The purpose for an utterance or piece of language is its function, such as making a request, giving an order, complaining, giving a compliment, etc. In teaching, a function like apologising may be chosen and the language used in various types of apologies taught so that students know how they can apologise in various situations.
Category:
Related English Articles
Continue to learn about functional language by browsing our articles on the topic.
Learner Articles
How to be friendly in emails
Being personal and personable emails
How to thank people in presentations
How to sound genuinely appreciative as you thank the presenter and audience in presentations
How to make a personal connection in presentations
Tips on connecting personally with a presentation audience, including useful phrases for making a personal connection with attendees.
How to be friendly on the phone in English
How to make informal phone calls without being unfriendly or rude, including how to be friendly at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of typical casual phone calls.
Articles for Teachers
How to teach English greetings
Teaching tips, games and songs for teaching different ways to say hello and goodbye
How to teach conversational reactions
Teaching students how to react with sympathy, shock, interest, etc, including conversational reactions games.
How to teach advice, recommendations and suggestions
Teaching tips, games and other classroom activities for "should", "If I were you", "I would suggest", etc.
How to teach making and responding to invitations
Teaching tips and classroom activities for making, accepting and politely rejecting invitations.
How to teach and use the language of newspaper headlines
Lessons to help students understand newspaper headlines
How to teach checking and clarifying
Teaching how to ask for and give confirmation of meaning without sounding rude.