Oral communication tasks

Here is a suggested taxonomy for oral communication task types, not in any order of importance.

• Providing extended answers to oral questions.
• Asking and answering questions about diagrams or other visual representations of information.
• Asking for information to solve problems or complete a job-related task.
• Making requests and observing conventions of politeness.
• Sustaining short conversations using informal register[s].
• Managing the various aspects of a conversation [opening, turn taking, nominating a topic, repairing misunderstanding by asking for clarification or by repeating or rephrasing, linking ideas, adjusting the message, & closing].
• Passing on messages that can be restructured to distinguish between factual content and interpretation.
• Sustaining a conversation for a short period of time in order to gather information about a specific situation or to perform a work-related task or function.
• Using the language of meetings [presenting, agreeing & disagreeing, questioning, interrupting, expressing an opinion, summarizing] to express himself in job-related situations.
• Issuing straightforward instructions.
• Using appropriate natural language [less formal vocabulary, contractions, discourse markers, ellipsis & elision] of spoken modes.

• Listening to extended semi-formal and informal explanations.
• Understanding what degrees of urgency or obligation attach to requests.
• Demonstrating an understanding of regulations by reformulating them in own words
• Understanding an audiotape or video-tape on a familiar topic.
• Explaining the gist and the step-by-step details of a diagram or graphic with appropriate descriptive language.
• Orally paraphrasing text when necessary.
• Giving an extended explanation involving steps, problem-solution structure, and description of a piece of equipment or a tool or a familiar abstract concept.
• Listening to lectures and formal presentations with a clear structure.
• Listening to lectures and formal presentations with digressions.
• Reading aloud short purposeful texts.

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