 Assalamu alaikum viewers, welcome to virtual university and your English lesson and this is your last lesson of the course, of the English course. Now knowing a language means that you are able to communicate your ideas and opinions to others, only then would you be considered competent, if you can communicate your ideas and your opinions to others. A foreign learner of any language may know the rules of the language, the linguistic rules of the language that he is learning and in your case it is English, but unless the learner, he or she demonstrates his ability to use this knowledge appropriately. The learner would not be considered fully competent in the language, in today's lesson you shall learn about language forms and how they are used to perform functions. Now what is a language function? A language function to put it very simply is something you want to do with the language. Now the primary function of language is to give factual information and to convey essential commands, feelings and emotions. Have you ever asked yourself the question, what are people trying to do when they speak? The aims of speaking involve not only broad functions such as conveying information, expressing information, expressing emotions, keeping in touch socially and so on and so forth, but it also involves more specific purposes for which language can be used, such as if you hear this utterance, somebody says this, where is the suitcase? Now what is the purpose of that utterance? The purpose is to get information, where is the suitcase? That the speaker wants some information about the suitcase. If somebody says open the window, what is the purpose? The purpose is to make someone do something and in this case to open the window. If somebody says I will pay you next week, what is the person doing? The person is making a promise and we are doing these sort of things all day long. Now how many language functions there are, we do not know exactly, but we do know that there are some language functions that are regularly required for the purposes of normal everyday communication. Now there are some very common language functions which speakers of all languages all over the world are doing all the time. Number one is requesting information. When you ask, when you question, sometimes you even request. You inquire, what are you doing? You are asking for information, you are requesting information. Number two, we are passing on information, we are giving information. We announce, we describe, we tell, we explain, we instruct, sometimes we summarize things for others, but what are we doing? We are giving information, we are passing on information. Number three, we establish contact, we establish interpersonal relations and how do we do that? We do that through greetings, by welcoming people, we introduce people, we take leave, we bid farewell, we interrupt conversations. Number four, we respond to others behaviour, to others actions, to statements, to something we have heard and how do we do that? We apologize, we deny, we disagree, we thank and we are all the time responding to other people's behaviour, their actions, their talk, their statements. And number five, we express emotions, we express our inclinations, we express our intentions, fear, happiness, shock, we are expressing all these things all the time. We express fear, we express happiness, we express shock, surprise, we express our likes, our dislikes. I mean the list can go on and on and on, but here I am just recounting the major ones. For instance, we influence, we not only respond to other people's behaviour, their actions, we also influence, we influence other people's behaviour, their actions, how we sometimes blame, we sometimes discourage, we order people, we order others, we warn them and then we judge, we evaluate, we complain, we compare, we criticize, we disapprove, we praise. Now all these things are done through language and to be competent in a language, the learner should know, there are many things that are required, it is just not knowledge of the use of the article or the use of the preposition, but it also involves a lot of other things such as how speakers use the language, the native speakers, how the native speakers of the language, they use the language in ways which cannot be predicted from rules alone. It means that the learner must be aware of the devices, the structures, the forms that are used by native speakers and writers to knit their speech and writing into one comprehensible whole and this is done by using appropriate forms of the language. Now when I say form, I mean the structure, the phrases, the sentences, the expressions, for instance, if someone expresses an opinion and you want to disagree with it, the first thought that comes, that will come to your mind is disagree, I do not agree with that. The next thing you will do is to decide the language forms or structures that you will use to show your disagreement, that is in other words, you will decide what grammatical structures, what vocabulary items and what international patterns you are going to use to show your disagreement and there are a variety of forms, a variety of words to choose and use. A great deal depends on the situation in which the interaction takes place and the person you are speaking to. For instance, if the other person is a good friend, is a good friend of yours, you can just turn around and say, shut up, it is not true, right? But if it happens to be your boss or somebody of a higher rank or status or of a relationship, if it is your father or your mother, you would not use the same expressions, you would not say shut up to your father or your mother, but you would use different structures, a different form. You might say excuse me, excuse me sir, excuse me madam if it is your boss. You may not be quite right over there, you may not be quite right there. So there are ways, there are devices, there are terms that you can choose from to express your meaning, to convey your feelings. So when you are speaking, so when you speak, who you are speaking to will influence the language you will use. Now here is an example, a part of a conversation is provided, you have to see what function is being performed by the language used by the speaker. Now in this example you will notice that certain words are underlined, we shall have some practice so that you learn to distinguish the different functions, I mean we cannot give you enough practice but a few samples that will be shown you will trigger in your mind the kind of functions that one uses all the time, you might not be aware of them but you are doing it all the time. Supposing there are two persons talking and one says I think Junaid Jamshed is an awful singer and the speaker turns around and says do you, I think he is marvellous. Now when this other person says I think he is marvellous, what language function is being carried out? Is the speaker agreeing with the person who said that Junaid Jamshed is an awful singer? Is this person criticising the singer or is this person admiring him? And the words that are underlined you can see them on the screen before you, I think he is marvellous. Now because the answer is I think he is marvellous, it means that the speaker admires the singer so we can say that the speaker is admiring him. Now if the speaker was criticising Junaid Jamshed the speaker would not have used these words of admiration, the words I think he is marvellous convey a sense of admiration. Now we shall have some practice, first in identifying or describing functions and second in identifying statements which illustrate the function required. The first part is to identify functions. You will have parts of conversation or sentences given you and you choose from the four alternatives given at the end of the sentences or the end of the conversation. And these four alternatives, from these four alternatives you choose the one which best describes the functions of the underlined part of the conversation. Look at the first one, there are two people speaking, Ahmad and Saleh. Ahmad says come on man, drive a bit faster and Saleh says at the rate he is driving we will not get to the airport in time you know. Look at the four alternatives given, one is do the words that are underlined at the rate he is driving, we will not get to the airport in time. Do those words express fear, do they express anxiety, do they express disappointment or do they express shock. Now out of those four alternatives which one best expresses and it is the alternative B, the words at the rate he is driving we will not get to the airport in time. It expresses anxiety on the part of the speaker, on the part of Saleh. Let us look at number two, again part of a conversation Aziza says it was nice of you to invite my mother as well to your party last night. And BB in response says not at all, it was nice to have her, what do the underlined words it was nice of you to invite my mother as well to your party last night. What do those words convey, do they convey agreement, appreciation, are they showing sympathy or are they giving an invitation. They are expressing appreciation, Aziza is appreciating the fact that her mother had been invited by BB to the party the night before. Now look at number three, again a conversation, a bit of a conversation between two people. Again says mind the vase and Hina answers too late such a beautiful vase. I hope the situation is clear, what do the underlined words convey, those words the underlined words do they express fear or sympathy or admiration or dismay, it is quite obvious the vase has been broken because the words too late tell you that the vase must have crashed and then Hina says such a beautiful vase and she is not expressing fear or sympathy or admiration but she is expressing dismay, dismay at the loss of a beautiful vase. The same way, look at number four, it is a conversation between father and son. The son says I do not want to take double maths course, I do not want to take the double maths course and the father says an answer I am afraid you have got to and it is the father's words that have been underlined. What do those underlined words convey, do they show that the father is giving into the son, do they show that he is forgiving him, is he insisting or is there an element of fear. When the father says I am afraid you have got to, the father is insisting, so you have identified the function, the function those words, the underlined words are conveying is the function of insisting. Now number five is a statement from a bank, it says you have been regular in your payment in the past but we notice from our records dating from 6 months ago that your payment has not been received, kindly send us your check within 7 days without fail, this could be not from a bank but from an insurance company, most probably some organization where installments are paid and the underlined words are kindly send us your check within 7 days without fail. What do those underlined words convey, you have to identify the function, what do those words, what function do they perform, are they performing, those are they pleading, are they showing consent, are they words that one would use to persuade or are they giving instructions and it is number C, those words are trying to, they have been used to persuade the person to send him his check. Look at number six, I hope you do not mind my saying this but what you have just said is not exactly true and the underlined words are what you have just said is not exactly true. The underlined words are they showing sympathy, is the person sympathizing, is he scolding, do those words show disagreement or do they show surprise and I am sure you picked the right one, it is they show disagreement, is not exactly true. Look at number seven, part of a conversation, Sara says, if you want to increase the literacy rate, you must educate women and girls and Sara says in answer, I think the same as you, the words I think the same as you, what function is being served, do those words convey agreement or are they a compliment, do those words show rejection or do they persuade, they I am sure you had no difficulty in choosing the function and the function is to show agreement. The next one, number eight, a piece of a conversation between two people, Zane and Faraz, Zane says there is a letter for you on the desk, Faraz, oh yes, so there is and Zane says why do not you open it now and see who is it from and Faraz answers it can wait, the words that have been underlined in that conversation are why do not you open it now and see who is it from, now do those words show admiration, curiosity, dissatisfaction or are the words used to give instruction, when he says why do not you open it now and it is a letter, Zane is showing curiosity, right, look at number nine, a piece of conversation between a boss and a secretary, the boss says the typing you have just done for me is hopeless, it is full of mistakes, you will have to do it again and the secretary answers I am sorry sir, the words that have been underlined are the typing you have just done for me is hopeless, it is full of mistakes, now those two sentences what function are they performing are they showing regret on the part of the boss or is he warning his secretary, is he criticizing or is he demanding something, he is criticizing, he is criticizing the boss is criticizing his secretary, right and number ten it is a piece of conversation between John and Jane, John says have you heard the news, the vice principal is getting the sack and Jane answers oh no, now the words oh no what do they convey, do they convey anger, sympathy, disbelief or regret, it is see disbelief, Jane cannot believe the information that she has heard from John and she says oh no, number eleven, Jill says to Pat how about going to the theatre tonight and in answer Pat says sorry I have work to do, now what do the words how about going to the theatre tonight, what do they convey, do they convey a request, is the speaker requesting, is the speaker suggesting something or is the speaker announcing something or welcoming, so it is quite obvious the speaker Jill is suggesting to Pat it is just a suggestion how about going to the theatre tonight, you will look at you will have some further practice in identifying functions, you will now have extended conversation and you will find underline statement or questions and you have to select one response to indicate its function, this is father speaking and he says to his son Sarjeet I do not like your moving around with that friend of yours, now what do those words, I do not like your moving around with that friend of yours, what function is being indicated, what is the father using those words to convey, is he using the words to accuse his son, deny something, disapprove or explain, the father is showing disapproval, I do not like your moving around with that friend of yours, those words are used to convey disapproval on the part of father to his son Sarjeet, the next part is Sarjeet that is why you will find the whole exercise is extended conversation, it is a conversation between father and son and Sarjeet says why not, why not, what do those two words convey, do they convey disagreement, a questioning attitude, rejection or claim, it is quite obvious the son Sarjeet questions why not, why does not he like his going out with his friend, number three and the father says something in response and the father says he is a bad influence on you, he is a bad influence on you, what do those words convey, is the father instructing his son, is he advising him, is he commanding him or is he explaining, simple he is advising him, he is a bad influence on you and then the father continues I have heard he is on drugs, what do those words convey, do they convey anxiety, condemnation, a warning or is he explaining something and those words sound a warning to the son that I have heard he is on drugs so he is warning him not to move around with his friend and Sarjeet in return says number five on drugs they convey shock, admiration, curiosity or sympathy, now given the situation they would convey shock, not curiosity, not sympathy or admiration but shock and then Sarjeet the conversation is extended it goes on, he turns round and says I do not believe it, what do those words I do not believe it convey, do they convey, do they show interest on the part of Sarjeet or sort of a denial or is he denying it or declining something that is been offered him or is he showing disbelief, quite obvious it is disbelief. Number 7 the father says just stay away from him, just stay away from him, what do those words convey to the son are they suggesting something, is the father ordering his son, is the father just saying something, just telling him or is he threatening him son, so over there the father is ordering his son to stay away from his friend, now we will have we will look at conversation on the telephone it is between two people Rafia and her mother, Rafia says mama is that you this is on the telephone and mother says the mother picks the phone and answers yes, what is it you are alright are not you and the words you are alright are not you, what do those words convey, do they convey a disappointment on the part of the mother, some surprise or is it worry that is being conveyed or do they show some interest on the part of the mother, you are alright are not you, these are words that convey a sense of worry, the mother is worried about the daughter. Number 2 Rafia answers on the phone I have got some good news to tell you what do those words convey, is Rafia describing something, is she suggesting, is she confirming or is she announcing, she Rafia is announcing something, when you say I have something to tell you we do this all day long, we are telling our friends our parents our colleagues I have got something to tell you what are you doing, what function is being performed you are announcing something, so over here Rafia when she says I have got some good news to tell you she is announcing something and she goes on to say I want a scholarship to study abroad, what do the words I want a scholarship to study abroad convey, is it a request, is it some acceptance or is it is she just telling something or is she claiming something, it is see, she is telling, she is expanding on the news that she said, she said earlier she talked about, she is telling I have won a scholarship to study abroad, the next part mother oh that is wonderful I am so glad, what do those words convey, do they convey interest, praise some preference or happiness, simple the mother has used the word glad, so she is showing happiness, it is the words that you choose to express your feelings your ideas that convey meaning to the listener, look at the next one, now this is not on the telephone, it is a conversation between a manager and his supervisor, the manager says why should we set up the new mill, the words why should we set up the new mill, are they showing anxiety, is the manager explaining something or is he asking and finally is he announcing something, simple he is just asking his manager and the supervisor, I am sorry he is asking his supervisors opinion and the supervisor returns round and says I would say across the river, I would say across the river what do those 6 words convey, is he suggesting something, is it a suggestion, are those words expressing uncertainty, is he explaining or is he announcing, it is A, the supervisor is suggesting that they set up the new mill across the river and the manager turns round and says are you sure it would be the right place, the manager turns round and asks are you sure it would be the right place, now you know it is a question but what is the manager suggesting, is he suggesting something, is he doubting, is he explaining or questioning, it is a question no doubt but in the question there is another element and there is the element of doubt, the manager has some doubts, some reservations and he says are you sure it would be the right place, now so far you identified the function, now you will have responses given you and you have to choose the right the most appropriate response which would match the function that is given, again you will have snatches of conversation, one person will you will have the words of one speaker, the other speakers words will not be given you but you are required, you have been given the function that is being performed that should be performed and you choose the appropriate words, the appropriate structure, the appropriate words to match the function and it is between two people Zora and Jabeen, Zora says you wanted the telephone number of the girls hostel, well I have managed to get it for you and in return Jabeen shows gratitude, now which words, which responses that you that are listed over there on the screen before you, which would be the appropriate response showing gratitude, should Jabeen say I have already got it, should she say that is very kind of you or should she say tell me the number or yes good, now to show gratitude the appropriate response would be that is very kind of you, look at the next one, Saira says I am leaving college, I am thinking of taking up a job and Bina tries to discourage her, the function is discouragement, which response of the four over there shows discouragement that is an interesting idea, how foolish is it well paid, I would not do that if I were you and it is D the last one, the last response I would not do it if I were you that shows discouragement that Bina, these are the words that would be appropriate to show discouragement. Number three, Meena says would it be possible for you to return the money I lent you and Sana expresses regrets, should she say I am sorry not till the end of the month, should she say which money or would I claim forgot, should that be appropriate or D sure I will, now if you have to express regrets you would say I am sorry, number six Andy says there is a vacancy in my factory, would you be willing to work here, now what should Brenda say to show interest, should she say I am well settled over here, do those words show interest or should she say I will think over it or can you arrange an interview for me or what is the package being offered out of those four responses which response shows an element of interest and it has to be C, can you arrange an interview for me because if you are interested in working in that factory that is what you would say, can you arrange an interview for me, number seven this is a conversation between Aziz and Bina and Aziz says I have just heard Abhidha is returning from London tomorrow morning and Bina expresses surprise, so what should she say, should she say yes that is right she wrote to me about it that is not expressing surprise or should she say sorry what did you say or should it be it is not tomorrow but the day after that certainly does not show any surprise but it is D the last one, no I cannot believe it tomorrow did you say those words express surprise, number eight a conversation between a mechanic and a car owner, the mechanic says I have checked your car sir, the engine is fine it does not need any repairs and the car owner expresses relief, now should he say you sure thank you, thank God for that or should he say good old car, now if he is expressing relief then it has to be see thank God for that or thank goodness for that, number nine this is an extended conversation between two boys Saad and Fahad, Saad says I am sorry I cannot accompany you and Fahad asks why and Saad has to give a reason what should Saad say, should he say why do not you take someone else with you, should he say I can if you really want me to or would my mother is not well be a reason or should it be it is been very hot like lately, so out of those four it is see my mother is not well that gives a reason right and look at the last one it is a statement, illiteracy is a serious problem in our country somebody makes this statement and continues to ask if someone else agrees with this statement, would the speaker say you understand my point, would he say what is your opinion or would he say have you been told this before or should he say would you say so out of those four if you want to ask if someone else agrees with the point just made the point that has been made over there is illiteracy is a serious problem in our country and to ask if someone else agrees with that point you would say would not you say so that was a practice in identifying functions and in identifying responses, responses appropriate to the function and with that we come to the end of the lesson and this was the last lesson of your course. Now before I wind up wind up I would like to talk about the final exam I would like to tell you what it will consist of now your final exam will consist of all that we have covered in our lessons for any surprises just depend on your common sense and background knowledge that you have any background knowledge that you have of English please go over the lessons and focus on the following focus on reading comprehension you will have a passage to read and comprehend and your comprehension will be tested then there is vocabulary you will have a question on vocabulary you might have a question on finding out the main idea the supporting ideas you might have something like locate the topic sentence of the paragraph you could have something on the different organization patterns of essays you could have a question on what is the function of an introduction the body and the conclusion in an essay and you could have something on continuity and transition devices what devices what signals show continuity and transition between sentences and between paragraphs and your final exam will consist of all that we have covered in our lessons please do work hard and remember it is 40 percent of your total assessment for the course you could email us if you have any difficulties when you are revising your lessons I hope and pray that you do well in your final exam best of luck Allah Hafiz