Article published In:
PragmaticsVol. 22:1 (2012) ► pp.79–102
“can you tell me how to get there?”
Naturally-occurring versus role-play data in direction-giving
This study takes up the current debate on natural versus elicited data in investigations on speech acts by comparing both types of data in a particular context, that of asking for and giving driving directions. An analysis of route-descriptions offered by male and female direction-givers in both natural and role-play settings revealed only one statistically significant sex-related difference: More male than female participants included mileage estimates in the natural setting but not in the role-play setting. However, when male and female participants’ responses were combined to compare natural with role-play direction-giving, the role-play participants exhibited several significantly different linguistic behaviors in terms of their use of verbal devices (e.g., landmarks, mileage estimates, stoplight estimates) throughout the interactional phases. Direction-givers, when acting in an authentic context that carries real-world consequences, unanimously recognized an indirect request for directions while the direction-givers in the role-play setting generally did not. Additionally, this study revealed that the cognitive behaviors and the conventionalization evident in “natural” direction-giving were lacking in the role-play exchanges. Finally, the role-play participants were generally more aware of their role as research participants than as direction-givers, an awareness that affected their linguistic behaviors.
Keywords: Natural data, Role-play, Direction-giving, Elicited data, Verbal devices, Route-descriptions
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
References
Allen, Gary L.
(2000) Principles and practices for communicating route knowledge. Applied Cognitive Psychology 141: 333–359. 
Baker, Rachel E., Alistair J. Gill, and Justine Cassell
(2008) Reactive redundancy and listener comprehension in direction-giving. Proceedings of SIGDIAL, June 19–20, Columbus, Ohio.
Beebe, Leslie
(1994) Notebook data on power and the power of notebook data. Paper presented at the annual TESOL Conference, March, Baltimore, MD.
Beebe, Leslie, M. Cummings, and Martha Clark
(1996) Natural speech act data versus written questionnaire data: How data collection method affects speech act performance. In S.M. Gass, N. Joyce (eds.), Speech acts across cultures: Challenges to communication in a second language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 65–86.
Brown, Leonora N., Cindy J. Lahar, and James L. Mosley
(1998) Age and gender-related differences in strategy use for route information: A “map-present” direction-giving paradigm. Environment and Behavior 30.2: 123–143.
Cohen, Andrew D.
(1996) Investigating the production of speech act sets. In S.M. Gass, J. Neu (eds.), Speech acts across cultures: Challenges to communication in a second language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 21–43.
Collett, Peter, and Gregory O’Shea
(1976) Pointing the way to a fictional place: A study of direction giving in Iran and England. European Journal of Social Psychology 6.4: 447–458.
Couclelis, Helen
(1996) Verbal directions for way-finding: Space, cognition, and language. In J. Portugali (ed.), The Construction of Cognitive Maps. Alphen a. Rijn: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 133–153.
Coulmas, Florian
(1981) Introduction: Conversational Routine. In F. Coulmas, (ed.), Conversational Routine. Berlin: Mouton Publishers, pp. 1–18. BoP
Demeter, Gusztav
(2007) Role-plays as a data collection method for research on apology speech acts. Simulation and Gaming 38.1: 83–90.
Ewald, Jennifer
(2010) “Do you know where X is?”: Direction-giving and male/female direction-givers. Journal of Pragmatics 42.9: 2549–2561.
Félix-Brasdefer, J. César
(2003) Validity in data collection methods in pragmatics research. In P. Kempchinsky, and C.E. Piñeros (eds.), Theory, Practice, and Acquisition. Papers from the 6th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium and the 5th Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press, pp. 239–257.
Félix-Brasdefer, J.César
Golding, Jonathan M., Arthur C. Graesser, and Jerry Hauselt
(1996) The process of answering direction-giving questions when someone is lost on a university campus: The role of pragmatics. Applied Cognitive Psychology 101: 23–39.
Grice, H. Paul
(1975) Logic and conversation. In P. Cole, and J. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and Semantics, Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press.
Harrell, W. Andrew, Jeffrey W. Bowlby, and Deana Hall-Hoffarth
(2000) Direction wayfinders with maps: The effects of gender, age, route complexity, and familiarity with the environment. The Journal of Social Psychology 140.2: 169–178.
Harris, Lauren Julius
(1981) Sex-related variations in spatial skill. In L. Liben, N. Newcombe, and A. Paterson (eds.), Spatial Representation and Behavior Across the Life Span. New York: Academic Press, pp. 83–125.
Hartford, Beverly S., and Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig
(1992) Experimental and observational data in the study of interlanguage pragmatics. Pragmatics and Language Learning 31: 33–52.
Jung, Euen Hyuk (Sarah)
(2004) Interlanguage pragmatics: Apology speech acts. In C.L. Moder, and A. Martinovic-Zic (eds.), Discourse Across Languages and Cultures. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 99–116.
Kasper, Gabriele, and Merete Dahl
(1991) Research methods in interlanguage pragmatics. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 131: 215–247. BoP
BoPKlein, Wolfgang
(1982) Local deixis in route directions. In R.J. Jarvella, and W. Klein (eds.), Speech, Place, and Action. PLACE: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 161–181. BoP
Lawton, Carol A.
(2001) Gender and regional differences in spatial referents used in direction giving. Sex Roles 44.5-6: 321–337.
Mark, David M., and Michael D. Gould
(1995) Wayfinding directions as discourse: Verbal directions in English and Spanish. In J.F. Duchan, G.A. Bruder, and L.E. Hewitt (eds.), Deixis in Narrative. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 387–405.
Miller, Leon K., and Viana Santoni
(1986) Sex differences in spatial abilities: Strategic and experiential correlates. Acta Psychologica 62.3: 225–235.
Napoleon, Siena
(2007) From here to there: A sociolinguistic study in gender and direction-giving. Indiana Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science 21: 18–27.
Pearson, Bethyl A., and K. Samuel Lee
(1992) Discourse structure of direction giving: Effects of native/nonnative speaker status and gender. TESOL Quarterly 26.1: 113–127.
Psathas, George
(1986) Some sequential structures in direction-giving. Human Studies 91: 231–246.
Psathas, George, and Martin Kozloff
Scotton, Carol M., and Janice Bernsten
(1988) Natural conversations as a model for textbook dialogue. Applied Linguistics 9.4: 372–384. BoP
BoPWard, Shawn L., Nora Newcombe, and Willis F. Overton
(1986) Turn left at the church, or three miles north: a study of direction giving and sex differences. Environment and Behavior 18.2: 192–213.
Wunderlich, Dieter, and Rudolph Reinelt
(1982) How to get there from here. In R.J. Jarvella, and W. Klein (eds.), Speech, Place, and Action. PLACE: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 183–201.
Cited by
Cited by 12 other publications
Abe, Makoto & Carsten Roever
2019. Interactional competence in L2 text-chat interactions: First-idea proffering in task openings. Journal of Pragmatics 144 ► pp. 1 ff. 
Al-Gahtani, Saad & Carsten Roever
2018. Proficiency and preference organization in second language refusals. Journal of Pragmatics 129 ► pp. 140 ff.
Beltrán-Palanques, Vicent
2020. Towards a Learner-Centred Approach to Design Role-Play Instruments for ILP Studies: A Study Based On Complaints. Complutense Journal of English Studies 28 ► pp. 121 ff.
Bock, Otmar
2021. Alterssport: Effekte kognitiven Trainings. In Bewegung, Training, Leistung und Gesundheit, ► pp. 1 ff.
Du-Babcock, Bertha & Angela C. K. Chan
2022. A Commentary on the Use of Simulated Settings in Business Communication Research. International Journal of Business Communication 59:4 ► pp. 641 ff.
Du-Babcock, Bertha & Angela Chi Kuen Chan
2019. Can Simulated Data be Comparable to Authentic Data?: A Comparative
Analysis of Meeting Chairing Activities. Business Communication Research and Practice 2:2 ► pp. 62 ff.
Hassall, Tim
2020. Preference structure in request sequences: What about role-play?. Journal of Pragmatics 155 ► pp. 321 ff.
Jucker, Andreas H. & Larssyn Staley
2017. (Im)politeness and Developments in Methodology. In The Palgrave Handbook of Linguistic (Im)politeness, ► pp. 403 ff.
Jung, Yeonkwon
2022. Concluding Remarks. In Sociolinguistics and Business Talk, ► pp. 143 ff.
Shively, Rachel L.
2018. Chapter 8. Naturalistic data in L2 pragmatics research. In Critical Reflections on Data in Second Language Acquisition [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 51], ► pp. 197 ff.
Stokoe, Elizabeth
2013. The (In)Authenticity of Simulated Talk: Comparing Role-Played and Actual Interaction and the Implications for Communication Training. Research on Language & Social Interaction 46:2 ► pp. 165 ff.
WU, JINGXUAN & CARSTEN ROEVER
2021. Proficiency and Preference Organization in Second Language Mandarin Chinese Refusals. The Modern Language Journal 105:4 ► pp. 897 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.