Republic of Philippines

Department of Education
Region 02
Division of Cagayan
Northern Philippines Academy
Centro Norte, Gattaran, Cagayan
S.Y. 2022-2023

Learning Areas: Oral Communication in Context Grade Level: GRADE 11

Quarter: 1st Quarter, First Semester Month:
School Year: 2022-2023

MODULE 2
UNIT I – INTRODUCTION TOIICOMMUNICATION
UNIT : COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
I. INTRODUCTION
The scope of this module allows you to understand the Speech Act Theory espoused by John L.
Austin (1962) and was developed by Searle (1969). The theory tells us that words by themselves may not
have simple fixed meanings, but are influenced by the situation, speaker, and listener.
TOPIC / LESSON NAME The Speech Act
1. Locution (Utterance)
2. Illocution (Intention)
3. Perlocution (Response)
CONTENT STANDARDS The learner recognizes the different speech act in
communication.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS The learner responds appropriately and affectively to a
speech act.
LEARNING At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to
COMPETENCIES/OBJECTIVES a. identify the different speech act;
b. give examples of each speech act;
c. perform communicative tasks using the different
speech act.
II. OBJECTIVES

III. LESSON PROPER

A. PRE-ASSESSMENT

Direction: Over the Phone. Your friends are visiting a place for the first time. You know the place very
well. They have been calling you saying:
a. How do we get to that hotel from the airport?
b. Can you please make the reservation for us?
c. Can you imagine? We spent the whole afternoon looking for the hotel!
d. Is a city tour included in our hotel package? Wow!
e. This is it?!

Answer the following questions:

1. Was there a question that asked for instruction? If there is, what was the question?
____________________________________________________________________
2. Was there a question that was a request? If there is, what was the question?
____________________________________________________________________
3. Was there a question that was actually a fact?
____________________________________________________________________
4. Was there a question that was actually an exclamation?
____________________________________________________________________

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 B. DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTION
Speech acts are verbal actions that accomplish something: we greet, insult, compliment, plead, flirt,
supply information, and get work done.

Here are some examples of speech acts we use or hear every day:
Greeting: “Hi, Mike. How are things going?”
Request: “Could you pass me the mashed potatoes, please?”
Complaint: “I’ve already been waiting three weeks for the computer, and I was told it would be delivered
within a week.”
Invitation: “We’re having some people over Saturday evening and wanted to know if you’d like to join us.”
Compliment: “Hey, I really like your shoes!”
Refusal: “Oh, I’d love to see that movie with you but this Friday just isn’t going to work.”
The speech act theory was introduced by Oxford philosopher J.L. Austin in his book How to Do Things
with Words and further developed by American philosopher J.R. Searle. It considers the degree to which
utterances are said to perform locutionary acts, illocutionary acts, and/or perlocutionary acts.
John Langshaw Austin was a British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language
philosophy, perhaps best known for developing the Theory of Speech Acts (1962). He made clear that by saying
something, we do perform an action or just state things. For example, “I would like the kimchi; could you please
pass it to me?” is considered a speech act as it expresses the speaker’s desire to acquire the kimchi, as well as
presenting a request that someone pass the kimchi to them. He also stated that there are differences in
perceiving a speech act by differentiating a speech act into locution, illocution and perlocution.
John Rogers Searle is an American philosopher widely noted for contributions to the philosophy of
language, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy. Searle (1979) suggests that speech acts consist of five
general classifications to classify the functions od speech acts. These are declarations, representatives,
expressive, directives, and commissive.

TYPES OF SPEECH ACTS

 REPRESENTATIVES: assertions, statements, claims, hypotheses, descriptions, suggestions.

- In this speech act, the speaker’s intention is to assert the speaker’s belief.
- One example is “I’m a good husband”, the intention of this utterance is to show that the speaker is to
make believe the hearer that the speaker is a good guy.
 COMMISSIVES: promises, oaths, pledges, threats, vows
- This speech acts are the fact of committing to future actions.
- One example is “I will come to your home tonight”. This example shows that the speaker intends to
come to the hearer’s home at the night time of the day the utterance is said.

 DIRECTIVES: commands, requests, challenges, invitations, orders, summons, entreaties, dares

- This speech act aims to make someone else to do something that the speaker desires.
- One example is “Could you lend me a pen?” this utterance shows that speaker requests a pen from
someone else, he/she indirectly order the other person to lend him a pen.
 DECLARATIONS: blessings, firings, baptisms, arrests, marrying, juridical speech acts such as sentencings,
declaring a mistrial, declaring out of order, etc.
- This speech act is the act that makes the propositional content corresponds with the reality. In order
to perform a declaration effectively, the speaker must have a special contextual privilege that allow
him/her to perform an also contextual declaration.
- For example, when a priest says “I pronounce you husband and wife”, the priest has the privilege to
pronounce marriage. The man and woman are then changed from singles into married people.

 EXPRESSIVES: speech acts that make assessments of psychological states or attitudes: greetings,
apologies, congratulations, condolences, thanksgivings…
- This speech act shows the expression of the speaker via utterance.
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 - For example, “I’m sorry,” “I like it”, “Thank you”. These examples show how the speaker feels.

LOCUTIONARY ACT (Utterance)

Locution is the utterance itself. A locutionary speech act occurs when the speaker performs an utterance
(locution), which has a meaning in the traditional sense.

Examples of Locutionary Acts

1. I warn you to stop smoking. - It constitutes an expressed locutionary act because its propositional content
predicates a future act – to stop smoking of the hearer – you.
2. The dog is on the floor. - Declarative sentence form that denotes a statement.
3. Do you want some coffee? - Interrogative sentence form used to ask questions.
4. Close the door. - Imperative sentence form used to give direction.
5. It is cold here!- Exclamatory sentence form used to inform something.

ILLOCUTIONARY ACT (Intention)

Illocution is the real intended meaning. An illocutionary speech act is the performance of the act of saying
something with a specific intention. In an Illocutionary act, it is not just the act of saying something but the act of
saying something for the purpose of:

 Stating an opinion, confirming or denying something

 Making a prediction, a promise, request
 Issuing an order or a decision
 Giving an advice or permission

Examples of Illocutionary Acts

1. I will see you later. - We could find three different assumptions of its meaning: prediction, promise, and a
warning.
2. I promise you to pay back. - It is an illocutionary act as it is communicating.
3. There is too much homework in this subject. - This is an opinion.
4. I will do my homework later. - This is a promise.
5. Go do your homework. - This is an order.

PERLOCUTIONARY ACT (Response)

Perlocution is the response of listener to the utterance. A perlocutionary act happens when what the
speaker says has an effect on the speaker. The aim of perlocutionary speech act is to change feelings, thoughts, or
actions. The response may not necessarily be physical or verbal and elicited by:

 Inspiring or insulting
 Persuading or convincing
 Deterring or scaring

Examples of Perlocutionary Acts

1. “I was born a Filipino, I will live a Filipino, I will die a Filipino!” (inspiring)
2. “It is the bleak job situation that forces Filipinos to find jobs overseas.” (persuading)
3. “Texting while driving kills – you, your loved ones, other people!” (deterring)

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 Examples of Speech Act using Comics:

Example 1:

Example 2:

Example 3:

C. ACTIVITIES
Activity 1

Direction: Love at First Sight. Complete the following quotations about love and romance. Answer the
following questions afterwards.

1. “The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt
______________________________________________________.” – Hellen Keller

2. “A ____________________________________________________ is a lovely trick designed by

nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” – Ingrid Bergman

3. “You came to love not by finding the perfect person, but __________________________________
_________________________________________.” – Sam Keen

4. “I love you because the entire universe ________________________________________________

____________________________.” – Paulo Coelho

5. “I love you, not only for what you see, but for _________________________________________
_____________________________________.” – Elizabeth Barett Browning

6. “You know you’re in love ______________________________________________, because reality is

finally better than your dreams.” - Dr. Seuss

7. “Love is a canvas furnished by __________________________________________ and embroidered

by ______________________________________________.” – Voltaire

8. “Tis better to have loved and lost, than _______________________________.” – Alfred Tennyson

9. “Immature love says, ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says; ______________________
__________________________________________________.” - Eric Fromm

10. “If I know what love is, __________________________________________.” – Herman Hesse

Answer the following questions:

1. Was the activity easy or difficult? _________________________________________________
2. Were you able to complete the quotations correctly? Why or why not?
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Does each quotation mean what it actually states? Why do you say so?
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. Pick a favorite from the completed quotations. What does this quotation mean to you? Can the
meaning be seen in the statement? Why do you say so? I picked number _________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. How would you respond to someone special who says it to you? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________

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 Activity 2
Direction: Through the Years. Find a senior couple who has been married to each other for more than
twenty-five years. Ask them how they have managed to stay together through the years. Take note of
expressions or lessons they may be sharing to you.

I interviewed Mr. and Mrs. __________________________________________.

Answer the following questions:

1. Was it easy or difficult to find the needed senior couple? Why or why not?
________________________________________________________________________________

2. What quotation, expression, or lesson did you learn from the couple? Explain what the quotation,
expression, or lesson means according to your interview.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

3. Share your personal reaction or reflection on the same quotation, expression, or lesson.
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

4. Do you think the quotation, expression, or lesson itself is the message? Why yes? Why not?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

5. Is there a deeper meaning to the quotation, expression, or lesson? Explain.

___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

IV. ASSESSMENT
Directions: Read each item carefully then choose the letter that corresponds to your answer. Encircle
the correct answer.

1. What is the meaning of locution?

A. response B. intention C. utterance D. motion

2. Who was the British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy,
perhaps best known for developing the Theory of Speech Acts in 1962?
A. John R. Searle C. John L. Austin
B. John S. Longbottom D. John C. Dewey
3. He is an American philosopher who suggests that speech acts consist of five general classifications to
classify the functions of speech acts. These are declarations, representatives, expressive, directives, and
commissive.
A. John R. Searle C. John L. Austin
B. John S. Longbottom D. John C. Dewey

4. This speech act is the performance of the act of saying something with a specific intention . What is it?

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 A. Locutionary act C. Perlocutionary act
B. Illocutionary act D. Perillocutionary act
5. What is the purpose of this speech act: “Zia, I think it’s going to rain today so bring your umbrella.”
A. stating an opinion C. making a prediction
B. giving a permission D. issuing an order

6. Base on item 5, what is the appropriate perlocutionary act or response of the given speech act?
A. Zia won’t get the umbrella because it’s not yet raining.
B. Zia grabs the umbrella and says “Yes, mom, I will bring it.”
C. Zia ignores the message and leaves immediately.
D. Zia replies with “No, I don’t need it.”

7. This speech act happens when what the speaker says has an effect on the speaker. Its aim is to
change feelings, thoughts, or actions. What is it?
A. Locutionary C. Illocutionary
B. Perlocutionary D. Perillocutionary
8. What type of speech act is this situation: The priest says “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
A. Representative
B. Commissive
C. Declaration
D. Expressive
9. In this statement: “Trust me, I’m a good guy.” What type of speech act does it belong to?
A. Commissive
B. Expressive
C. Representative
D. Directive

10. What type of speech act is this statement: “I will watch the new movie tomorrow.”
A. Directive
B. Expressive
C. Declaration
D. Commissive

REFERENCES:

 Gasulas, A. M., & de los Santos, V. S. et. al (2016). , IE FOR EC : Oral Communication in Context., Quezon
City. Phoenix Publishing House Inc.
 https://www.thoughtco.com
 https://www.plato.stanford.edu
 https://www.uni-due.de
 https://www.cambridge.org

Prepared by: Checked by:

ANDREA MEA T. SUMAUANG LEA R. TALAMAYAN

Subject Teacher JHS/SHS Department Head