a different function (as stated in Spolsky 1998 : 14):
 Speaker -writer ,
 Hearer -reader ,
 The message form passed between them (code) ,
 The message form expresses a topic (channel) ,
 Emotive or expressive function,
 Referential or denotive function .

CONVERSATION
Conversation is the most common type of speech event. It is made by
conversation interchanges, exchanges of the basic units of the spoken language.
Conversation includes all aspects of a speech event. Those various aspects are for med
according to the social situation and cultural patterns, in other words, they are
determined by the speech event and social rules. An example can be a telephone call.
The speaker opens the conversation with a formal greeting and a short introduction an d
this is expected to be followed by some kind of a formal and polite answer, which can
vary in different social groups. To oppose the fact that the call is ended without a formal
close can be considered as an insulting behaviour (Spolsky, 1998: 16).
Socia lly structured rules for conversational interchanges count with various
aspects. There are different rules for turn -taking and interruption, invitations or other
common patterns of social intercourse conversations (Ibid.: 18).
Turn -taking is as the most frequent interchange, used in everyday life situations,
also formal events, such as trials or parliament speech es, where each participant is
aware of the socially established rules, while the informal conversation usually depends
on the pow er and status of the participants. The term floor taking is formulated as “the
right to talk .” It changes according to rules in a given social group. The influence of social
aspects is therefore significantly important (Ibid.).

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POLITENESS AND POLITENESS FORMULAS
A speech act can be modified to express a variety of meanings with a variety of
attitudes between the speaker and the listener. Politeness is a kind of attitude which
respects the listener ’s rights in a given situation (Ibid.: 19).
Requests as a means of polite inquiry are usually made indirectly in the form of a
question or statement, by adding politeness markers like please or thank you .
Complimenting is another social act that eases the conversation by showing interest and
positiv e attitudes between conversation participants (Ibid.: 20).

GREETINGS
Respect to the social group can be given by greetings. As Spolsky (1998: 20)
states, “Greetings are the basic oil of social relations.” While complimenting can help to
establish a new c onversation, the failure to greet someone can be interpreted as an
insult.
In the English language, there are certain fixed phrases which should be used,
since they are expected. Traditional greeting statements such as informal Hello , neutral
Good morning or highly formal How do you do should be followed by an appropriate
answer: Hi, how are you or How do you do with no further conversation expected but to
show interest in the other person. As mentioned above, different rules of greeting apply
to differen t communities and even with features of irony would sound perfectly polite.

ADDRESSING
The rules for addressing people can differ in particular cultures and their
languages. Such an example can be the plural form of the personal pronouns which is a
signal of the respectful behaviour, i.e., vy/Vy in Czech, vous in French or Sie in the
German language. While a plural pronoun shows the respect to the addressee of a higher
social status, the use of a singular pronoun signifies addressing a lower status person, an
animal or it signals familiarity between the conversational partners. In English th ere
used to be also the singular form thou and the plural you (Ibid.: 21).

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In modern English the range of address terms would show the respect similarly
to plural pronouns in other languages. A person with a higher social status would be
addressed by the t itle, such as Sir/Madam , a typical way of formal addressing, such as
Mr/Mrs/Ms Holmes, etc. More familiar and informal forms of address are first names or
even nicknames. These patterns can be followed in many other cultures (Ibid.) .

2.3 Common Euro pean Framework of Reference for
Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR)
„The Common European Framework provides a common basis for the
elaboration of language syllabuses, curriculum guidelines, examinations, textbooks, etc.
across Europe. It describes in a comprehensive way what language learners have to
learn to do in order to use a language for communication and what knowledge and skill s
they have to develop so as to be able to act effectively. The description also covers the
cultural context in which language is set. The Framework also defines levels of
proficiency which allow learners’ progress to be measured at each stage of lea rning and
on a life -long basis.” (CEFR : 10)

2.3.1 Historical Events Which L ed to E stablishing the CEFR

In the late 1950s, the first major Project in Modern Languages which promoted
an international co -operation on audio -visual methods and the development o f applied
linguistics was held. The event surely helped to found the International Association of
Applied Linguistics (AILA). The AILA was founded in 1964 in an international colloquium
at the University of Nancy in France as an association of various national organizations
for applied linguistics . The principal activity is to facilitate an international cooperation
in the professional field, to promote research, teaching and to support new applied
linguistics theo ries. One of the outcomes of the AILA is the World Congress of Applied
Linguistics, which publishes the newsletter AILA News and an academic journal AILA
Review (http://www.coe.int) .

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Later in the 1970s, the Council of Europe’s experts developed the initial threshold
level specification for the English language. In particular, it is a specification of “ what a
learner should be able to do” when using the language for communication in everyday
life situations together with the necessary knowledge and skills. The specification in the
English language learning was firstly developed for the French language, later adapted
by other languages. The model has been very helpful in the language programmes,
national curricula planning, creating attractive textbooks, popu lar multimedia courses
and more realistic and relevant forms of assessment. An intermediate objective
(Waystage) and a higher level objective (Vantage) were developed in the 1990s. ( Ibid. )
In the 1980s, there was set a Recommendation No. R (82)18, whose pr iorities
were to reform the educational criteria such as the form of a curriculum, teaching
methods and forms of examinations. Also, there was established an inter school network
for European schools for a purpose of communication through the educational f ield.
(Ibid. )
In the 1990s, new states from the Central and Eastern Europe were brought and
the new Europeans member started participating in the workshops. The focus was
pointed on information and communication technologies, bilingual education and
learne r autonomy. As a result, new recommendations of the Committee of Ministers
concerning Modern Languages were made at the conference in Strasbourg in 1997.
(Ibid. )
A Recommendation No. R (98)6 was established as a key policy goal , with a focus
on intercultur al communication and plurilingualism4 (Ibid.).
The ideology for plurilingualism and also pluriculturalism was supported during
the Second Summit of the Council of Europe in October 1997. One of the results was to
plan the European Year of Languages in 2001, which officially initiated the Common
Europea n Framework of Reference and the European Language Portfolio . (Ibid. )
Another Council of Europe activity helped to establish a European Centre for
Modern Languages (ECML) in 1994 in Graz, Austria. (Ibid. )

4 Plurilingual and pluricultural competence refers to the ability to use languages for the purposes of
communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person, viewed as a social agent has
proficiency, o f varying degrees, in several languages and experience of several cultures (CEFR: 168).

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A European citizens’ team of professionals working on education policies,
providing training models for teacher educators operates in this institution. The ECML
operates 4 -year programmes, focusing on key educational issues requiring action. (Ibid. )
The European day of languages has been celebrated every September 26th since
2001 when this event took place for the first time. The main purpose of the event is to
inform the public and promote the cultural diversity of Europe. Another important goal
is to support and promote language studies for education, employment, mobility or
simply for communication needs. (Ibid. )

EUROPEAN LANGUAGE PORTFOLIO
European language portfolio (ELP) was established by the department of
Linguistic politics of the Council of Europe in Strasburg between 1998 and 2000
(<http://elp.ecml.at ).
ELP is a kind of self -image document for leaders to record personal language
achie vements. A part of ELP is formed by a “language passport” for summarising
linguistic and cultural identity, qualifications and language experience; the second and
third parts are a “language biography” for reflecting a progress and a “dossier” for
keeping important or personal samples of learnt work. The portfolio is prepared in
many varieties for different languages, ages and targets (Ibid. ).
1957 First intergovernmental conference on European co -operation in language teaching
1963 Launch of first major project on language teaching
1975 Publication of the first ‘Threshold Level’ specification
1989 New member states begin to join intergovernmental projects
1994 European Centre for Modern Languages established
2001 European Year of Languages
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
European Language Portfolio
European Day of Languages declared an annual event
Table 3: Overview of historical events. Retrieved from http://www.coe.int

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2.3.2 Common European Framework of Reference
The major aim of the Council of Europe and its language department was to
resolve the problem with diversity of cultures and different teaching methods in foreign
language learning across the European Union. For this reason a document called the
Common E uropean Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching,
Assessment was published. It can be seen as a historic event in the teaching of foreign
languages . As a matter of fact, there are “35 official and 185 recorded languages within
the Council o f Europe's 43 member states” ( as Daoust , 1997 stated in Bärenfänger,
Tschirner , 2008) .

The above mentioned effort was not made for the reason to unify cultures or
their languages but to set the rules with the aim to form a single European educational
system and its language policy for assessing foreign language learning competences. The
importance of the individual cultures heritage and their preservation was made, also
with the aim to support the growth of communication across these cultures. It is al so
very important, as the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe states: „…only
through a better knowledge of European modern languages that will be possible to
facilitate communication and interaction among Europeans of different mother tongues
in order to promote European mobility, mutual understanding and co -operation, and
overcome prejudice and discrimination“ ( Bärenfänger, Tschirner , 2008 ).

LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY
One of the very important contributions of CEFR became an exact definition of
language levels of proficiency in foreign language learning (CEFR : 249). The system of
levels helped to develop a scheme of international compatibility levels in foreign
language learning. CEFR defines six main categories of knowledge of a foreign language.
Each category shows the level of understanding in listening, reading, writing and
speaking skills. All the Europeans are able to obtain a language pass or diploma with a
corresponding level according to CEFR.
A
Basic User B
Independent User C
Proficient User
A1
Breakthrough A2
Waystage B1
Threshold B2
Vantage C1
Effective C2
Mastery
Table 4 : Common Reference Levels according to Trim (1978). R etrieved from CEFR.

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2.3.3 Sociolinguistic competence defined in CEFR
Together with the linguistic and pragmatic competence, the sociolinguistic
competence belongs t o Communicative language competences.

Diagram 1 : Communicative language competences . Retrieved from CEFR.

LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
The linguistic competence consists of lexical, grammatical, semantic,
phonological, orthographical and orthoepic competences, which are described in CEFR
as: “the main components of linguistic competence defined as knowledge of, and ability
to use, the formal resources from which well -formed, meaningful messages may be
assembled and formulated” (Ibid.: 109).

PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE
The pragmatic competence applies to the knowledge and skills that relate to how
the language is used in communication in practice , for example, on how to organize
sentences in a given language in order to form a coherent text, how to organize and
arrange a narrative , descriptive or explanatory texts, how to tell jokes , etc. ( Ibid. : 123) . COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE COMPETENCES
Linguistic
competence Pragmatic
Competence Sociolinguistic
competence
Lexical, grammatical,
semantic,
phonological,
orthographic
and orthoepic
competence.

Knowledge and skills
show the language as
a system. Discourse, functional
and design
competence.

Knowledge and skills
that relate to how the
language is used in
communication
practice. Politeness
conventions, linguistic
markers of social
relations, expressions
of folk -wisdom
register differences
and dialect and accent.
Knowledge and skills
that are needed to deal
with the social norms
of language use.

22
The pragmatic competencies include the knowledge and skills that users of the
language use in a spoken or written language to express various communication
functions (the formulation of questions , answers to questions , requests, offers,
apologies , administration instructions , etc.) (Ibid. : 125).
According to Crystal (1985: 240), "pragmatics is the study of language from the
point of view of users, especially of the choices they make, the constraints they
encou nter in using language in social interaction and the effects their use of language
has on other participants in the act of communication." In other words, pragmatics is the
study of a communicative action in its sociocultural context. The communicative act ion
includes not only speech acts, such as requesting, greeting, and so on , but also
participation in conversation, engaging in different types of discourse, and sustaining
interaction in complex speech events.

SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPLETENCE
The sociolinguistic competence applies to the knowledge and skills that are
needed to deal with the social norms of language use, such as the use a selection of
greetings , and principles of turn -taking, the use of politeness markers , ways of
expressing gratitude , regret, followed by the ability to use the language appropriately
depending on the different functional styles in formal situations , less formal and
informal. It also includes t he ability to distinguish different dialects , perceive and
recognize regional differences not only register differences between communication
partners , but also differences in their nonverbal expressions (CEFR: 118 – 128) .
The overview of sociolinguistic competence as defined in CEFR is drawn in the
table below:

Sociolinguistic
competence
Politeness conventions
Positive politeness Showing interest in a person’s well being
Sharing experie nce and concerns, “trouble talk”
Expressing admiration, affection, gratitude
Offering gifts, promising future favours, hospitality
Negative politeness Avoiding face -threatening behaviour (dogmatism, direct
orders , etc.)
Expressing regret, apologising for face -threatening
behaviour (correction, contradiction, prohibitions, etc.)
Using hedges, etc. (e.g. , I think , tag questions)

23
Politeness markers Appropriate use of please , thank you’ etc.
Impoliteness Bluntness, frankness
Expressing contempt, dislike
Strong complaint and reprimand
Venting anger, impatience
Asserting superiority Linguistic markers of
social relations Use and choice of
greetings On arrival (Hello ), introductions (How do you do ?), leave –
taking (See you later )
Use and choice of
address forms Frozen (e.g. , My Lord ), formal (e.g. , Sir), informal (e.g. , John ),
familiar (e.g. , dear ), peremptory (e.g. , Smith! ), ritual insult
(e.g. , you stupid idiot )
Conventions for turn –
taking
Use and choice of
expletives (e.g. , My God! ) Expressions of
folk-wisdom Proverbs (e.g., a stitch in time saves nine )
Idioms (e.g., a sprat to catch a mackerel )
Familiar quotations (e.g., a man’s a man for a’ that’ )
Expressions of
belief, attitude and
values (e.g., Fine before seven, rain by eleven ), also graffiti, T -shirts
slogans, TV catch phrases, etc. Register
differences
Systematic difference
between varieties of
language used in
different context Frozen
Formal
Neutral
Informal
Familiar
Intimate Dialect and
accent Recognition of
social class
regional provenance
national origin
ethnicity
occupational group Such markers include:
lexicon,
grammar, e.g., Cockney
phonology
vocal characteristics (rhythm, loudness, etc.)
paralinguistics
body language
Table 5: Sociolinguistic competence. Retrieved from CEFR .

GENERAL COMPETENCES
“The general competences of language learners or users consist in particular of
their knowledge, skills and existential competence and also their ability to learn .” (Ibid. :
11)
The general competence defined in CEFR is no less important than the
communicative language competence introduced above. One of the general competence
is the “knowledge of the world” which provides the learner with an ability to recognize
institutions, events, geographical, environmental or political features in respect of the
country in which the language is spoken ( Ibid. : 101) .

24
The sociocultural knowledge consists of everyday living activities, living
conditions with regional, ethnic and class variations, interpersonal relations in many
different situations, values, beliefs and attitudes of society, also b ody language features,
social conventions such as giving and receiving hospitality or ritual behaviour during
celebrations, festivals and other event within the society. ( Ibid. )
Intercultural awareness is an awareness of regional and social diversity betwe en
the “world of origin” and the “target culture.” ( Ibid. )

Diagram 2 : Learner’s competences . Retrieved from CEFR.

2.3.4 Communicative Activities and Strategies D efined in the CEFR
with a Focus on Sociolinguistic Competence for L evel A2
Communicative activities consist of reading , writing, listening and speaking skills .
A further distinction can be made into the receptive, productive, interactive and
mediating activities according to their forms and functions. The receptive activities
include reading and listening skills, the productive activities include speaking and
writing skill s (Scrivener, 2005) . Communicative language competences General competences
Knowledge of the world
Sociocultural knowledge
Intercultural awareness LEARNER’S COMPETENCES

25
In interaction activities the role of the participants alternate as they change from
producers to receivers. Mediation is an activity when a foreign language is being
translated, interpreted or paraphrased for the speaker who is unable to understand the
target language (CEFR: 99).
In reality, these four skills do not exist independently – instead, they are
interrelated and they help improve each other in their role in the learning process.
As an extra point, the communicative skills are mostly supplemented by non –
verbal and paralinguistic features, usually in face -to-face communication. Those features
are not less important and they may vary from culture to culture and, therefore, it is
vital t o provide basic examples to learners ( Ibid. : 88 – 89).

Diagram 3 : Communicative activities and strategies . Retrieved from CEFR.

LISTENING
Listening comprehension is one of the basic steps in communication. The better a
students can understand what is being said, the better their ability to communicate will
be. Just from the listening activities, the learner is able to depict the features of the
language in a most natural way, such as the rhythm, intonation and other not less
important details such as recognising the feeling. Those features should be connected to
a realistic context and situations and thank to that, the learners should be able to COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES
RECEPTION
listening – reading
i.e., announcements
and instructions,
conversation
between native
speakers, audio
media and
recordings, top –
down and bottom -up
reading strategy or
extensive reading
INTERACTION
speaking – writing
i.e., correspondence,
interview,
negotiation,
co-operating,
turn -taking,
or asking for
clarification
PRODUCTION
speaking – writing
i.e., monologue such
as describing
experience, public
announcements,
addressing audience
or creative writing
MEDIATION
speaking – writing

i.e., spoken
interpretation and
written translation,
summarising and
texts paraphrasing

26
manage sociolinguistic skills and be aware of using an incorrect or impolite tone while
communicating.
READING
Reading is an important way of gaining information in a target language. Next to
the linguistic and discourse competence benefits, the learners are to develop the
sociolinguistic competence via reading literature with typical features of the culture and
its values and beliefs.
SPEAKING
Speaking represents a pr oductive skill but it usually does not exist solely and it is
often connected with listening. The main aim is to communicate with other people and
be able to give a response or express oneself correctly and with a contextual purpose.
WRITING
Writing is al so a necessary skill when learning a second language which can be
seen as a manner for learners to pr oduce their language skills in a written form. It surely
helps the learner to notice certain grammar and vocabulary structures and provides
him/her with ph ysical evidence of his/her achievements and he/she can also measure
the language improvement.
SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
The sociolinguistic competence is an integral part of the communicating process
across all four skills. The awareness of using appropriate sociolinguistic expressions in a
correct context and situation seems to arise with each level of proficiency and the actual
learner’s ability to communicate (CEFR: 122) .
The sociolinguistic appropriateness scale is defined in CEFR for each proficiency
level, from A1 to C2. From the given scale it is evident that the basic user of A1 level is
able to establish a basic soc ial contact with the use of simple polite forms, compared to
the advanced, proficient C2 user of the language with a rich use of idiomatic expressions,
colloquialisms and a great awareness of connotative levels of meaning (Ibid.).

27
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE FOR A2 PROFICIENCY LEVEL
According to the same scale, the observed, A2 level learner, who is a basic, that is
“waystage” user, should be able to express his/her opinions and attitudes, exchange
information, ask for and respond to requests; be able to use simple common everyday
expressions, social exchanges and be able to follow basic routines ; everyday polite forms
of greeting and address; make and respond to invitations, suggestions or apologies in a
simple way. The examples of communicative competence with sociolinguistic features
skills fo r level A2 are drawn in the table below (Ibid.) :
Illustrative scales for the communicative competence activities for level
A2 Productive activities
and strategies Speaking ADDRESSING AUDIENCES
Can give a short, rehearsed presentation on a topic pertinent to his/her
everyday life, briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions, plans and
actions.
Writing CREATIVE WRITING
Can write about everyday aspects of his/her environment, e.g. people, places, a
job or study experience in linked sentences.
Can write a series of simple phrases and sentences about their family, living
conditions, educational background, present or most recent job. Receptive
activities and
strategies
Aural
reception
(listening) LISTENING TO AUDIO MEDIA AND RECORDINGS
Can understand and extract the essential information from short, recorded
passages dealing with predictable everyday matters which are delivered
slowly and clearly.
Visual
reception
(reading) OVERALL READING COMPREHENSION
Can understand short, simple texts on familiar matters of a concrete type
which consist of high frequency everyday or job -related language. Interactive activities and strategies
Spoken
interaction OVERALL SPOKEN INTERACTION
Can handle very short social exchanges.
CONVERSATION
Can establish social contact: greetings and farewells; introductions; giving
thanks.
Can participate in short conversations in routine contexts on topics of interest.
Can express how he/she feels in simple terms, and express thanks.
Can handle very short social exchanges but is rarely able to understand
enough to keep conversation going of his/her own accord, though he/she can
be made to understand if the speaker will take the trouble.
Can use simple everyday polite forms of greeting and address.
Can make and respond to invitations, suggestions and apologies.
Can say what he/she likes and dislikes.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION (WITH FRIENDS)
Can make and respond to suggestions.
Can agree and disagree with others.
Can discuss everyday practical issues in a simple way when addressed clearly,
slowly and directly.
FORMAL DISCUSSION AND MEETINGS
Can exchange relevant information and give his/her opinion on practical
problems when asked directly, improvised he/she receive s some help with
formulation and can ask for repetition of key points if necessary.
Can say what he/she thinks about things when addressed directly in a formal
meeting, provided he/she can ask for repetition of key points if necessary.

28
Written
interaction CORRESPONDENCE
Can write very simple personal letters expressing thanks and apology.
Interaction
strategies TAKING THE FLOOR (TURNTAKING)
Can use simple techniques to start, maintain, or end a short conversation.
Can initiate, maintain and close simple, face -to-face conversation.
Can ask for attention.
Mediating activities
and strategies No description available for level A2
Table 6: Examples of communicative competences skills with sociolinguistic features for A2 level.
Retrieved from CEFR.

CONCLUSION
As it can be seen from the table above, the major attention related to
sociolinguistic appropriateness in A2 proficiency level is given to the interactive
activities, mainly to the conversation, informal and formal discussions and person al
correspondence. The skills such as productive and receptive skills greatly focus on
grammatical and pragmatic issues.

29
III. Methodology

In the theoretical part I have described the phenomena related to the
sociolinguistic competence as defined by linguistic researchers. I have studied the
Common European Framework of References for Languages: Learning, Teaching,
Assessment document and it s recommendations for learning the English language within
the four skills at the level A2.
Among the communicative language competences, I have observed the
sociolinguistic competencies and drawn the examples of its features. In Table 5 and 6
the example s of the productive, receptive and interactive strategies of the A2 level are
given.
In the practical part, I recognize and discuss the sociolinguistic features in the
two selected series of textbooks, namely Way to Win5 and Project6. The sociolinguistic
features are divided according to the following competences: cross -cultural awareness;
greeting, addressing and showing interest; expressions for introductions and
invitations; degree of politeness; requests; expressions for suggestions and offers ; giving
opinion; making arrangements; expressions for apologies and polite refusals;

5 Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 6. Fraus.
Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 6 .
Fraus.
Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 7 . Fraus.
Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 7 .
Fraus.
Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 8 . Fraus.
Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 8 .
Fraus.
Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 9 . Fraus.
Betáková, L., Dvořáková, K. (2005 ). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro ZŠ a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 9 .
Fraus.

6 Hutchinson. T. (2008) Učebnice angličtiny 2 . Třetí vydání. CEF A1 – A2. Oxford University Press.
Hutchinson. T. Gault. J.(2008) Teacher’s Book 2. Third edition. Oxford University Press
Hutchinson. T. (2008 ) Učebnice angličtiny 3 . Třetí vydání . CEF A2. Oxford University Press.
Hutchinson. T. Gault. J. (2008) Teacher’s Book 3 Third edition. Oxford University Press.
Hutchinson. T. (2009 ) Učebnice angličtiny 4 . CEF A2. Třetí vydání . Oxford University Press.
Hutchinson. T. Gault. J. (2009) Teacher’s Book 4. Third edition. Oxford Un iversity Press.
Hutchinson. T. (2009) Učebnice angličtiny 5 . CEF A2 – B1. Třetí vydání . Oxford University Press.
Hutchinson. T. Gault. J. (2009) Teacher’s Book 5. Third edition. Oxford University Press.

30
expressions for gratitude and politeness markers; intonation; mediation skill; and a
combination of competences in dialogues.
The individual activities from Way to Win and Project that meet the criteria for
the sociolinguistic competence are described, compared and commented on in the
practical part of my thesis.
The Appendices section is based on the chapter IV. Textbook Analyses and
Comparison of Sociolinguistic Aspects and it b rings the overview of activities for
particular competences and skills.

31
IV. Textbook Analysis and Comparison of the
Sociolinguistic Aspects

4.1 A Brief Overview of the Analysed Textbooks
4.1.1 WAY TO WIN
The Way to Win textbooks are published by Fraus , a Czech publisher. The first
edition appeared in 2006. Four level textbooks have been created for upper primary
students from the 6th to the 9th grade or grammar school students. All four levels are
marked as A2 according to the Common European Frame of Reference for Languages.
Each level of the textbook is supported by a teacher’s book and a workbook and each
one corresponds to the Czech educational system.
All four textbooks use appropriate polite phrases within the above explained four
skills and ther efore meet the Communicative language competence at level A2 according
to CEFR.
The textbooks are full of social and multicultural elements, the events are placed
into countries where English is used as the official language, for instance in Great
Britain, the USA, Australia or Canada. The topics also broadly meet the cross -curricular
approach. The events mentioned in the textbooks are living topics such as immigration,
Judaism, anti -Semitism, the history of American slavery, the history of Australian
Abori gines, also geographic information, global environmental and social problems and
this all with corresponding visuals. Also the characters play different social and racial
roles resolving everyday problems which occur in the societies mentioned above, often
compared to the Czech culture. Each textbook is supplemented with the practical
marginal notes , brining explanations in the student’s mother tongue; in addition, they
offer language variation, extra ideas and tips for teachers.
The sociolinguistic compet ence can be noticed in all the textbooks belonging to
the two series. The first level contains simple, strict to the point statements, questions,
commands and requests with basic politeness markers, such as please and thank you and
their variations. The sociolinguistic competence rises with each level of the textbook. In

32
the last level of Way to Win 9, there is a greater focus on politeness forms, such as the
degree of politeness or making conventionally indirect requests.
Alth ough from the sociolinguistic point of view the textbooks seem to be
appropriate, there are zero examples or exercises to practise polite tones while
speaking. It would be vital to explain the basic rules of intonation, as the speaker can
possibly sound ir onic or even rude when using a wrong tone. Of course, the students can
hear those tones while listening to the exercises.
The teacher’s books contain not only exercise keys, transcripts of the listening
exercises and so on, but also extra ideas on how to e xpand the topics or how to create a
project. The reader can also find factual support materials in the textbooks, such as an
overview of various historical events or common facts for a native speaker but not
necessarily for a L2 speaker7. The teacher’s boo k is written in L1, Czech language and all
the exercise keys are in L2.
Last but not least, the textbook focuses on typical problems Czech learners face
when learning the English language.

4.1.2 PROJECT
The third edition of the Project textbooks was pub lished by a British publisher,
the Oxford University Press between 2008 and 2009. The five -level textbooks are
designed for the higher level primary school learners aged from 10 to 15, from the
beginner to the intermediate level. According to the CEFR prof iciency levels, the
textbooks belong to the A1 to lower border of B1.
Each level of the textbook is supported by a teacher’s book and a workbook with
a CD. Levels 1to 5 of the textbook correspond to the Czech educational system.
Each unit of the textbook is divided into eight parts. The parts A-D focus mainly
on grammar and vocabulary, another section focuses on practising the four skills, the
Culture page explores the history of English speaking countries. Another part is English
across the curriculum page, which involves articles that choose the content from the

7 L1 speaker – a person’s mother tongue ; L2 speaker – a person’s second language

33
subjects such as Biology, Geography, Music, Science, etc. English across the curriculum
can be useful for the CLIL8 method of learning. Although the Culture page evokes the
sociolinguistic com petence, a great part of the sociolinguistic competence can be found
in Section D with listening dialogues and the following Everyday English tasks, usually a
combination of listening and speaking interactive activities. And, finally, every lesson
finishes with a Revision page and Project work.
The workbook is structured in a similar fashion to the textbook, that is into
sections A –D and Progress Check as well as the I Can section for self -reflection. Writing
tasks are mostly intended for a further practic e and reinforcement of the language.
There are also a grammar reference section and a wordlist at the end of the workbooks.
The teacher’s book as a supportive material for the teacher contains all sorts of
supplements, such as lesson notes with keys for t he entire textbook and workbook
activities, optional extra activities, typescripts for all the listening activities, tests and
worksheets.
The sociolinguistic point of view is reflected mainly in the form of articles and is
usually accompanied by sets of activities involving both the productive and the receptive
skills.
Although the Project 1 textbook belongs to the Project series, the book does not
meet the target level of the analysed skills, i.e., the A2 level (according to CEFR), and
therefore will b e omitted in my analysis.

8 CLIL – Content and Language Integrated Learning : The term CLIL was coined by David Marsh from
University of Jyväskylä, Finland (1994): "CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are
taught through a foreign language with dual -focused aims, namely the learning of content and the
simultaneous learning of a foreign language."

34
4. 2 Analysis of the Sociolinguistic Aspects in the Way to
Win and Project Textbooks

The main issue of each textbook is to make faster the student’s progress in the
communicative language competences across the four skills. As mentioned above, the
communicative skills can be divided into the linguistic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic
competences.
With regard to the linguistic skills, the students should be able to use basic
sentence patterns with memorised phrases, groups of words and formulae in order to
communicate in simple everyday situations. With regard to the pragmatic skills, the
students should be able to understand a simple story or description, in other words, to
be able to exchange simply and directly limited infor mation on familiar and routine
matters.
From the sociolinguistic point of view, the students should be able to h andle very
short social exchanges, to use everyday polite forms of greeting and address to make
and respond to invitations, apologies, etc. Th e sociolinguistic skill is the issue of the
present analysis. The analysis focuses on the A2 level (according to CEFR) that is
compatible with the level of higher primary school learners in the Czech Republic,
namely for the grades from the 6th to the 9th one. For an overview of examples of the
sociolinguistic competence within the four skills, see Table 6: Examples of
communicative competence skills with sociolinguistic features for of the A2 level, which
is mentioned in Section 2.3.4 above.
Examples of some instances how the sociolinguistic competence should be
implemented in each textbook can be found under each level of the textbook. To have an
idea which sociolinguistic features are recommended by the CEFR, see Table 5:
Sociolinguistic com petence , which is mentioned in Section 2.3.3 above . Most of the
features can be found with a short description within the analyses. The detailed analyses
of the series Way to Win and Project textbooks follow in the text below.

35
4.2.1 CROSS -CULTURAL AWAREN ESS
During the learning process it is vital to show the students the information and
examples of the learnt -language culture, its beliefs and attitudes. It is simply because
one thing may be considered inappropriate in one culture, while in another it may be
completely appropriate. Short polite social exchanges, sometimes called small talks, and
the knowledge of their use are also an important feature of culture awareness.

CUSTOMS IN BRITAIN
The Way to Win textbooks provide many examples that should draw the students’
attention to cultural differences, particularly of the British or American society. One
example is from the Way to Win 6 in which cultural differences are spotted in respect to
other cultures. A question whether the British people shake hands or kiss on the cheek
shows the cultural nuances within Europe (SB9: 11) . The question on the margins
exactly states: “ Podávají si Britové při setkání ruku? A líbají se na tvář? Zjisti to a srovnej
se zvyklo stmi u nás nebo v jiných zemích.“
The question is answered in the teacher’s book (TB10: 12) with the following
statement: “ Při prvním setkání si Britové podávají ruku, při dalším setkání to však
nebývá pravidlem. Na tvář se Britové při setkání nelíbají (j ak je tomu např. ve Francii
nebo v Řecku), s výjimkou např. rodinných příslušníků nebo blízkých přátel. V těchto
projevech je chování Britů srovnatelné s chováním Čechů.” Such information surely
gives the learner an idea and may help to prevent a possible ‘faux pas.’ It gives students
an idea about a polite behaviour in a particular culture; in this case, not only in Great
Britain but also for example in France.
Some more examples from Way to Win 6 are listed below, e.g., the phrase It’s not
my cup of tea (SB: 12). This typically British idiom is defined in two ways. On the one
hand, as a literal meaning, on the other hand, as an idiom expressing dislike to
something. An explanation of this is displayed in the margin of the book and it is written

9 SB abbreviation for student’s book
10 TB abbreviation for teacher’s book

36
in the Cz ech language, also as additional information for a listening task based on a
dialogue between new friends while they are drinking tea.
Another cultural note in the Way to Win 6 in the margin also points to Indian
immigrants in Britain (SB: 7). The word Indian has more than one lexical function (SB:
9), as the noun indicates the origin as Asian Indian but also American Indian and also as
an adjective. The notes introduce the topic of the following activities and also one of the
characters, a girl named Sit a, who is of Indian origin.
The notes are supported by the information in the teacher’s book (TB: 10). It
shows India from the historical, geographical and demographical points of view in short
simple statements: “ Indie leží na jihu Asie mezi Pákistánem, Čínou a Nepálem. Je to
mnohonárodní stát, jehož počet obyvatel přesáhl 1 miliardu. Hlavní město Dillí s téměř 9
miliony obyvatel je po Bombaji a Kalkatě třetí největší město Indie. V Indii mluví mnoha
jazyky, a právě proto je angličtina i po 40 letech nezá vislosti na Velké Británii hlavním
úředním jazykem. Ve Velké Británii žije mnoho přistěhovalců z Indie, Pákistánu, kteří do
Evropy přicházejí především za prací. ”
The margin -notes preside the story of Sita’s family in the next unit (SB: 13), also
about Sita’s parents occupation (SB: 19) and the role of each member in the family
business (SB: 40). The multicultural element meets its point.

Both series of analysed textbooks contain information about history, geography
and demography of various English s peaking countries. In the Project textbooks it is
usually in the form of an article for practising the reading skill. In Way to Win such
information is provided as a source of additional knowledge for the teacher with the
choice to present the information to the learners or not.
In comparison with Way to Win 6, Project 2 also provides basic information about
the British customs, for example in the article Holidays and Festivals in Britain (SB: 16),
such as Christmas, New Year and Easter. The topic of holidays and festivals is repeated
in a project making task (SB: 19) with a focus on a comparison with the learner’s typical
festivals in his/her country. In my opinion, such events were introduced earlier in the
textbooks at a lower level of English.

37
The Way to Win textbooks also focus on the British holidays, however, Way to
Win 7 depicts such events as traditional Guy Fawkes Night (SB:26). The note in the
margins explains the customs in the Czech language and the article, written in English,
focuses on the historical details. Another marginal note states: “Guy Fawkes Night se
slaví i v jiných zemích – Austrálii, Kanadě a na Novém Zélandu. Proč myslíš, že tomu tak
je?” The note evokes a discussion on another topic, i.e., the British Commonwealth.

Anot her activity from Project 2 focuses on the reading and listening skills (SB:
57). It describes the British landscape from the geographical point of view. The task
focuses on the vocabulary and how to express sizes and distances. The activities are
supporte d by the Cultural background note in the teacher’s book (TB: 63) providing
information about the British Isles from the historical point of view only. More
geographical details cover the USA (SB: 64), Western and Eastern Europe (SB: 65), both
activities ar e again in the form of an article with questions checking the learners´
comprehension.

Although every Project textbook contains a section called Culture , usually in the
form of an article, the content seems to be uninteresting for a young European learne r.
One such example is an article about the British families from Project 3 (SB: 16) with the
information that they usually have two children, some pets, live in a house or flat, in a
town or city and they drive a car. The accompanying pages also focus on historical,
geographical or factual information, but not really sociocultural. A solo note in the
teacher’s book that could be considered as a piece of cultural knowledge is in the form of
a short Extra tip for classroom activities. The task is to compare the British school time
against the student’s school year and their school holidays (TB: 12). Although it can be
found under the heading Cultural background note , the task might be seen as
unproductive and unpopular, as the British and the Czech school ye ar do not differ
much.
As to oppose the Project , also Way to Win 6 introduces the British school time. An
example of an informal letter, the learner can become aware of the correct polite
structures , such as addressing or showing interest or gratitude (S B: 44). The task is

38
supported by useful notes in the teacher’s book (TB: 48). The notes compare the ways of
addressing in the Czech and English informal letters. They also depict the difference in
the style: “ Anglický dopis vždy začneme oslovením Dear. Dear Peter, Dear Sita, Dear Mrs
Snow. Za oslovením píšeme čárku. Dopis pokračuje na další řádce velkým písmenem. ” Also
the textbook is provided with the question in the margins that should raise the
awareness about the way of addressing. “Víš, že každý do pis by měl začít oslovením.
Porovnej typické české a anglické oslovení.” The reading task also focuses on teaching
lexis in the context.
Apart from the skills mentioned above, the letter actually shows some cultural
differences, e.g., in the section tit led Assembly , which is further explained in the teacher’s
book (TB: 45). The following letter can serve as an example:
Dear Robin, Thanks for your letter. I can try and answer your questions about my
school. I start every morning at 8.45. On Mondays my fi rst lesson is Geography. I like our
teacher Miss Hunt. Then I go to English, then we’ve got Assembly, then morning break.
After the break I’ve got Music – not my favourite lesson! Lunch break is at 12.20. In the
afternoon I’ve got Maths (super!) and Drama (OK). I finish the day at 3.30. Well, not really
– I do activities (computer club, football team) after school – and homework….Is your
school in Pilsen very different? Can you tell me in your next letter? Love, Ben

The Way to Win 9 textbook seems to be very awarding, as the major part of Unit 3
(SB: 29 –39) focuses on polite and friendly behaviour which is typical in Britain. Unit 3 is
introduced by a cultural prejudice, such as in the following example. My uncle says the
British don’t like the Germans a nd he doesn’t like them either. / My dad says that he likes
English football. But the teams aren’t as good as in Germany!
Another example of a cultural prejudice is shown as a note in the same girl’s diary
in time before the host family actually meet a German boy (SB: 31). “ The German
exchange student is coming tomorrow – yawn! Kai – what sort of a name is that?! He’ll
probably be boring and want to eat sauerkraut all the time…”

39
There are also informative moments when the direct Yes or No answers (S B: 30)
are used in a reading task with an extract from the girl’s diary: I had to explain a few
things. It’s not very polite to answer just “yes” and “no”. I think I understand the Germans a
bit better now, so I feel less nervous about going to Germany nex t April…
The activities above show the cultural differences and prejudice that are usually
caused by a lack of knowledge of the other culture and the problems are usually solved
by means of “student friendly” explanations.

Cultural knowledge in the Project textbooks is enhanced in many activities. The
actual knowledge is usually delivered in the reading activities, normally in the form of an
article, followed by questions to ensure the students’ comprehension; however, the Way
to Win textbooks provid e the learner with the details and comparison of the Czech
culture to the British one, also with the examples of impolite behaviour, such as
prejudice or too direct answers.

Unit 6 of Way to Win 8 (SB: 53 – 62) focuses on free time activities in the Czech
Republic and Britain. The teacher’s book (TB: 63) sets examples such as traditional
mushroom picking or even a walk in the woods in the Czech Republic, which is not so
common for the British. Also cycling is not a typical activity for the British as the roads
are rather narrow and often lined with hedges, which can be hazardous for cycling.
Simultaneously, a popular activity in Britain is bird watching, which is very unusual for
Czech people.

The notes in the margins (SB: 8) in Way to Win 7 , commonly in the Czech
language, show the difference between the Czech and British form of women’s
surnames and ask a further question about the form of surnames that can apply also in
other foreign languages. Another note asks whether the learners can find out from the
text or the listening activity whether the new teacher is married and unobtrusively
focuses on the use of titles.

40
The marginal note on the next page (SB: 9) focuses on the explanation of
exist ence of the middle names in the British and American names, giving examples of
middle names on the famous people. Also the teacher’s book (TB: 10) provides its
support. It explains the rules of how to address women, such as Miss for single women
and Mrs for married women. It also clarifies that the neutral title Ms is used when one is
not sure about a woman’s marital status.
Way to Win 8 also brings insight into a virtual, computer -based conversation
versus the face to face communication (SB: 54) and c hallenges the learner to think about
the pros and cons of both. The text also examines such words as a computer nerd or
specific signs in virtual communication, such as LR for real life; L8R for later, : -) happy
face, : -( sad face.

BRITAIN VERSUS THE UNITED STATES
From the point of view of cultural knowledge, the main emphasis of both
textbook series is put on the Great Britain and the United States. Both the Way to Win
and the Project textbooks introduce the British culture in many different activiti es. In the
case of Way to Win , it also depicts the Hispanic influence on the American culture, the
British immigrants, such as Indians or the culture of Australians.

All three units of Way to Win 8 are based on culture and the features of the
American s ociety. The learner can explore the state of Florida (SB: 64) and its Spanish
origin population; also Alaska (SB: 73) and the global warming problems or the life of
Intuits are deal with. The film industry in Hollywood is introduced together with the
state of California (SB: 83). The tasks are based on the stories of Americans of many
different origins and life styles. The units are suitably accompanied with photographs
and sketches of everyday American life.
This topic is well supported with information in the teacher’s book (TB: 71 – 72).
Examples of this are the formation of the United States and the Declaration of
Independence, demographical information, a note about religion, volunteer work and

41
also favour ite leisure activities such as barbecues or watching and playing American
football or baseball.
The listening activity (SB: 65) includes American English with phrases from
Spanish. An example of this is shown in a telephone call between a girl of Mexican origin
and her mother: Oh, hi Mamá! Sí, estoy bien… I’m fine…really! OK. Mamá. Give Paco and
María a kiss – and Papá. Hasta luego!
The corresponding note in the margin draws attention the Spanish language and
the fact that it is the second most used language in the United States. Also some towns
retain their Spanish names, for example Los Angeles or San Diego. The note in the
teacher’s book (TB: 76) describes the current situation of former Spanish colonies and
the facts of immigration from Latin Amer ica.
Further cultural knowledge about the Spanish language is shown in a traditional
Mexican dish served in the US (SB: 67). While a British student and her Mexican friend
visit a Mexican restaurant, the British girl is not able to read the menu, since t he menu is
written in Spanish; also the waiter speaks Spanish, so the task involves mediation.
Another example of American multiculturalism, also in Way to Win 8, is found in
an article about a Vietnamese family living in San Francisco (SB: 86 – 87). The margin
notes also mention the War in Vietnam or the Vietnamese community in the Czech
Republic.

The Project textbooks also introduce the USA in some way, usually in a section
called Culture in the form of an article with additional sets of quests testing
comprehension. Such articles can be found in Project 2 (SB: 64) which introduces the
USA as a whole; in Project 3 (SB: 52) introducing the New York City or in Project 5 (SB:
64) that describe the English language from the historical point of view or an ar ticle
about Black people segregation in the USA (SB: 70) that is here to practise the reading
skill. English across the curriculum page (SB: 77) also depicts political institutions, such
as the American Congress or the political parties in a task that focu ses on new
vocabulary and phrases.

42
Also a short explanation is provided in the Language note in the teacher’s book
(TB: 19) in Project 2 , which explains the difference between the US and British date
format. It also focuses on the pronunciation. For inst ance, 17 December or 17th December
– read: The seventeenth of December/ July 4th – read: July fourth.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE VARIETIES
Way to Win 8 also brings a set of activities that considers the differences between
the American and British English. An informal letter from a British girl to her
grandparents (SB: 65) explains the differences between the British and American
English in a simple, eas y-to-comprehend way: …sometimes I use British English words
that my new American friends don’t know. (They don’t say pavement, they say sidewalk,
etc.). But they think my accent is cool!… The teacher’s book (TB: 75) also explains the
differences betwe en the British English and American varieties. The English note recalls
the spelling, pronunciation and differences in meaning, all with many examples.
Also a particular listening activity in Way to Win 8 is vital for teaching the
differences in accents ( SB: 69), for it contains some recordings that are used in the
spoken British and/or American English. The task involves a physical activity. The
learner is supposed to raise the British or American flag to signify if the recording is in
the British English or American English.
The second task is to listen to the duet Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off from the film
Shall We Dance , in which one of the singers is British and the other is American. As with
the first task, the learner is to raise the British or A merican flag to signify the variety of
English. Both tasks are set adequately, as the learner can focus on listening and rising
flags.
The section in the textbook mentioned above called Word Watch (SB: 69) focuses
on the spelling differences in both langu age varieties and gives examples, such as
favourite color, grey, theater, center, travelled, etc. The next section (SB: 70) focuses on
the change of meanings with words, such as French fries, pants, subway, potato chips,
sidewalk, mailbox, etc.

43
Project 5 also explains the varieties of the English language (SB: 64). The history
of the British and American English is revealed in an article in the section called Culture .
The article deals with the words which originated in the Anglo -Saxon, Viking and
Norman languages, such as good, man, sky, father, parliament, language , etc. There is
only a small focus on the British versus American modern English. Although the
examples of either British or American variations, are listed under the article, there are
only s ix examples of each category. On the other hand, another exercise also focuses on
the borrowed words that are of different origin, such as bank, tea, yoghurt, robot,
pyjamas, coach, etc. The short task is to listen and match the words with the original
language.
From the examples above, it is obvious that Way to Win text books pay a greater
attention to cross -cultural knowledge.

SMALL TALKS
Way to Win 9 also introduces Small talks (SB: 83) as polite social exchanges,
which are very typical of the Briti sh English. A note in the margin states that “small talk
is a short polite conversation on an unimportant topic during social events such as a
party or a random encounter, usually by people who do not know each other too well ”. A
note in the teacher’s book (TB: 107) explains that during such social events it is polite
only to agree or not to agree. Typical examples of small talk are delivered in the
textbook. E.g.,
Weather: It’s a lovely day. Yes it is, isn’t it? I know what you mean. It’s really lovely. It was
really fantastic last week. Greetings: How are you? Not so bad, and you? I’m fine, thanks.
Listen, I have to go. Nice talking to you. Bye!
The following speaking task is based on everyday social interactions and its
purpose is to become aware of them and practise them according to the sample
sentences in a dialogue. For instance, Hello, there! / Hi, how are you?/ Fine, and you?/ I’m
fine. It’ s a lovely day today, isn’t it?, etc.

44
In similar way, Project 4 offers small talks in the form of a listening exercise (SB:
15). The talk is drawn in the form of a diagram, where the talk leads to either a positive
or a negative response. The aim is to practise everyday informal expressions, to become
aware of correct expressions for wishing someone success, asking how well someone
succeeded or to respond to failure or success with the following role -play activity. The
activities are also supported with extra brainstorming ideas from the teacher’s book
(TB: 27) with t he aim to create similar situations. The Small talk is followed by a drill
activity with the aim to practise the correct rhythm and intonation. For example, Hi. How
are you? /Fine, thanks. I’m in a judo competition today. /Good luck. /Thanks. // Hi. How
did it go? /I came second. /Well done. / Thanks. More examples of such expressions are:
keep fingers crossed for someone/better luck next time/well, good luck, I hope you win ’ or
‘oh, I’m sorry to hear that, never mind .’

Both exercises involving small tal ks either from Project or Way to Win seem to be
meaningful and helpful for the students to learn one of the ways that are typical of
British or American people in a random communication. While Project 4 also focuses on
the practice of correct rhythm and intonation of the phrases, the Way to Win textbooks
completely avoid this type of activity. For the overview of the competences, see section
7.1 Cross -Cultural awareness.

4.2.2 GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST
Greeting, addressing and showing interest are all kinds of the sociolinguistic
competence that may occur together in a speech act. This sociolinguistic competence is
also defined in “spoken interaction” activities (according to CEFR). The main focus is
given to conversational skills, both formal and informal, for the purposes to establish,
maintain and finish the social contact, and therefore to use the correct greetings and
farewells in various situations. Showing a positive face, in other words, showing an
interest in a perso n is a typical feature of polite interaction. Students of the A2 level
should be able to express themselves with simple formulaic greetings, addressing, and
interest showing skills with suitable replies.

45
There are not many activities with a focus on gre eting and addressing in their
simple context. One of them is in Project 2 in the Introduction unit (SB: 4), where there is
an exercise with the purpose to practise the ability of saying hello and g oodbye. It
involves all four skills in various activities , such as reading and listening tasks, role –
playing and drill activities. These include, for instance, How are you? Hello, good
morning/ Hi / Goodnight/ Good evening / See you later / Good afternoon.
Another task also brings the examples of suitable expressions for formal or
informal greetings (SB: 4 ). Examples for an i nformal dialogue are as follows: Hi. How are
you? / Fine. And you? / Fine. See you later./ See you.; meanwhile formal dialogues are, for
instance, represented by Good morning. How are y ou? / I’m fine. Thanks. And you? / Fine,
thank you. / Goodbye. / Goodbye.
If one observes a short speaking activity in Way to Win 8 , it focuses directly on
the skill of saying goodbye in polite and friendly ways and offers a range of different
phrases (SB : 70). It involves phrases, such as Hi, I’d like to say goodbye. / Time to say
goodbye. /Well. Goodbye then – and don’t forget to keep in touch. / Goodbye then. All the
best. / Goodbye, Glen. Have a good trip. / Goodbye, Scot. Remember to write.

In two s imilar tasks, mentioned above, from Project and Way to Win , both suitable
for the 6th grade, it can be noticed how the learner is instructed in respect to learn
greeting and how to show interest in other person’s well -being in the form of a letter or
a po stcard.
Project 2 offers the expressions of greeting in the templates of the postcards (SB:
37) but the task itself focuses only on the grammatical issues, concentrating on a fill -the-
gaps activity. Also the example below shows simple phrases of such a ki nd.
Hi Bred, Greetings from Portugal. It’s great here. We ___(travelled) by boat to northern
Spain and then we___(drove) down to Portugal. It was a long journey, but we ___(played)
computer games in the car……Hope you’re OK. John

Most of the examples of greetings, etc. appear as part of a dialogue. Although
polite structures are suitably implemented, most of the activities solely focus on

46
teaching of grammar. One such example is an activity from Project 2 on the holiday topic
(SB: 39), with the aim to teach and practise question forms in the past simple tense.
Even though the task does not primarily focus on the sociolinguistic skills, there are
small structures, e.g. showing interest in a person’s well -being. For example, Hi, Char lie.
Where you away last week? / Yes, I was. I was on holiday with my parents. / Where did you
go? / …Did you have a good time? / Yes, we did. It was great. / Good. / Oh I see. / Oh dear.
An example from Way to Win 6 that shows the greeting expressions is in the form
of a telephone call between a girl and her mother (SB: 38). However, the main point of
this listening and reading exercise is again to practise the present continuous. Hi, Mum.
We’re here. How are you? / Fine. What are you doing? / I’m maki ng dinner. What about
you? …Listen, Jenny – the pets are fine and I’m fine, OK? Now go and help your dad…and
have a nice weekend. Bye now. / Bye, Mum.

Another listening and reading activity from Project 3 is introduced with an
informal story dialogu e (SB: 38). Its aim is to practise comprehension of listening to
dialogues and to observe polite expressions, showing interest and enthusiasm, also with
expressions used when gossiping about a personal relationship. Such as in Here it is. / It
looks really cool. / These are some of the characters…./ Wow!
The activity above is followed by a variety of spoken interaction tasks while
practising common informal phrases expressing interest (SB: 39), particularly, positive –
face expressions. The learner should also be able to understand them in the context and
respond correctly. Another purpose is to illustrate informality. The examples include Are
you going out with Frank? / You must be joking! /Can I listen to your new CD? / Sure. Here
it is. / We went to New York for our holidays. / That sounds exiting. /Yes, it was wonderful!
We had a great time. More examples: It look/sounds fantastic/ exciting/ delicious/boring/
terrible/ dangerous.

FORMAL LETTER
A reading activity that helps to revise the basic stylistic rules and typical
expressions for greeting and addressing within a formal letter can be found in Way to

47
Win 8 (SB: 60). In the case of the example below, this formal letter is addressed to the
BBC radio with the aim to describe a person who became a hero. The activity involves
reading and structuring the sections of the letter in the correct order.
Dear Sir or Madam (Dear Mrs/Mr), I’m writing to you about my friend Ricky. He’s a
really good frien d. You could say that he’s my hero! I’ll never forget when/I had big
problems at school. There was a horrible group of older kids. They made my life hell./ I
didn’t know what do. But / Ricky said, ‘You have to tell your parents. Don’t worry – I’ll
come wit h you.’ / In the end everything was OK. / The other kids were still horrible. But it
was easier because other people knew about my problem. Thanks to Ricky. /That’s why
he’s my hero! Yours faithfully, Oliver Smith
The following task focuses on the actual writing of a formal letter of a similar kind
as mentioned above. The topic discusses bullying and being in trouble. The learner
should be able to express his/her feelings to an authority that is supposed to help. There
is also a prompt called Some ideas with statements that help the weaker learner start the
task. The statements are set upside down with regard to the other text, so the teacher
can see which learner needs his/her guidance. Some of the examples belonging to the
prompt are for instance I had pr oblem at school/ at home / with my brother. I forgot my
money/ homework …. said, ‘You have to talk to your parents/ a teacher.’ … lent me some
money/helped me with my homework. We talked about the problem. My parents weren’t
angry. The topic of being i n trouble is also discussed in a next listening activity (SB: 61).
The whole Unit 5 in Way to Win 9 delivers many features of the work
environment. In addition to the vocabulary part or a listening activity Phoning about a
job (SB: 57), the unit also give s examples of Curriculum Vitae and a formal letter of
application (SB: 58 – 59). It also describes the differences in the Czech and the British
style of such letters (SB: 60) in a practical way for the learners. The English text is
accompanied by notes in the Czech language. The notes explain the rules of addressing
and structuring of the letter but also point at the fact that an English formal letter should
be well structured and written with a clearly suited aim. Another note states that it
should not be hand -written.

48
By contrast, the phrase (SB: 60) Thank you very much in advance seems to be
inappropriate in an English formal letter, as the addressee might feel obliged. The
example of the letter follows:

Dear Sir or Madam
At school we are doing a project on job
profiles. We are collecting information and
material for a classroom poster about all
sort of jobs in different companies.
We are also interest in information on your
company’s products and how they are
produced, e. g. mobile phones.
Could you please send us brochures and/ or
photos and facts about your company?
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you very much in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Lenka Valášková

In contrast to Way to Win , also Project 5 offers a formal letter writing activity (SB:
55). The task also focuses on a letter of application. To oppose the other analysed
textbook, the activity focuses on features that should be presented in a formal letter,
such as the appropriate ways of addressing and greeting, and also the position of the
receiver’s and sender’s name, the address, also the date and signature. The example is
drawn in a sample letter. The following task is to write a letter o f application of the
learner’s choice. The sample letter follows:
Picture 1. Retrieved from Way to Win 9 in May 2015.

49
Dear Mrs Jones,
I saw your advertisement on the Teenscene
website and I’d like to apply for a job as a
dog walker. I’m fifteen years old and I’m
responsible and reliable. I’m very fond of
animals – especially dogs. I haven’t got a
dog of my own, as we live in a small flat, but
I’ve taken my grandmother’s dog for a walk
at weekends since I was thirteen. I’m sure I
would enjoy taking other people’s dog for a
walk, too.
I can come for an interview any weekday
after 3.30.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Wake

Both analysed series of textbooks often submit such similar rules as polite ways
of addressing and greeting in a formal letter. The letter can be found in two examples, as
the letter addressed to media in Way to Win 8 and the letter of application i n Way to
Win 9.
To sum up the issue, the Way to Win textbook brings a suitable comparison with
the Czech formal letter; at the same time, however, it also gives examples of an
inappropriate structure that can be seen as impolite in certain context. P roject shows an
example of an appropriate formal letter; however, the task focuses on rather trivial
points, such as finding the sender’s and receiver’s name in the letter.

THANK -YOU LETTER
The activities from Way to Win 9 , Unit 3 (SB: 36), which involve polite behaviour,
are finalised with a writing task. There is an informal letter related to the previous topic, Picture 2 . Retrieved from Project 5 in May 2015.

50
a thank -you letter to the host family some time after the student went home after
visiting the foreign country. From the sociolinguistic point of view, the activity involves
greeting, addressing, showing interest in another person’s well -being and gratitude.
The sample letter follows:
Dear Mr and Mrs Hatter,
Thank you for the wonderful time I had with you. I le arned a lot of ‘real’ English. So now
I’m even looking forward to English lessons at school. Thanks again for the trip to Seaford.
I enjoyed the fantastic day at the beach. My mum also says thank you for taking good care
of me.
Best wishes,
Julia. P.S.: xxx to little Cindy.

The aim of the task is to write a similar letter to a fictional host family according
to the given scenario (SB: 36). The scenario is written in the Czech language, so the
activity also involves the skill of mediation. Here are som e examples of the scenario: Jeho
hostitelská rodina se jmenuje Howe; naučil se mnoho o životě ve Velké Británii; netěší se
však na školu a hodiny angličtiny, děkuje za výlet…
For the overview of the competences, see section 7.2 Greeting, addressing and
showing interest.

4.2.3 EXPRESSIONS FOR INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS
From the sociolinguistic point of view, introductions and invitations are as
important as, for example, addressing people. The awareness of their correct use is
surely one of the features of good manners. The knowledge of them is therefore crucial
not only in formal situations but also in any kind of an informal interaction. Students of
the A2 level are supposed to be able to introduce and invite someone, and make a simple
polite r esponse to them.

51
Many such phrases can be found in Project 3 in the usual way – the phrases can be
observed in a dialogue and practised in additional tasks. As an introduction to the unit, a
story dialogue (SB: 4) involving listening and reading skills ca n be found. The aim is to
practise the comprehension of the story, however, expressions for introductions are
there mainly as a part of common everyday expressions. The example follows: Sonia,
this is Trish. It’s her first day today. She’s going to be in class 9K with you. Could you take
her to the classroom, please? /Yes, Mr Dunn.
Another sociolinguistic phenomenon is shown in a listening activity, with the
main aim to practise comprehension (SB: 14). The story introduces polite expressions
with a focus on introductions and invitations. E.g., This is my friend, Martin. Martin, this is
Trish. She’s in my class. / Hi, Trish. Nice to meet you. / Yes. Nice to meet you, too.
The practice exercise is followed by extra speaking tasks (SB: 15) for common
express ions for invitations with the aim to practise making, accepting and refusing
invitations. The examples include Would you like to watch TV? Yes, please. / Do you fancy
a game of the table tennis? Sorry, I can’t. / Do you want to come to my party? Yes, I’d love
to. Thanks.
Similarly, a variety of tasks on practising expressions for introducing people (SB:
15) involves a correct -the-order activity, listen and check, followed by a speaking
activity. For instance, Yes. Nice to meet you, too. / Hi, Trish. Nice to meet you. / This is my
friend, Martin. /Martin, this is Trish. /She’s in my class .

With each level of the Way to Win series, there come some new characters. One of
the new characters from Way to Win 7 is a new teacher. A listening exercise (SB: 8) is
based on the episode when the teacher meets her pupils, so it shows good examples of
polite greeting, expressing interest in other people well being and so on. Among the
examples, there are Hello Ben. Hello Sita, Jenny. How are you? / Fine, Miss Hunt…Th ank
you. /Now listen, everyone. This is your new form teacher, Mrs McCann – Helen McCann. /
Hello. Nice to meet you.
For the overview of the competences, see section 7.3 Introductions and
Invitations.

52
4.2.4 DEGREE OF POLITENESS
The purpose of teaching d ifferent degrees of politeness is to distinguish the polite
expressions from the least polite expressions and their appropriate use in the given
context. The incorrect use of such expressions may sound impolite or even ironic or
sarcastic. Although the kno wledge of the degrees of politeness is considerably
important, there is no such direct explanation mentioned in the Project series 2 to 5.
A solo activity in Way to Win 9 that involves teaching the degrees of politeness is
connected with giving advice (SB: 24). The task is based on a dialogue between two girls
talking about problems and risks they may encounter while travelling with someone by
car. The note in the margins states: “ Některé rady, které Nancy dává Debbie, mají formu
příkazu, jiné ne. Která rada je nejzdvořilejší ?” In other words, the aim is to order the
recommendations from the most direct to the least direct one. For example, Why don’t
you find someone that will take you in the car? /You shouldn’t go out alone at night. /Don’t
believe everything he tells you. /You mustn’t travel with a drunk driver. /Don’t go to
dangerous places.
The following task, based on the activity mentioned above, is to listen to th e
reaction to the advice provided by one girl to another. The learner should note the
answers and use them in the following role -play activity. The activity also involves
mediation, as the sentences in the textbook are scripted in the Czech language. For
instance, A: Řekni, že jsi slyšela, že test bude velmi těžký. / B: Poraď A, že nemusí věřit
všemu, co jí/mu kdo říká. / A. Řekni, že B má nejspíš pravdu. / A: Řekni B, že chceš jít sám/
sama na koncert. / B: Poraď A, aby dával/a pozor na cizí lidi. / A: Řek ni, že o tom budeš
přemýšlet.
For the overview of the competences, see section 7.4 Degree of Politeness.

4.2.5 REQUESTS
Requests can be divided into several types according to their purpose: 1. direct
requests , which could be seen, in many situations, as impolite; 2. conventionally indirect
requests and 3. nonconventional indirect requests, also called hints ; hints are seen as the
most polite type of requests.

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Requesting is an important strategy with the aim t o obtain something. Therefore
the strategy is modified according to its purpose. The intonation strategy also plays an
important role. The lack of knowledge of intonation can influence the speech act in
terms of politeness and impoliteness appropriate for requesting.
Direct requests are usually mentioned as a source of learning imperatives in both
series of Project and Way to Win textbooks. However, the textbooks mostly omit
examples or comparisons of different kinds of requests in terms of politeness.

DIRECT REQUESTS
In the listening and reading activities in Way to Win 6 (SB: 20 -21), there are many
examples of direct requests. However, the main aim is to introduce imperatives. The
content focuses on grammar and explanation of the positive and negativ e forms of
imperatives. The listening activities are supported by transcripts. Any further
explanations of the context of being polite or impolite are not mentioned. As for
examples, there are Please, help me. / Don’t do that./Go upstairs and help Nick.
Also a short note in the margins (SB: 26) explains that imperatives have no
subject; at the end there should be a comma, not an exclamation mark. Finally, an
example showing that please normally follows after imperatives is included, such as in
case of Wai t for me, please.
Only a simple example of a direct request is displayed within a cartoon (SB: 48) in
Project 2, with an order to discipline the behaviour the dog’s behaviour, e.g., Stop it, Mut!
Sit! Another example is giving instructions while cooking (SB: 51) with the main focus
on the definite and indefinite articles, for instance Grate the cheese and the onion. / Add
little milk. / Then mix it together. Etc.

INDIRECT REQUESTS
Indirect requests are the most frequent of all kinds of requests in both analysed
textbooks. The examples of indirect requests are used in various activities, both in the

54
spoken and written interaction. Their function is to show everyday polite forms with
suitable responses in many situations requiring polite requests.

Many such examples can be found in Project 2 , where the indirect requests are
also a basis for a set of activities with the purpose of giving and getting personal
information (SB: 5). These activities use reception at a sports centre as a topic and they
involve listening, speaking and reading activities. For example, Good afternoon. Can I
help you? / Hello. Yes. I want to join the sport centre., etc.
Another task on the same page focuses o n the use of the modal verb can with the
aim to talk about abilities, such as in this example: Can you play the piano? / No, I can’t. /
What about Alice? / She can play the violin. ; or in a listening and speaking activity with
the main focus on countable and uncountable nouns. It is based on a conversation in a
restaurant environment (SB: 45). The examples are Yes, please? / Can I have a
cheeseburger and chips, please? /Anything else? / Yes, can I have an ice -cream,
please?/…That’s 5.50, please? / Here y ou are. / Thank you.
Polite phrases with suitable politeness markers are typical examples of indirect
requests in their proper context. The activity is completed by a role -play in which the
learners should take the role of a guest and a waiter.

Another example of situation that typically involves indirect requests can be
found in Project 4. The situation of ordering a meal (SB: 50) is introduced with a
dialogue. The dialogue is followed by a variety of tasks (SB: 51), such as a
comprehension task and a speaking interaction task. Despite the fact that the set of
activities involves polite expressions while ordering a meal, most of the following tasks
focus mainly on grammar. For instance, Would you mind giving me a lift, please? / Yes, of
course. Could yo u give me a lift, Please? / Certainly., etc.

One of the typical examples of a role -play activity in Way to Win 7 that also
involves polite requesting is connected with the topic of shopping (SB: 36), as in How

55
can I help you? / One kilo of oranges, please. / Here you are. / And two…/ I’m sorry. I
haven’t got any toady. /Oh, well…

The following sets of activities that are depicted all come from the Way to Win 9
textbook. They involve all four skills in many different activities that use differen t
expressions for requests.
A very rewarding listening exercise is called Sounding friendly (SB: 36). It is
introduced with a note in the teacher’s book (TB: 48) that being impolite may be caused
by a lack of polite phrases in a foreign language and there fore the learner should learn to
use them. The actual exercise is available in two versions based on a dialogue between a
student and an adult member of a host family when they meet for the first time. One
version assumes direct yes or no answers for the l ack of communication skills, and the
other version shows all appropriate polite social exchanges for the given situation. This
type of activity is very valuable for both the teacher and the learner, as it shows the
contrast in such critical moments as the first time a person meets someone. In the first
version, these examples are to be found: Err, excuse me, are you Julia? / Yes. / I’m Mrs
Hatter. It’s nice to meet you, dear. So…, was your journey all right then? / Yes. // In the
second one, there are s entences, such as Erm, excuse me, are you Robert? / Yes, I am.
Hello! Are you Mr Howe? / Yes. Nice to meet you, Robert. Did you have a good journey?/ It
was OK, thanks. / Well, are you ready to go then? / Oh yes, great.
The following task actually involves correcting the less polite answers of the
previous task, which uses direct yes and no answers. Also, a role -play activity is
introduced which focuses on the newly learnt knowledge. There is also recommendation
to record the dialogues between learners for further analyses.
A useful tip in the margin of the textbook (SB: 36) explains that polite structures
and the expectation behind them can exist in one language but not in the other. The
indirect request Would you like s ome tea? instructs the learner that the polite response
is either Yes, please or No, thank you. There is also a very useful tip that says that in
Britain one should not “coy” if refusing something; the hostess might additionally ask
Are you sure? and the re will be no further offer. If one is sure about that he/she would
like to accept an offer, the person should respond Yes, thank you.

56
Also the analysed Project 5 teaches indirect requests within a listening activity
which is called Polite questions (SB: 73). A short explanation can be seen here: “We often
use indirect questions to ask for information. It sounds more polite.” Another useful
feature is its comparison with direct request forms. For instance, What’s the time? vs.
Excuse me. Could you tell me what the time is, please? / Is there a postbox near here? vs.
Excuse me. Can you tell me if there is a postbox near here, please?
A similar activity on the same page is for a dialogue -making practice that follows
the structures from the previous exerci se, as shown here: Excuse me. Could you tell me if
there’s a cash machine near here, please? / Yes, there’s one at the bank over there. / Thank
you., etc.
Project 5 workbook (WB11: 58) may open the opportunity to compare direct and
indirect requests in dif ferent situations; however, it is the teacher’s choice whether their
polite or impolite impact will be explained to the learners. None of the materials contain
any information explaining politeness or impoliteness features directly. The exercises
are set a s a ground for teaching questions from the grammatical point of view. Some
examples follow: She wants to know what time the concert starts. – Could you tell me what
time the concert starts? In case of the direct request, e.g., Sally wanted to know whether it
was raining outside. – Is it raining outside?
The additional writing activity seems to be most useful (WB: 62). It involves
formulating polite indirect versions of questions from direct requests, such as in the
listening activity (SB: 73) mentioned above.

More typical sets of activities for making and responding to requests in many
different situations can be found also in Project 5 (SB: 48 – 49). The activities involve
tasks based on listening, reading and speaking. Especially the listening activity shows
polite markers within requests in the context. The examples are: Well, I’d better go.
Would you mind putting these things in the dishwasher before you go? / Oh, but I’ll be late.
The bus is in two minutes. / Well, it’s your turn. Andrew did it yesterday. / I’ll do it
tomorrow. I promise. / OK. I’ll do it myself today. / Thanks, mum. See you later. / Bye.

11 WB abbreviation for work book

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None of the selected textbooks draw examples or explanations of
nonconventional indirect requests. For the overview of the competences, see section 7.5
Requests.

4.2.6 EXPRESSIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS
To make an offer or suggestion and respond to it certainly requires the speaker to
sound polite. The most common expressions at the A2 level involves modals ( can, shall ,
would ) or expressions, such as how about , let’s , etc.
The examples of the typical way the activities are structured in the Project
textbooks series follow: The polite structure is used in a story in the form of an article,
dialogue or cartoon with speech bubb les. A listening or text task is delivered to the
learner, which is usually followed by questions to test the learner’s comprehension. A
greater attention is paid to the polite structures in the following tasks called Everyday
English. The structures are f urther practised in many activities that usually involve
spoken interaction.
One of such examples of the comics’ stories can be found in Project 2, which
focuses on making suggestions (SB: 74): Shall we go to the park today? / Ok. / Look. It’s a
penguin. I think he’s lost. / What shall we do with him? / Let’s ask that policeman. / Excuse
me. We found… etc.
The task is followed by a variety of activities on the following page (SB: 75). This
involves a drill, listening and comprehension tasks, role -playing, pronunciation and fill –
in-the-gaps task. For instance, Let’s go__(swimming). / That’s good__( idea). Where shall
we meet? / Why don’t we meet outside the__( sport centre)? / Fine. /So I’ll__ (see) you
outside the sport centre. / OK.__( See) you.
Ano ther similar type of activities, this time from Project 3, is a story dialogue (SB:
26). It involves listening and reading skills with the aim to practise the comprehension
of the story and its polite expressions for offers and suggestions. The examples ar e:
What’s the problem? / It’s the DJ. He can’t make it. He’s ill…/I’ll do it. /What? You’ll be the
DJ? Are you sure? /Yes, it’ll be fun.

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The following page of the same textbook offers a variety of activities for
practicing expressions for offering help or stating intentions (SB: 27). Reading, listening
and speaking skills are involved in the given tasks . E.g., I’ll do the shopping. / I’ll make
some sandwiches. / I’m going to be the DJ.
Another activity in Project 3 that also deals with structures for making
suggestions and their corresponding responses (SB: 75) involves reading, listening and
speaking tasks such as an correct -the-order activity; match the audio with the correct
picture activity and make dialogues ac tivity. Here are some examples: Shall we go to the
disco? /No, I don’t think I’ll bother.// Why don’t we go swimming?/No, thanks./Why not?/I
just don’t feel very well./Oh, I see.

An activity from Way to Win 8 (SB: 58) focuses on the sociolinguistic skill s, such
as making an offer. The task is to match the given statements with the correct pictures.
For instance, I’ll help you with the clothes. I’ll check it in the dictionary. I’ll clean that bit.
I’ll show you where it is. I’ll carry it upstairs.

Pictur e 3. Retrieved from the Way to Win 8, in May 2015.
The tips in the margin (SB: 58) stress that there is a choice of statements when
offering help, such as I’ll help you or the interrogative question Shall I help you? or Can I
help you? , which function as offers.
For the overview of the competences, see section 7.6 Expressions for Suggestions
and Offers.

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4.2.7 GIVING OPINION
In order to be able to negotiate or express opinions and beliefs, one often needs
to show his/her agreement or disagreement. This involves sounding friendly and
showing empathy with different opinions. While expressing opinions, people should also
show that they are listening, understanding and appreciating the other person’s
opinions.

An exercise in Way to Win 8 that involves giving opinion can be found in a
speaking task called What’s your opinion? (SB: 80). It teaches, next to suggesting, also
expressions to give an opinion. This particular exercise involves a division of the
answers (that is, you agree and you don’t agree ) into columns, such as in the following
example: I think so. / I don’t think so. // You are right. / That can’t be right. // That’s a
good point. / I can see your point, but…// I’m not sure about that .

The task is also followed by an extra practice (SB: 80), taking the form of a role –
play activity. The learner is supposed to act according to the scenario, which is written
in the Czech language and therefore involves mediation. For instance, A: Řekni, že pokusy
na zvířatech jsou důležité. B: Ty máš jiný názor a řekneš, že experimenty na zvířatech jsou
kruté . A: Řekni, že mnohé experimenty pomáhají lidem.
Another task (SB: 80) is to write a letter to a newspaper in which the author
complains about an oil p ipe line damaging the coast. As it can be seen from the
examples, some parts of the unit focus on the world environmental problems.
For the overview of the competences, see section 7.7 Giving Opinion.

4.2.8 MAKING ARRANGEMENTS
A dialogue in Project 5 is based on a telephone call with the aim to change the
date of an appointment between the student and a dental surgery receptionist (SB: 24).
The activity involves listening and reading skills and teaches expressions for making

60
arrangements. The skill of making arrangements can be also practised in a written form
in the workbook (WB: 19). An example follows:
Hello. Dental Surgery. / Hello. My name’s Bob King. I’ve got an appointment at four
o’clock on Tuesday but I’m afraid I can’t make it now. I’m play ing in the football match
after school. / I see. Would you like to make another appointment? / Yes, please… / I’m
sorry. But that’s no good for me. We don’t finish till ten past three./ Oh, of course. Well, just
a minute. What about quarter to four next Monday, then? / Next Monday? Yes, that will be
fine. / OK. So we’ll see you at 3.45 on Monday 2 February. / Yes. Thank you. Goodbye. /
Goodbye.
The following activity is based on the previous dialogue and focuses on
suggesting, refusing, thinking or acce pting some ideas (SB: 25). The dialogue is in the
form of a diagram which offers a pattern with various possible endings.

Picture 4 . Retrieved from Project 5, in May 2015.
For instance, Can you come on Tuesday? / What about 3.45 next Monday? / I’m
afraid Thursday’s no good for me. / I’m sorry, but I can’t make at 2.30. / Let me see. / Just a
minute. / Yes, that will be fine.
The Revision page also offers a writing activity to practise making arrangement
structures (SB: 30). The task is to create a dialogue for such a purpose.

An activity from Way to Win 8 focuses on the skill of taking notes while speaking
on the telephone (SB: 57) and while listening to a dialogue. E.g.,

61
017155866472. Hello. / Oh, hello, Mr Price. It’s Emma Bell here. Could I sp eak to Ruth,
please. Could you tell her this? Everyone is meeting at the pizza place at 8.00 o’clock. / Just
a moment, let me get something to write with. Say it again. / Everyone… / Thank you very
much, Mr Price. / You’re welcome. Goodbye, Emma. / Good bye Mr Price .
For the overview of the competences, see also section 7.8 Making Arrangements.

4.2.9 EXPRESSIONS FOR APOLOGIES AND POLITE REFUSALS
The definition in the Oxford dictionary12 states that apology is “a grateful
acknowledgment of an offence or failure ”. To be able to show regret and to apologize is
also a very important skill demonstrating good manners. The textbooks at the given
level usually show the most common structures in dialogues, usually in listening
activities with a transcript, and a lso in the written interaction, such as formal and
informal letters.
One example is a listening activity in Way to Win 9 . It is a kind of activity that also
involves many kinds of sociolinguistic features, such as polite offers, indirect requests,
usual polite markers, suggestions or gratitude and also refusals, within one activity. A
very polite conversation is set at the breakfast table (SB: 36). The following task is to
practise the above mentioned social skills, in the form of a role -play activity acc ording to
a written scenario, as in the example below:
Would you like some tea with your breakfast? / Thank you. But I don’t really like tea. Can I
have coffee, please? / Of course you can. With milk and sugar? / With milk, please. / Here
you are. / Have some more toast. / No thank you. I’ve eaten too much already. / What
about another cup of coffee before you go? / No, thank you. / And here’s your packed lunch.
/ Oh, thank you very much. / You are welcome.

The Project textbooks do not offer any activit ies which focus directly on
expressions used for expressing apology or refusal; however, such expressions still can
be found within the dialogues or listening exercises, such as in Project 5 (SB: 25), for
example: I’m afraid Thursday’s no good for me. I’m sorry, but I can’t make at 2.30.

12 Available at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com

62
For the overview of the competences, see section 7.9. Apologies and Polite
Refusals.

4.2.10 EXPRESSIONS FOR GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS
Although requests are usually accompanied with the politeness marker please , its
role usually depends on its position in the phrase. Please in the initial position can show
directness, such as in the phrase Please, can you pass me the salt?
In a sentence such as Can you, please, pass me the salt? , where please is in the
medial p osition, there is still a feeling of urgency and command. In a similar sentence,
Can you please help me with this issue? , the expression please stands also in the medial
position but the request sounds conventionally polite. The meaning of a politeness
mar ker, therefore, depends of its position and co -text in which it occurs, and which is
possibly too complicated to understand for the students of A the 2 level.
The most common examples of the above mentioned phenomenon is in the final
position. Such a posi tion of please, as for example in Can you pass me the salt, please? ,
appears in the textbooks in most cases.
Although there are many examples of the politeness marker please in the Project
textbooks, there is no further explanation, neither in the textboo k, nor in the teacher’s
materials, e.g., about the role of its function within the sentence, as it is in Way to Win
described below.

A short speaking activity in Way to Win 9 called Word watch (SB: 35) focuses on
the politeness marker please , and its final position within polite indirect requests. The
aim is to practise polite requests with the word please and its polite response Yes, of
course. Even though there is not any focus on the degree of politeness in requests, the
examples in the te xtbook are ordered from the most polite to the least polite ones. For
instance, Would / Could / Can / Will you…please?

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Also a note called Tip (SB: 36) states that if using such words as thank you and
please , one can avoid making any mistakes. This is also a warning that the learner should
be aware that the correct answer to thank you is You’re welcome .
An activity in Way to Win 7 focuses on saying thank you and please in different
foreign languages (SB: 18). The examples of both markers in German, French, and
Spanish are listed in the teacher’s material (TB: 19).
For the overview of the competences, see section 7.10 Gratitude and Politeness
Marker.

4.2.11 INTONATION
Intonation is an important feature of the communicative competence. The
incorrect use of intonation can be even perceived as rude or sarcastic. Although the
students can listen to the correct intonation in every listening activity in both analysed
textbo oks and the tasks are mostly recorded by native speakers, none of the two
textbook series directly explains the intonation in given situations, neither to the
learners, nor to the teachers. In the CEFR document, there is also no mention of the
intonation s trategy for the A2 level. Small exceptions can be found in some of the Project
textbooks.
Most of the pronunciation activities in the Project textbook focus only on
practising the right intonation without any further explanation related to the way the
sentence is delivered.

In Project 3 , there is a listening activity for teaching the falling and rising
intonation that expresses interest and enthusiasm (SB: 39); however, there are no
examples of the incorrect intonation, which might be seen as highly im polite. These
examples can be listed: What was that? /What was it like? / What’s the matter? /That’s
sounds wonderful. /Really?
A listening and speaking activity implemented in Project 4 (SB: 15) involves
expressions for showing interest and becoming aware of its correct use. Another aim is

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to practise the correct rhythm and intonation by imitating the sounds. Among these
expressions, there are: never mind/ that’s a pity/ better luck next time/ congratulations/
well done/ I’m glad to hear that/ I’m sorry to hear that/ that’s good news.

Following what was said above, an activity that involves the falling and rising
intonation (SB: 27) is set with the aim to drill the intonation in the given phrases. The
preceding activity is to introduce the rules how to form question tags from the
grammatical point of view, such as in You didn’t revise, did you? /You can do that, can’t
you?
Another pronunciation exercise from Project 4 is an activity that teaches a
sentence stress while expressing worries (SB: 63). The activity is a drill one with no
further explanations. E.g., My legs feel like jelly. / What if I fail? / I can’t eat a thing. / My
hands are shaking. / I’ve got butterflies in my stomach./ I’m really nervous.

For the overview of the competences, see also section 7.11 Intonation .
Picture 5. Retrieved from Project 5 in May 2015.
Picture 6 . Retrieved from Project 5 in May 2015.

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4.2.12 MEDIATION
The Common European Framework for Languages states: „In both the receptive
and productive modes, the written and/or oral activities of mediation make
communication possible between persons who are unable, for whatever reason, to
communicate with each other directly. Translation or interpretation, a paraphrase,
summary or record, provides for a third party a (re)formulation of a source text to
which this third party does not have direct access . “ (p.14)

Although mediation is recommended from the B1 level ( according to CEFR),
simple activities that involve mediation are also offered in the Way to Win textbooks.

An exercise in Way to Win 8 that involves nonconventional polite structures can
be found in a speaking task (SB: 80) that teaches phrases suitable for suggesting and
giving opinion. It also provides a practice of mediation. In particular, in a role -play
activity, the learner is supp osed to act according to a scenario that is written in the
Czech language. E.g., A: Řekni, že pokusy na zvířatech jsou důležité. / B: Ty máš jiný názor
a řekneš, že experimenty na zvířatech jsou kruté. / A. Řekni, že mnohé experimenty
pomáhají lidem. , etc.

Mediation skills are also practised in an exercise in Way to Win 9 (SB: 37). The
activities are based on the idea that not all the members of the Czech host family can
speak the foreign language, i.e., English. The exercise can be found under the head ing
Interpreting . Some examples follow: Could I take a shower, please? We did a lot of sport
this afternoon./ Ptá se, jestli … /Řekni, že se samozřejmě může osprchovat. / Of course… /
Zeptej se ho taky, jestli chce velký ručník. / Do you want… or Would you like…? , etc.
The following role -play activity was created for a group of three learners where
there is one English speaking person, a Czech speaker and a bilingual person, whose part
is to translate the sentences for other participants. For instance, A: Could I bring two
friends of mine to your house this evening, please? Hanging around in town is a bit boring.
/ B: Ptá se jestli… / C: Řekni, že přátele samozřejmě přivést může. /I know it’s expensive,
but could I phone home, please? I’ll pay for the ca ll, of course. /B: Ptá se… / C: Řekni mu, že

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si může zatelefonovat a nemusí za to samozřejmě platit. Zeptej se taky, jestli zná
předvolbu. , etc.

Another activity that is based on the skill to give advice also from Way to Win 9
(SB: 24) and, similarly, in the additional task, it focuses on mediation . The task is to
listen to the reaction to a piece of advice provided by one girl to another. The learner
should note the answers and use them in the following role -play activity. Various
examples are provided : A: Řekni, že jsi slyšela, že test bude velmi těžký. / B: Poraď A, že
nemusí věřit všemu, co jí/mu kdo říká. / A. Řekni, že B má nejspíš pravdu. , etc.

The skill of paraphrasing is also included in Way to Win 9 (SB: 61 –63). The
exercises are based on the fact that one of the speakers is a foreigner and whom does
he/she teaches the techniques of paraphrasing such as using gestures or expressions
with the help of relative clauses. Another task focuses on the skill of interpreting with
the aim to comfort someone. E.g., Gina: Look at little Filip. He looks sad. But you must talk
to him. You speak Czech, I don’t. / Pavel: Ahoj Filipe, co se děje? Proč pláčeš? / Filip: Už tři
dny jsem nedostal z domova žádnou poštu. / Gina: What is he saying? / Pavel: He says he
hasn’t had…for…./ Gina: Tell him to calm down. We’ll go to the reception. If there’s no post
for him, he can phone home from there. , etc.

By contrast, the Project textbooks do not offer any kind of media tion skills
whatsoever.
For the overview of the competences, see also section 7.12 Mediation.

4.2.13 COMBINATION OF COMPETENCES IN DIALOGUES
Most of the activities in Project 5 touching the sociolinguistic aspect described
below are presented in the form of a dialogue. The dialogues combine listening and
reading skills. It is very hard to distinguish the sociocultural features in the same way as
in the previous analyses, such as short polite social exchanges, greetings, addressing,
requests, etc. The reason is quite simple: most of the dialogues contain a combination of

67
those features, and therefore the labelling is skipped in those descriptions. Surprisingly,
most of the dialogue s start without a greeting and/or an introduction.
A listening and reading exercise (SB: 13) is based on a situation in a clothes shop.
It teaches how to describe a problem and ask for solutions. Although the dialogue
involves requests, apology, showing i nterest, suggestion and other social functions, the
task itself focuses on the teaching of the new lexis. The dialogue is followed by a set of
activities, such as a fill -in-the-gap reading exercise and a speaking interaction task. The
examples are: Can I h elp you? / Yes. I bought these slippers yesterday. They’re a present for
my dad, but they’re the wrong size. / Would you like to change them or have a refund? / I’d
like to change them, please. / OK. What size do you want? / …Just a moment…here you are ./
Thank you very much. / That’s OK. I hope your father likes them. / Thanks. Bye. / Goodbye.

A listening activity with a focus on comprehension (SB: 44) is based on a dialogue
between a man conducting a survey and a passer -by girl. The short example b elow
shows how to address a stranger on the road but the rest of the dialogue continues in a
simple way, using direct request questions. Excuse me. Can I ask you some questions,
please? / Why? Are you doing a survey or something? / Yes, it’s about how youn g people
use computers. / Will it take very long? / No, only a few minutes. / OK, then. / Have you got
your own computer?

Another exercise that teaches sociolinguistic skills within typical language
structures is an exercise with a situation while buyi ng a train ticket (SB: 60). Among the
examples, this can be mentioned: Oxford, please. / Single or return? / Return, please. / Are
you coming back tomorrow? / Yes, I am. / That’s £12.70, please. … Thank you. Here are
your tickets. / Thank you. What time is the next fast train? / It’ll be in the 10.42. Change at
Didcot. / …Number 9. Thank you. Goodbye. / Goodbye. The listening activity is followed by
a dialogue -making task, match -the-pair task or listening for detail task. Also the
workbook (WB: 48) str esses the needs to practise such phrases in a written form.

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The Way to Win textbooks also offer a combination of the sociolinguistic features
within a dialogue. The dialogues usually have the appropriate greetings at the beginning
and the end of them.
An intensive listening task introduced in Way to Win 7 is based on the telephone
dialogue between schoolmates discussing and arranging a day in the Zoo with their new
schoolmate (SB: 16 –17). The listening is very long and therefore divided into five
shorte r subtasks. From the sociolinguistic point of view, the task involves many kinds of
polite structures such as greetings, invitation, expressing regret, suggesting, requesting
and so on. To name the examples: Is that you, Lenka? / Yes, it’s me. Hi, Robin. / Listen,
Lenka. It’s about Petra. I’ve got an idea – let’s show her Pilsen. That’s brilliant idea, Robin.
When? / What about after school on Thursday? / Thursday? No, sorry, I really must help
Mum with the shopping. What about Friday?….Mum, can I go to the ZOO on Saturday with
my friends? Yes you can. And can you take Dan with you? He’d love it. / Oh, no, I can’t do
that. I’m going with my friends, Mum. / Well, it’s up to you then. I can’t force you…
In addition to the communicative skill, the task is supposed to show the social
feeling in a situation in which a new pupil can appear after leaving her former friends
and schoolmates and moving to another town or city. A note in the margins also explains
that each child has its own responsibilities, and a lso own rights and gives a link to a
website where the student can search for more information. Such a note could surely
open the discussion into other (cross -)curricular issues.

An example of a telephone dialogue (SB: 55) between a girl and a friend’s mother
speaking about creating a website can be found in Way to Win 8 . The dialogue is based
on a previous reading activity (SB: 54) that should encourage the learner to think about
the pros and cons of a virtual, computer -based conversation versus face -to-face
communication. The actual listening task contains polite strategies such as addressing
and asking for favour or expressing regret. The learner should be able to deliver the
dialogue in a role -play activity with a focus on intonation (TB: 64). As for some
examples, these can be given: Plymouth 712356. Hello? / Oh, hello, Mrs Beck. This is Lisa.
Could I speak to Mike, please? / I’m sorry, Lisa. He isn’t in. Oh, could you give him a

69
message, please? Could he call me back? We want to make a page about free time. / OK.
Lisa. / Thank you, Mrs Beck. / You’re welcome.

For the overview of the competences, see also section 7.13 Combination of
Competences in a Dialogue.

70
V. Conclusion

The two series of the textbooks analysed in this study are designed for learners of
English as a foreign language, namely Project 2 to 5 and Way to Win 6 to 9. Project was
created by English authors, therefore from the native speaker’s perspective. By cont rast,
Way to Win was created by Czech authors and hence offers an insight from the foreign
learner’s perspective.
Both series were analysed with the aim not only to describe and comment on the
sociolinguistic features included in these textbooks but also to observe the quality and
methods of the language competences that are enhanced in them. The analysed activities
from Project and Way to Win series are divided according to the sociolinguistic
competences.
Both series of textbooks use mainly the Audio -Lingual Method13 and the
Communication Approach14 for enhancing the sociolinguistic competences across the
four basic language skills; represented mostly by the listening and reading skills. The
listening skill is usually in the form of a dialogue or an article with its visual image – the
transcript – which becomes useful for practising reading too. The dialogues bring the
examples of competences within a particul ar context; the sociolinguistic features are
further practised in additional exercises in the form of phrases or chunks of text, etc. The
speaking tasks are mostly based on what was practised in the listening and reading
exercises. The w riting skill is usu ally practised in the form of a formal or informal letter.
The similarities or differences are described in Section 4.2 Analysis of Sociolinguistic
Aspects in the Way to Win and Project Textbooks above.
As previously mentioned, the series Way to Win offer s more explanations,
comparisons to the Czech language and detailed information about the English -speaking
cultures as well as the differences in the verbal discourse of the respective languages.
Both the teacher’s books and the textbooks are provided with extra information, such as

13 Audio -Lingual Method – the method aims to form good habits through students listening to model
dialogues with repetition and drilling but with litt le or no teacher explanation;
14 Communication Approach – the method is based on believes that learner will learn best if they
participate in meaningful communication ( Scrivener, 2005).

71
idiomatic meanings, marginal notes that explain the cultural and linguistic differences in
the learner’s mother tongue and refer to typical problems of the Czech learners of
English.
The series Project also offers many activities in which the sociolinguistic skills can
be suitably enhanced; however, in comparison to Way to Win, they are not delivered
with an extra support in the same or a similar quality and quantity as the series Way to
Win . The differe nce is mostly visible in the subchapter 4.2.1 Cross -Cultural Awareness
above and in the section VII. Appendices.
Although both series of textbooks offer many details, such as historical,
demographical or geographical information about the culture of the En glish -speaking
countries, the textbooks Way to Win 8 and 9 contain advanced details about the
American culture and history; such details appear in the form of articles, dialogues,
marginal notes, supporting information in the teacher’s book and also gramma r
exercises.
It can be concluded that Way to Win 9 is suitable for teaching politeness. For
example, a major part of Unit 3 focuses on polite and friendly behaviour in Britain. There
is also a good example of the culture prejudice. Typical small talks are practised there
and their purpose is well explained. Politeness markers are included in the reading or
listening exercises where the students can acknowledge what their function is within
the given context.
Although both series of text books are defined a s A2 levels and they meet the
recommendations according to CEFR, the Way to Win series seems to be more advanced
in grammar, pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence.

In my opinion, modern learning devices, such as touch sensitive devices, will soon
com pete with traditional printed textbooks. Modern devices are very productive as a
learning aid and also suitable for persons with learning difficulties or for learners with
special needs. They offer a practical way of acquiring a language in a fast and rath er easy
way. For example, the listening tasks with an audio aid only, which can be complicated
by bad acoustic conditions in the classrooms, could be replaced by audio -visual aids. The

72
learner should be able to observe non -verbal communication which is nec essary for the
spotting and understanding of sociocultural differences in the situational context. I
believe that textbooks will change their visual content according to modern approaches.
Second -language learning is then likely to be acquired subconscious ly from early stages
and mostly through the communicative methods.

73
VI. Bibliography

References:

 Bärenfänger, O., Tschirner, E. (2008). Language Educational Policy and
Language Learning Quality Management: The Common European Framework of
Reference. Foreign Language Annals. Vol. 41. No. 1. Retrieved in September 2014
from: <http://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3 –
1462842741/language -educational -policy -and -language -learning#/ >
 Brown, P., Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage.
Studies in interactional sociolinguistics . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 Brown, P., Levinson, S. C. (2004). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage :
Studies in Interactional Sociolingu istic 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching,
assessment. Council of Europe. Modern Language Division. Strasbourg. Cambridge
University Press. Retrieved in September 2014 from:
<http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/framework_en.pdf >
 Council of Europe . Retrieved in September 2014 from:
<http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Cadre1_en.asp >
 Crystal, D. (1985). A dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics . 2nd. edition. Oxford:
Blackwell.
 Darmach, A. (2009) Politeness Phenomena as a Source of Pragmatic Failure in
English as a Second Language . Universitas Mulawarman, Balikpapan. Retrieved in
August 2014 from: <http://www.academia.edu/2481309/Politeness_Phenomena >
 Dontcheva -Navrátilová, O. (2005). Grammatical Structures in English: Meaning
in Context. Brno.
 European Centre for Modern Languages . Retrieved in September 2014 from:
<http://www.ecml.at/AboutUs/AbouttheECML/tabid/141/language/en –
GB/Default.aspx >
 European Language Portfolio. Retrieved in Septembe r 2014 from:
<http://elp.ecml.at/UsingtheELP/Aboutthiswebsite/tabid/2707/language/e
n-GB/Default.aspx >
 Griece, P. (2004). Logic and Conversation . University College London for the
Pragmatic Theory Online Course. Retrieved in April 2015 from
<http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ls/studypacks/Grice -Logic.pdf >
 Halliday, M.A.K. (1971). Language in a Social Perspective: The Context of
Language Educational Review. University of Birmingham.
 Ishihara, N. (2011). Co -Constructing Pragmatic Awareness: Instructional
Pragmatics in EFL Teacher Development in Japan, TESL English Journal, vol. 15/2 .
Hosei University, Columbia University Teachers College Tokyo. Retrieved August
2014 from: <http://www.tesl –
ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume15/ej58/ej58a2/ >

74
 Leech, G. N. (1983). Principles of Pragmatics . London: Longman.
 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. ( 2005). 4th edition. Harlow:
Pearson Education Limited . Pearson Longman.
 Meier , A. J. (1997). Teaching the Universals of Politeness. ELT Journal, vol. 51/1.
Oxford : Oxford University Press. 21-28. Retrieved in August 2014 from:
<http://203.72.145.166/ELT/files/51 -1-3.pdf >
 Oxford Dictionary online . Retrieved in December 2014 from:
<http://www.oxforddictionaries.com >
 Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching . Macmillan Publishers Limited.
 Sebeok, T. A. (1960). Style in Language . Cambridge Massachusetts.
 Spolsky, B. (1998). Sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press.
 TESOL. Retrieved in August 2014 from: <http://www.tesol –
direct.com/definition -of-tesol >
 Walper, S., Valtin, R. (2005). “Children’s understanding of white lies.” In Watts,
R. J., Ide, S. and Ehlich, K. (eds.) Politeness in Language: Studies in its History,
Theory and Practice. Collection of arti cles on linguistic politeness. The Hague:
Mouton de Gruyter. 231 –252
 Watts, R. (2003). Politeness . Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
 Watts, R. (2005). The cultural and historical relativity of „politeness“ . In Watts, R.
J., Ide, S. and Ehlich , K. (eds.) Politeness in Language: Studies in its History, Theory
and Practice. Collection of articles on linguistic politeness. The Hague: Mouton de
Gruyter. 1 –2
 Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

75
Sources:

 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro základní školy a
víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 6 . Fraus.
 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro základní
školy a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 6 . Fraus.
 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro základní školy a
víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 7 . Fraus.
 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro základní
školy a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 7 . Fraus.
 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro základní školy a
víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 8 . Fraus.
 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro základní
školy a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 8 . Fraus.
 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – učebnice pro základní školy a
víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 9 . Fraus.
 Betáková, L. , Dvořáková, K. (2005). Angličtina – příručka učitele pro základní
školy a víceletá gymnasia Way to Win 9 . Fraus.
 Hutchinson. T. (2008) Učebnice angličtiny 2 . Tře tí vydání. CEF A1 -A2. Oxford
University Press.
 Hutchinson. T. Gault. J. (2008) Teacher’s Book 2. Third edition. Oxford University
Press
 Hutchinson. T. (2008 ) Učebnice angličtiny 3 . Třetí vydání . CEF A2. Oxford
University Press.
 Hutchinson. T. Gault. J. (2008) Teacher’s Book 3 . Third edition. Oxford
University Press.
 Hutchinson. T. (2009 ) Učebnice angličtiny 4 . CEF A2. Třetí vydání . Oxford
University Press.
 Hutchinson. T. Gault. J. (2009) Teacher’s Book 4. Third edition. Oxford
University Press.
 Hutchinso n. T. (2009) Učebnice angličtiny 5 . CEF A2 -B1. Třetí vydání . Oxford
University Press.
 Hutchinson. T. Gault. J. (2009) Teacher’s Book 5. Third edition. Oxford
University Press.
 Hutchinson. T. Edwards L. (2009) Pracovní sešit 5 + CD -rom. CEF A2 -B1. Třetí
vydání . Oxford University Press.

76
VII. Appendices
The following section offers an overview of the sociolinguistic competences that
should be enhanced from the analysed textbooks, that is Way to Win and Project series.
The charts give details about the activities enhanced in a speaking, writing, listening or
reading tasks i n short; they also provide the content of supporting information given by
the teacher’s book or the notes in the margins.

7.1 CROSS -CULTURA L AWARENESS
Way to Win 6 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Do British people
shake hands or
kiss on the
cheek? (SB: 11) Answers the
question in SB
and give
examples of
habits when
Europeans,
such as British
or Greek
people meet
(TB: 12)
Tea is a favourite
drink in Britain,
usually served
with milk.

If British do not
like something,
they say: It’s not
my cup of tea
(SB: 12) Another
meaning of the
word tea is
afternoon
snack or
dinner
(TB:13)
Discuss:
What are
people
doing in
the
restaurant
(SB: 40) An insight into a
girl’s life of the
Indian origin in
Britain; her family
life
(SB: 13)
An insight into a
girl’s life of the
Indian origin in
Britain; her family
life
(SB: 13),
her parent’s
occupation
(SB: 19),
their family
business in
restaurant
(SB: 40) Explanation of
lexical functions
of the word
Indian (SB: 7)

Discuss: Where is
India? Why do
Indian
immigrants come
to Britain?
(SB: 9)

What do you
associate with
the word India ?
Have you ever
been in Indian Historical,
geographical
and
demographical
information
about India
(TB: 10),

The word
India may
evoke…
(TB: 39)

Explanation
of the word
‘Assembly’ and
typic al Br.
subjects

77
restaurant?
(SB: 40) (TB: 45)

A visit to the Czech
Republic; the aim is
to be able to speak
about one’s own
country or town
(SB: 35) A visit to the Czech
Republic; the aim
is to be able to
speak about one’s
own country or
town (SB: 35) Do you know
what UNESCO is?
Try to find out
which Czech
sights are on the
UNESCO list
(SB: 35) UNESCO is…
(TB: 34)
Listen to
information about a
day at a British
school (SB: 44)
A day at a British
school
(SB: 43 –44)

British pupils
wear uniforms.
Can you think of
any advantages
and
disadvantages of
wearing
uniforms?
(SB: 43) Possible
advantages of
wearing
uniforms are…
(TB: 46)
An informal letter:
Description of a
day at a British
school to a Czech
student;
addressing,
showing interest
and gratitude
(SB: 44) The notes:
compare the
ways of
addressing in
Czech and
English
informal
letters; also
depict the
difference in
the style
(TB: 48)
Table 1: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Way to Win 6 within the four basic
language skills.

Project 2 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Holidays and
Festivals in Britain:
Christmas, Easter,
New Year
(SB: 16) Position of
numbers in a
name of the
street; position of
the given name
versus the family
name (TB:13)
A note about
restaurants
and usual
meal they
serve in
British towns
(TB: 52)
Geography of the
British landscape
(SB: 57) Transcript of the
listening task:
Geography of the
British landscape
(SB: 57) History of
British Isles
(TB: 63)

A description

78
of children’s
game called
The Grand Old
Duke of York
(TB:64)
British
children
watch an
average of
four hours’
television per
week… (TB:
74)
Geography,
demography and
history of the USA
(SB: 64) Transcript of the
listening task:
Geography,
demography and
history of the USA
(SB: 64) The difference
between the
American and
British date
format; focuses on
the pronunciation
(TB: 19)
Geography and
climate of the
Western and
Eastern Europe (SB:
65)
Table 2: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Project 2 within the four basic
language skills.

Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Difference
between the
Czech and
British forms of
a women’s
surname (SB:
8)
The existence
of middle
names in the
British and
American
culture with
examples (SB:
9) Rules of how to
address women
according to
their marital
status (TB: 10)
British celebrations:
Guy Fawkes Night
and New Year (SB:
26) A note
mentions that
Guy Fawkes
Night is
celebrated also
in Australia,
Canada and
New Zealand
evokes a
discussion on Events in the
Czech Republic
when the
fireworks are
used (TB:26)

Halloween is…
(TB: 27)

79
the topic of the
British
Commonwealth
(SB:26)
Great Britain and
the sea : a text about
the British
geography (SB: 79) Geographical
data of Great
Britain (TB: 78)
Thanksgiving:
description of the
festival in a form
of an informal
letter (SB: 88) Thanksgiving:
description of the
festival in a form of
an informal letter
(SB: 88) The traditional
food on the
Thanksgiving
Day is…
(SB: 88) The Czech
translation is
Díkůvzdání
(TB: 88)
Table 3: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Way to Win 7 within the four basic
skills.

Project 3 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background note in
TB Language
note /
Extra tip in
TB
Ordinary facts
about the British
family life (SB: 16) Compare the
British school time
against the
student’s school
year and their
school holidays
(TB: 12) What is the
normal size
of a family?
What kind
of houses
do people
live in? , etc.
(TB: 25)
Project
task:
choose a
country,
find some
information
about it
and write
about it
(SB: 43) An example
of a
possible
project
about
Britain
(TB: 49)
Speak
about the
information
from the
listening
task about
the London
sights
(SB: 45) A listing task
about the London
sights (SB: 45) Possible
answers to
the
speaking
task
(TB: 52)
Typical features
of the New York
City
(SB: 52) Transcript of the
article: New York
City (SB: 52)
Table 4: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Project 3 within the four basic
language skills.

80
Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
An article about
Wales (SB: 16) Information
about Wales
(SB: 16 –22) What is the
official title of
the oldest
English monarch
and heir to the
throne…
What is
Snowdonia?
(SB: 16) Wales from
the
geographical,
historical and
demographical
point of view
The official
title of English
monarch is…
(TB: 20)
Scotland from
the
geographical,
historical and
demographical
point of view
(TB: 30 –31)

Listen to a tour –
guide describing
the London sights
on a tour bus
(SB: 34 -35) Information
about London
(SB: 34 –42) Do you know the
European town
that lies on the
river with the
same name?
Do you know the
names of rivers
in France, Poland
or Hungary?
(SB: 35) London (TB:
42–46)
One country,
many
cultures:
exercises on
the topic of
immigration
and ethnic
minorities
(SB: 46 –51) One country, many
cultures: exercises
on the topic of
immigration and
ethnic minorities
(SB: 46 –51) One country,
many cultures:
exercises on the
topic of
immigration and
ethnic minorities
(SB: 46 –51) Can you say
what the
traditional
Indian dress for
women is?

What is the
traditional
women’s dress
in Muslim
countries?
(SB: 46)

Immigration
(SB: 48) The British
society has
many ethnic
minorities…
(TB: 50 –54)
Dialogue: Virtual,
computer -based
conversation with
the use of
acronyms
(SB: 54) Examples of
free time
activities in
the Czech Rep.
and Britain
(TB: 63)
Information
about the state of
Florida; Spanish
origin population
(SB: 64) Find Florida in
the US map,
name the other
US states you
know (SB:64)

Spanish lang. is
Dialogue: Am.E. and
Spanish phrases to Transcript of the
dialogue. Examples of
the British

81
show the
multiculturalism of
the USA
(SB: 65)

An informal letter;
description of
differences
between Br.E. and
Am.E. (SB: 65)

(SB: 65)

An informal
letter; description
of differences
between Br.E. and
Am.E. (SB: 65)

the 2nd most
used language in
the US; towns of
the Spanish
origin, e.g., Los
Angeles, San
Diego, etc. Do
you know why?
(SB:65) English and
American
language
varieties:
spelling,
pronunciation
and
differences in
meaning
(TB: 75)

Dialogue: a
traditional Mexican
dish served in the
US; SL: mediation:
Am.E. versus
Spanish (SB: 67) Transcript of the
dialogue (SB: 67) Mexican cuisine
is famous with
tycos, enchiladas
and chilli con
carne. What are
those? (SB: 67) The current
situation of
former
Spanish
colonies and
the facts of
immigration
from Latin
America. (TB:
76)

History of the
United States;
Declaration of
Indepen dence;
demographical
information; a
note about
religion,
volunteer
work; leisure
time activities
(TB: 71 –72) Differences in
accents of the Br.E.
and Am.E. (SB: 69)

Duet – differences in
Br.E and Am.E
accents in the song
(SB: 69) Spelling
differences in the
Br.E. and Am.E.
and examples
(SB: 69)

Discuss the
differences in
spelling,
pronunciation
and grammar in
the Br.E. and
Am.E. (SB: 69)
Change of meanings
of Br. E. and Am.E.
words with
examples (SB: 70)
Dialogue: mentions
information about
traditions in Alaska
(SB:74) Information
about Alaska;
global warming
problems; life of
the Intuits
(SB: 73 –79) Find to whom
Alaska belonged
before it was a
part of the USA
(SB:73)

Imagine how can
the global
warming change
the life in Alaska
or in other parts
of the world (SB:
75)
The film industry
in Hollywood is
introduced by the
state of California
(SB: 83 –85). What is typical of
California? (SB:
83)

Historical details
about the Gold
Rush in the 19th
century (SB: 85) Historical
details about
the American
Civil War
(TB: 96)
Brainstorm
the ideas of
the
American
way of life
(SB: 87) Ideas of
brainstorming
in a diagram
(TB: 99)
Discuss:
War in Information about a
Vietnamese family An article: a
Vietnamese Discuss: War in
Vietnam (SB: 86)

82
Vietnam
(SB: 86)
Vietnamese
community
in the Czech
Rep. (SB:
87)
living in the San
Francisco – their
religion,
celebrations, etc.
(SB: 86 –87) family living in
the San Francisco
– their religion,
celebrations, etc.
(SB: 86 –87) The Vietnamese
community in
the Czech Rep.
(SB: 87)

The influence of
the Am. culture
and Am. English
on our culture.
(SB: 87)
Table 5: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Way to Win 8 within the four basic
language skills.

Project 4 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note/
Extra tip in TB
The small
talk
phrases –
to practise
the correct
rhythm and
intonation
(SB: 15)

Role –
playing:
small talk
phrases
(SB: 15)

Make a
dialogue
with a
partner
(SB: 15) Small talk dialogue,
SL: wishing
someone success,
asking how well
someone
succeeded or
responded to a
failure (SB: 14)

Dialogues: typical
small talks phrases
(SB: 15). Transcript of the
dialogue, SL:
wishing someone
success, asking how
well someone
succeeded or
responded to a
failure (SB: 14)

Transcript of the
dialogue in the form
of a diagram; leads
to either a positive
or a negative
response (SB: 15) Small talk.
brainstorming
ideas with the
aim to create
similar
situations (TB:
27)
Information about
the history of
England
(SB: 16) Transcript of the
listening task:
History of England
(SB: 16) Information
about slang
expression ain’t
got no (TB: 55)
A song: Ain’t got no
(SB: 43) A song: Ain’t got no
(SB: 43) The song: Ain’t
got no is based
on a song from
Hair, a 1968
rock musical
written by
J.Rado and …
(TB: 55) The form ain’t
got no is an
informal slang
variation of I
haven’t got any ,
used by native
speakers (TB:
55)
Information about
the history of
Australia
(SB: 64) Transcript of the
listening task:
History of Australia
(SB: 64)
Information about
the history of the
European Union
(SB: 77) Information about
the history of the
European Union
(SB: 77)
Table 6: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Project 4 within the four basic
language skills.

83
Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB In TB
Discussion:
Compare
New York
with other
world cities.
What is the
capital of the
US and after
whom is it
called? What
does the
word Yankee
mean?
(SB: 5) Information about
New York:
Manhattan,
important places,
immigration,
demography
(SB: 5 –7) Discussion:
Compare New
York with
other world
cities. What is
the capital of
the US and
after whom is it
called? What
does the word
Yankee mean?
(SB: 5)

What does it
mean to be
politically
correct? (SB: 7) More details
about the US
history,
demography and
leisure time
activities (TB: 8 –
9)

Details about the
terrorist attack
in Sept. 2001
(TB:12)

Explanation of
the terms to be
politically
correct and
discrimination
(TB: 13)
A dialogue that
mentions events
such as Bar
mitzvah or
confirmation as a
traditi ons held
also in New York.
(SB: 8 –9) Transcript of the
dialogue.
(SB: 8 –9) Additional
information
about such
terms as
Judaism, Bar
mitzvah,
confirmation,
synagogue,
Israel, anti –
Semitism
(SB: 8) A note about
synagogues in
the Czech Rep.;
the world’s
biggest religions
(TB: 14)
Discuss: Do
you know
any literary
work in
which there
is a mention
of slavery in
the USA? An article that
mentions
immigration office
on the Ellis Island
(SB: 10) Discuss: Do you
know any
literary work in
which there is
a mention of
slavery in the
USA? (SB: 10)
A grammar exercise
on the topic of the
US immigration
(SB: 11) Discuss: Do you
know any US
city called after
a European
town?
A note about
Czech
community in
the US (SB: 11) Answers:
e.g., Cambridge

E.g.,
www.chicago –
cz.com

An Article: Black
America (SB: 15) Task: Find
basic
information
about A.
Lincoln

A note about
typical Afro –
American Details about A.
Lincoln.

Details about
Afro -American
musical genres.
(TB: 21)

84
music, genres,
events.
(SB:15)
Discussion
on the topic
of cultural
prejudice
(SB:30) Short opinion about
other cultures
(SB:30) Discuss: the
British football
teams; British
climate;
members of
the Royal
family; British
toast bread
(SB:30)
Discuss: To
which
nationalities
have the
Czech people
the major
prejudice(s)?
How can we
fight against
prejudice?

Do you know
what other
nationalities´
opinion
about the
Czech people
is?
(SB: 31) A note in diary:
Prejudice thoughts
in a British host
family before they
meet a German boy
(SB: 31). Discuss: To
which
nationalities
have the Czech
people the
major
prejudice(s)?
How can we
fight against
prejudice?

Do you know
what other
nationalities´
opinion about
the Czech
people is?
(SB: 31)
Discuss: Why
did Kai (a
German boy)
answered
short Yes and
No
(SB: 31) Explanation of too
direct Yes or No
answers (SB: 31) Discuss: Why
Kai (a German
boy) answered
short Yes and
No. (SB: 31)
Information about
Australia (SB: 65 –
73) Aussies is an
informal
expression for
the Australians
(SB: 67) Australia from
the
geographical,
historical and
demographical
point of view
(TB: 82 –89)
A dialogue
where the small
talks phrases are
used
(SB: 83) Transcript of the
dialogue (SB: 83) Definition of
small talk
(SB: 83)
Examples of
situations in
which it is polite
to use small talk
(TB: 107)
Table 7: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Way to Win 9 within the four basic
language skills.

85
Project 5 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background note in
TB Language
note/ Extra
tip in TB
An article:
Education in the USA
(SB: 28) An article:
Education in the
USA (SB: 28)
Regions in England
(SB: 40) An article: Regions
in England
(SB: 40)
The English
language (SB: 64) An article: The
English language
(SB: 64)
An exercise: words
which originated in
the Anglo -Saxon,
Viking and Norman
languages; loan
words in English of
various origin;
different words or
spelling of Br.E. and
Am.E.
(SB: 64) An exercise: words
which originated
in the Anglo –
Saxon, Viking and
Norman
languages; loan
words in English
of various origin;
different words or
spelling of Br.E.
and Am.E.
(SB: 64)
Black people
segregation in the
USA (SB: 70) An article: Black
people segregation
in the USA (SB: 70)
Oxford and
Cambridge (SB: 76) Information about
Oxford and
Cambridge (SB:
76)
Political institutions
in the US, the
American Congress
and political parties
(SB: 77) Political
institutions in the
US, the American
Congress and
political parties
(SB: 77) The house of
Lords can delay
new laws and can
send them back to
the House of
Commons but they
cannot actually
stop them (TB:83)
Table 8: Examples of CROSS -CULTURAL AWARENESS in activities in Project 5 within the four basic
language skills.

86
7.2 GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST
Way to Win 6 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Expressions of
greeting in a
telephone call
(SB: 38) Expressions of
greeting in a the
telephone call
(SB: 38) Do you know
what the word
dinner means?
Discuss the
differences
between the
Czech and British
food habits. (SB:
38)
Expressions of
greeting and
gratitude in a
letter (SB: 49, 68,
72)
Table 9 : Examples of GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST in activities in Way to Win 6
within the four basic language skills.

Project 2 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note
/ Extra tip in
TB
Dialogue:
formal and
informal
expressions
for greeting
(SB: 4) The ability of saying
hello and g oodbye ;
formal and informal
expressions for
greeting (SB: 4) Examples of formal
and informal
expressions for
greeting (SB: 4)
Expressions of
greeting in the
templates of two
postcards (SB: 37)
Examples of
expressions for
showing interest
and a person’s well –
being (SB: 38 –39) Examples of
expressions for
showing interest
and a person’s
well -being (SB: 38 –
39)
Table 10: Examples of GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST in activities in Project 2 within
the four basic language skills.

Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Expressions of
greeting in a
dialogue (SB: 8) Expressions of
greeting in a
dialogue (SB: 8)
Expressions of
greeting in the

87
letter (SB: 9) and
(SB: 56)
Expressions for
showing interest
in a dialogue
(SB: 49) Which class
does the
expression
wow belong?
What situation
is it used in?
(SB: 49) Wow is an
interjection;
more examples:
Hey! Hush! Ouch!
(TB: 48)
Expressions for
greeting in the
informal and
formal letters
(SB: 92)
Table 11 : Examples of GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST in activities in Way to Win 7
within the four basic language skills.

Project 3 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Role -playing:
make a
dialogue about
your past
weekend
(SB: 11) Expressions
for
addressing
and showing
interest in a
dialogue;
talking about
the past
weekend (SB:
11 and 18) Focus on the
expressions showing
positive or negative
excitement
(TB: 21)

Most of the words in
this list belong to a
fairly informal
register…
(TB: 22)
Role -playing:
common
informal
phrases
expressing
interest – act
the story
(SB: 39) Expressions
for showing
interest and
enthusiasm
while
gossiping
about
personal
relationsh ip
(SB: 38) Expressions
for showing
interest and
enthusiasm
while
gossiping
about
personal
relationship
(SB: 38) Possible answer key
for the speaking
activity (TB: 46)
Expressions
for
addressing
strangers on
the street,
asking for
directions
(SB: 47)
Table 12: Examples of GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST in activities in Project 3 within
the four basic language skills.

88
Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in
SB in TB
Expressions for
greeting,
addressing and
showing
interest;
regretting,
making
arrangements
and negotiating
in a dialogue
(SB: 57)
Writing a formal
letter to the
authorities about
bullying
(SB: 60) Basic stylistic
rules and
expressions
typical of
greeting and
addressing
within a formal
letter
(SB: 60) Some ideas :
with
statements
that help a
weaker
learner start
the task
Expressions for
greeting,
addressing and
showing interest
in an informal
letter (SB: 65) Expressions for
greeting,
addressing and
showing
interest in an
informal letter
(SB: 65)
Dialogues:
Saying
goodbye in a
polite and
friendly way
(SB: 70) Dialogues:
Saying goodbye
in a polite and
friendly way
(SB: 70)
Write a personal
letter about your
favourite film,
show, etc. (SB:
91) Expressions for
greeting,
addressing and
showing
interest and
gratitude in an
informal letter
(SB: 91)
Table 13 : Examples of GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST in activities in Way to Win 8
within the four basic language skills.

89
Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Role –
playing:
Phoning
about a
job (SB:
57) Thank -you
letter
according
to the
scenario:
SL:
greeting,
addressing,
showing
interest in
another
person’s
well -being
and
gratitude
(SB: 36) Phoning about a job
(SB: 57) Phoning about a
job: typical
phrases (SB: 57)
Examples of CV
and a formal letter
of application;
polite ways of
addressing and
greeting (SB: 58 –
59) How can you
prepare yourself
for a work
interview?

What does GCSE
mean?

What kind of job
opportunities is
there abroad?
Examples of
differences in the
Czech and British
style of formal
letters (SB: 60)
Table 14 : Examples of GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST in activities in Way to Win 9
within the four basic language skills.

Project 5 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Write a formal
letter (SB: 55) A sample of a formal
letter; polite ways of
addressing and
greeting (SB: 55)
A sample of a formal
letter: Booking a
hotel room; polite
ways of addressing
and greeting (SB: 70) En suite
means…
(SB: 70)
Table 15. Examples from 5.2.2 GREETING, ADDRESSING AND SHOWING INTEREST in activities in P roject
5 within the four basic language skills.

90
7.3 INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS
Way to Win 6 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Introductions of
the main character
in the textbook
(SB: 11 –12) Do British people
shake hands or
kiss on the
cheek? (SB: 11) Answer the
question in SB
and give
examples of
habits when
Europeans,
such as the
British or
Greek people
meet (TB: 12)
Table 16: Examples of INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS in activities in Way to Win 6 within the four
basic language skills.

Project 2 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Expressions for
introductions
(SB: 4) Expressions for
introductions
(SB: 4)
Table 17: Examples of INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS in activities in Project 2 within the four basic
language skills.

Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Introductions,
greeting, interest in
other people’s well –
being (SB: 8) Introductions,
greeting, interest in
other people’s well –
being (SB: 8) Can you
recognize
whether the
teacher is
married or
not?

Can we
recognize
whether it is a
man or a
woman from
her surname?
(SB: 8)
Table 18 : Examples of INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS in activities in Way to Win 7 within the four
basic language skills.

91
Project 3 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note
/ Extra tip in TB
Role -playing:
expressions
for
introductions
(SB: 5) Write about
people
(from the
listening
task) (SB: 5) Expressions for
introductions in a
dialogue (SB: 4) Expressions for
introductions in a
dialogue (SB: 4)
Role -playing:
expressions
for
introductions
and for
giving,
accepting
and refusing
invitations
(SB: 15) Expressions for
introductions and
invitations in a
dialogue (SB: 14) Expressions for
introductions and
invitations in a
dialogue (SB: 14)
Table 19: Examples of INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS in activities in Project 3 within the four basic
language skills.

Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Expressions for
introductions (SB:
55) Expressions for
introductions (SB:
55)
Table 20 : Examples of INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS in activities in Way to Win 8 within the four
basic language skills.

Project 4 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Expressions for
introductions in a
dialogue (SB: 10) Expressions for
introductions in a
dialogue (SB: 10)
Table 21: Examples of INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS in activities in Project 4 within the four basic
language skills.

Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Expressions for
introductions (SB:
67) Expressions for
introductions (SB:
67)
Table 22 : Examples of INTRODUCTIONS AND INVITATIONS in activities in Way to Win 9 within the four
basic language skills.

92
7.4 DEGREE OF POLITENESS
Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Role –
playing:
giving
advice
(SB: 24) Write a
message
or a note
for
someone
in the
class Dialogue: talking
about risks while
travelling with
someone by car;
connected with
giving advice
(SB: 24) Dialogue: talking
about risks while
travelling with
someone by car;
connected with
giving advice
(SB: 24)
Table 23 : Examples of DEGREE OF POLITENESS in activities in Way to Win 9 within the four basic
language skills.

7.5 REQUESTS
Way to Win 6 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the margins
in SB in TB
Positive and
negative forms of
direct requests in a
dialogue (SB: 20)

Listen and act
(SB:20) Positive and
negative forms of
direct requests in
a dialogue and
additional
exercises
(SB: 20 –21)
The imperatives
have no subject; at
the end there should
be a comma, not an
exclamation mark;
please usually
follows after them
(SB: 26)
Giving instructions –
direct requests
(SB:29) Giving instructions
– direct requests
(SB:29)
Indirect requests:
match a question
and a suitable
answer (SB: 30)
Table 24 : Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Way to Win 6 within the four basic language skills.

Project 2 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note
/ Extra tip in
TB
Direct request: to
discipline a dog’s
behaviour (SB: 48) Direct request: to
discipline a dog’s
behaviour (SB: 48)
Write
down
the
instructi
ons from
the
listening
task Direct request:
instructions while
cooking (SB: 51) Direct request:
instructions while
cooking (SB: 51)
Indirect request: Indirect request: to

93
to give and get
personal
information (SB:
5) give and get personal
information (SB: 5)
Role –
playing:
talking
about
abilities
(SB: 5) Fill out
the
question
naire
(SB: 5) Indirect request:
talking about
abilities (SB: 5) Indirect request:
talking about abilities
(SB: 5)
Role –
playing:
Ordering a
meal
(SB: 45) Examples of
indirect request:
Ordering a meal
(SB: 45) Examples of the
indirect request:
Ordering a meal (SB:
45)
Table 25: Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Project 2 within the four basic language skills.

Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Arranging a day
out (SB: 16 –17) Arranging a day out
(SB: 16 –17)
Role –
playing:
Shopping
(SB: 36)
Table 26 : Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Way to Win 7 within the four basic language skills.

Project 3 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Direct and indirect
requests in a
dialogue: The
police
investigation of
the murder (SB:
37) The ‘father’ of
fictional
detectives is
considered to
be Sherlock
Holmes …
(TB: 45)
Table 27: Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Project 3 within the four basic language skills.

Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Examples of indirect
requests in a
dialogue: taking a
message while
calling (SB: 57)
Table 28 : Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Way to Win 8 within the four basic language skills.

94
Project 4 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Role -playing:
Ordering a
meal (SB: 51) Ordering a meal (SB:
50–51) Ordering a meal
(SB: 50 –51)
Table 29: Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Project 4 within the four basic language skills.

Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Role -playing:
correcting the
impolite
answers (SB:
36 – 37) Write a
thank –
you
letter
(SB: 36) Two versions of a
dialogue (one with
direct answers, one
with more polite
answers) between
two people when
they meet for the
first time
(SB: 36 –37) Two versions of a
dialogue (one
with direct
answers, one with
more polite
answers) between
two people whe n
they meet for the
first time
(SB: 36 –37) The indirect
request Would
you like some
tea? teaches the
learner that the
polite response
is either Yes,
please or No,
thank you
(SB: 36)

Table 30 : Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Way to Win 9 within the four basic language skills.

Project 5 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note
/ Extra tip in TB
Role -playing:
Making a
request
(SB: 49) Making a request
– asking for
permission,
asking someone
to do something
(SB: 48 –49) Making a request –
asking for
permission, asking
someone to do
something
(SB: 48 –49)
Role -playing:
indirect
requests on
various
topics (SB:
73) Indirect requests
with a short
introduction: “We
often use indirect
question to ask
for information. It
sounds more
polite.” ;
comparison with
the direct request
forms (SB: 73) Indirect requests
with a short
introduction: “We
often use indirect
question to ask for
information. It
sounds more polite.”
; comparison with
the direct request
forms (SB: 73)

Table 31: Examples of REQUESTS in activities in Project 5 within the four basic language skills.

95
7.6 EXPRESSIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS
Way to Win 6 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Buying clothes
(SB: 52) Buying clothes
(SB: 52)
Table 32 : Examples of EXPRESSIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS in activities in Way to Win 6 within
the four basic language skills.

Project 2 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note
/ Extra tip in TB
Role –
playing:
Arranging a
day out
(SB: 75) Arranging a day
out (SB: 74 –75) Arranging a day out
(SB: 74 –75) When we
confirm an
arrangement,
we say I’ll meet
you/ see you
at… (TB: 81)
Table 33: Examples of EXPRESSIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS in activities in Project 2 within the
four basic language skills.

Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Road safety
campaign (SB: 48) Road safety
campaign (SB: 48) Brainstorming
is a technique
for group
work;
everyone can
draw his/her
suggestions
and ideas…
(TB: 47) Planning and
making a geography
project (SB: 81) Planning and
making a geography
project (SB: 81)
Table 34 : Examples of EXPRESSIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS in activities in Way to Win 7 within
the four basic language skills.

Project 3 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Role -playing:
Arranging a
party
(SB: 26 –27) Arranging a
party (SB: 26 –
27) Arranging a party
(SB: 26 –27)
An exercise to
practise the
expressions for
suggestions and
offers (SB: 63) In sentences: Let’s
get changed and
Let’s go and get
changed, the
meaning doesn’t
change if we add

96
go and, but the
expression is
slightly more
casual (TB: 69)
Role -playing:
making
suggestions,
refusing,
giving reason
(SB: 75) Making
suggestions
refusing, giving
reason
(SB: 75) Making
suggestions
refusing, giving
reason (SB: 75)
Table 35: Examples of EXPRESSIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS in activities in Project 3 within the
four basic language skills.

Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the margins
in SB in TB
Sport (SB: 18) Sport (SB: 18)
Match the phrase
with the picture:
making an offer
(SB: 58) We have a choice of
statements when
offering help; such
as I’ll help you or
the interrogative
question Shall I help
you? or Can I help
you? which function
as an offer (SB: 58)

Role -playing:
Giving opinion
(SB: 80) Letter of
complaint:
Give
opinion
about an oil
pipe line
damaging
the coast
(SB: 80) Expressions for
giving opinion,
agreeing and
disagreeing
(SB: 80)
Table 36 : Examples of EXPRESSIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OFFERS in activities in Way to Win 8 within
the four basic language skills.

7.7 GIVING OPINION
Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
An exercise:
Expressions for
giving opinions
(SB: 66) Examples of
expressions for
giving opinions
(TB: 65)
Table 37 : Examples of GIVING OPINION in activities in Way to Win 7 within the four basic language skills.

97
Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB

Expressions
for giving
opinion in a
dialogue
(SB: 13) Expressions
for giving
opinion in a
dialogue
(SB: 13)
Role -playing:
Expressions
for suggesting,
also
expressions
for giving
opinion (SB:
80) Letter of
complaint:
Give opinion
about an oil
pipe line
damaging the
coast (SB: 80) Expressions for
suggesting, also
expressions for
giving opinion
(SB: 80)
Table 38 : Examples of GIVING OPINION in activities in Way to Win 8 within the four basic language skills.

7.8 MAKING ARRANGEMENTS
Project 3 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Role -playing:
Expressions
for making
arrangements
(SB: 51) Expressions for
making
arrangements in a
dialogue (SB: 50) Expressions for
making
arrangements in a
dialogue (SB: 50 –51) Guess what! ,
How’s it going?
and Get lost! are
all informal
expressions. Get
lost ! can be
rude and
offensive, but is
common among
children. How’s
it going? is a
more informal
way of saying
How are you? or
How are things?
… (TB: 56 )
Table 39: Examples of MAKING ARRANGEMENTS in activities in Project 3 within the four basic language
skills.

Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Role -playing:
the skill of
taking notes
while calling
(SB: 57) Exercise to practise
the skill of taking
notes while calling
(SB: 57)
Table 40 : Examples of MAKING ARRANGEMENTS in activities in Way to Win 8 within the four basic
language skills.

98
Project 5 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note
/ Extra tip in
TB
Role -playing:
Doctor’s
appointment
(SB: 24) Doctor’s
appointment
(SB: 24)
Doctor’s
appointment
(SB: 24)

Role -playing:
suggesting,
refusing,
thinking or
accepting some
ideas (SB: 25) Write a dialogue:
Doctor’s
appointment
(SB: 30) Expressions for
suggesting,
refusing,
thinking or
accepting some
ideas (SB: 25)
Table 41: Examples of MAKING ARRANGEMENTS in activities in Project 5 within the four basic language
skills.

7.9 APOLOGIES AND POLITE REFUSALS
Way to Win 6 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Make
sentences:
The word
sorry used
as an
conventional
apology in
the phrases
(SB: 40)
Table 42 : Examples of APOLOGIES AND POLITE REFUSALS in activities in Way to Win 6 within the four
basic language skills.

Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
An exercise
for
practising
indirect
requests,
apology
and polite
refusals
(SB: 25) An example of a
polite refusal in a
dialogue (SB: 24) An example of a polite
refusal in a dialogue
(SB: 24)
Table 43 : Examples of APOLOGIES AND POLITE REFUSALS in activities in Way to Win 7 within the four
basic language skills.

99
Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Expressions for
apology; ‘Excuse
me’ in a dialogue
(SB: 8) Expressions for
apology; ‘Excuse
me’ in a dialogue
(SB: 8)

Table 44 : Examples of APOLOGIES AND POLITE REFUSALS in activities in Way to Win 8 within the four
basic language skills.

Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Role –
playing: A
polite
conversation
at the
breakfast
table
(SB: 36) Write a
thank -you
letter to a
host family
(SB: 36) A polite
conversation at
the breakfast
table; offers,
indirect requests,
polite markers,
suggestions or
gratitude and
also refusals
(SB: 36) A polite
conversation at
the breakfast
table; offers,
indirect requests,
polite markers,
suggestions or
gratitude and also
refusals
(SB: 36) We should not
coy when we are
in Britain. If we
refuse
something, the
hostess would
ask Are you sure?
You supposed to
answer Yes,
thank you. (SB:
36)
Table 45 : Examples of APOLOGIES AND POLITE REFUSALS in activities in Way to Win 9 within the four
basic language skills.

Project 5 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Making arrangements
(SB: 25)
Table 46: Examples of APOLOGIES AND POLITE REFUSALS in activities in Project 5 within the four basic
language skills.

7.10 GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS
Way to Win 6 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Expressions of
gratitude in a
dialogue (SB: 28)
Expressions of
greeting and
gratitude in an
informal letter
(SB: 49) A note how to
start and end
the informal
letter (TB: 54)
Table 47 : Examples of GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS in activities in Way to Win 6 within the
four basic language skills.

100

Project 2 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Expressions of
gratitude and
politeness
markers in a
dialogue (SB:4) Expressions of
gratitude and
politeness markers in
a dialogue (SB:4)
Role –
playing:
Ordering
food
(SB:45) Ordering food
(SB:45)
Table 48: Examples of GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS in activities in Project 2 within the four
basic language skills.

Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
A dialogue that
focuses on saying
thank you and
please in different
foreign languages
(SB: 18) Examples of
both markers
in German,
French, and
Spanish (TB:
19)
Table 49 : Examples of GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS in activities in Way to Win 8 within the
four basic language skills.

Project 4 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Ordering food
(SB: 50 –51) Ordering food
(SB: 50)
Table 50: Examples of GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS in activities in Project 4 within the four
basic language skills.
Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
Use polite
expressions
with the
politeness
marker
please (SB:
35) A task with a
focus on the
final position of
the marker please
within polite
indirect requests
(SB: 35) A suitable answer
to all mentioned
polite request is:
Yes, of course . (SB:
35)

A note states that if
a person uses such
expressions as
thank you and
please , he/she will
not make any

101
mistakes. This is
also a warning that
the learner should
be aware that the
correct answer to
thank you is You’re
welcome .
(SB: 36)
Table 51 : Examples of GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS in activities in Way to Win 9 within the
four basic language skills.

Project 5 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
In the shop
(SB: 23) In the shop
(SB: 23)
Arranging an
appointment
(SB: 24) Arranging an
appointment
(SB: 24)
Exercise:
Expressions of
gratitude and
politeness markers
in the requests (SB:
48)
Role -playing:
Buying a
train ticket
(SB: 60 –61) Buying a train
ticket (SB: 60 –
61) Buying a train ticket
(SB: 60 –61)
Table 52: Examples of GRATITUDE AND POLITENESS MARKERS in activities in Project 5 within the four
basic language skills.

7.11 INTONATION
Project 3 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Listen and
repeat:
Examples of
falling and
rising
intonation
that express
interest and
enthusiasm
(SB: 39) Examples of falling
and rising
intonation that
express interest
and enthusiasm
(SB: 39) Answer key:
sentences with
marks for
raising or falling
intonation
pattern and
stress (TB: 47)
Table 53: Examples of INTONATION in activities in Project 3 within the four basic language skills.

102
Project 4 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note /
Extra tip in TB
Listen and
repeat:
Expressions
for showing –
interest (SB:
15) Expressions for
showing -interest
(SB: 15)
Listen and
repeat:
Falling and
rising
intonation to
express
confirmation
in the
question
tags (SB: 27) Falling and rising
intonation to
express
confirmation in
the question tags
(SB: 27)
Listen and
repeat: Mark
the stressed
words in
sentences
that express
worries (SB:
63) Mark the stressed
words in
sentences that
express worries
(SB: 63)
Table 54: Examples of INTONATION in activities in Project 4 within the four basic language skills.

7.12 MEDIATION
Way to Win 8 Supporting
information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in
SB in TB
Role -playing: act according to a scenario
(in the Czech language); give your
opinion about the animal experiments or
about the alternatives sources of energy
(SB: 80)
Role -playing: act according to a scenario
(in the Czech language); talk about moods
with a partner (SB: 91)
Table 55 : Examples of MEDIATION in activities in Way to Win 8 within the four basic language skills.

Way to Win 9 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Readi
ng Notes in the margins
in SB in
TB
Role -playing: Give
advice to your friend
according to a given
scenario (written in
the Czech language) Some pieces of
advice are in the
form of imperatives,
some of them are
not. Which advice

103
(SB: 24) seems to be the most
polite?
(SB: 24)
Role -playing: A
bilingual speaker
should interpret the
situations according
to the scenario from a
Czech speaker to an
English speaker
(SB: 37) Write a thank -you
letter to a host
family in Britain
according to a
given scenario (in
the Czech
language)
(SB: 36)
Techniques and
expressions for
paraphrasing: using
gestures or
expressions with
the help of relative
clauses; the skill of
interpreting with
the aim to comfort
someone. (SB: 61 –
63) What is the non –
verbal
communication?
(SB: 61)
Do you know the
difference between
a translator and an
interpreter?
(SB: 62)
The Czech and
Polish languages
belong to the Indo –
European group of
languages. Also the
German and Roman
languages belong to
this group.
(SB: 62)
Table 56 : Examples of MEDIATION in activities in Way to Win 9 within the four basic language skills.

7.13 COMBINATION OF COMPETENCES IN DIALOGUES
Way to Win 7 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
A telephone call:
Arranging a day in
the Zoo; greetings,
invitation,
expressing regret,
suggesting,
requesting or
negotiating
(SB: 16 –17) A telephone call:
Arranging a day in
the Zoo; greetings,
invitation,
expressing regret,
suggesting,
requesting or
negotiating
(SB: 16 –17) A note in the
margins also
explains that each
child has its own
responsibilities,
and also its own
rights; it also
gives a link to a
website where
the student can
search for more
information. (SB:
16–17)
A trip around
Europe : greeting,
gratitude,
introductions,
requests
(SB: 21; TB: 20)
Table 57 : Examples of COMBINATION OF COMPETENCES IN DIALOGUES in activities in Way to Win 7
within the four basic language skills.

104

Way to Win 8 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Notes in the
margins in SB in TB
A telephone call:
addressing and
asking for favour,
expressing regret
(SB: 54 –55) A telephone call:
addressing and
asking for favour,
expressing regret
(SB: 54 –55)
Table 58 : Examples of COMBINATION OF COMPETENCES IN DIALOGUES in activities in Way to Win 8
within the four basic language skills.
Project 5 Supporting information
Speaking Writing Listening Reading Cultural
background
note in TB Language note
/ Extra tip in
TB
Role -playing:
Make dialogues
according to the
given scenario
with the
expressions for
describing a
problem and
asking for
solutions
(SB: 13) In a clothes shop;
expressions for
describing a
problem and
asking for
solutions;
requests, apology,
showing interest,
suggestion
(SB: 13) In a clothes shop;
expressions for
describing a
problem and
asking for
solutions;
requests, apology,
showing interest,
suggestion
(SB: 13)
Role -playing:
Make a dialogue
according to the
given scenario
(SB: 44) Expressions for
addressing a
stranger on the
road; direct and
indirect requests
(SB: 44) Expressions for
addressing a
stranger on the
road; direct and
indirect requests
(SB: 44)
Role -playing:
Practice the
dialogue
according to the
given scenario
(SB: 60) Buying a train
ticket; politeness
markers, indirect
requests,
gratitude,
suggestions
(SB: 60) A situation while
buying a train
ticket; SLC:
politeness
markers, indirect
requests,
gratitude,
suggestions
(SB: 60)
Table 59: Examples of COMBINATION OF COMPETENCES IN DIALOGUES in activities in Project 5 within
the four basic language skills.