Chapter 1: Reception, Respect, and Relationships
Introduction
Watch this chapter’s video. It introduces the main characters who will appear in the next five chapters. Keep an eye out for Roshan, Gilles, and Claire. Notice how they adjust how they speak to different people in different ways.
Focus questions 
In this chapter, Roshan has conversations with Kerry, Nick, Gilles, Claire, and Leela, his mother. These conversations don’t all start or end the same way. Roshan sometimes speaks face to face with another person; he also uses a phone to talk or to text. He seems to be a friendly young guy; his friendliness shows up in both casual and more respectful styles of speaking.
What about you? The next three activities focus on your own spoken or written messages.
1.
Complete each box in the table with two or three words you would say to the people listed in the right-hand column. The first row is an example.
| Start a conversation | Close a conversation | With the following person |
|---|---|---|
| Hey! | See ya later! | a close friend |
| your mother or father | ||
| a teacher you had as a child | ||
| a cashier you’ve never met before | ||
| your MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) | ||
| other |
2.
Indicate how YOU usually express each kind of message. You can check more than one box for each message.
| I usually… | by email | face to face | by phone | on social media | by text | other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| say, “I am going to be late” | ||||||
| say, “I’m sorry” | ||||||
| complain about traffic | ||||||
| talk about a shared memory | ||||||
| congratulate someone | ||||||
| ask for an explanation of a serious mistake | ||||||
| thank someone | ||||||
| express my opinion |
3.
Decide your communication style. 
Read the descriptions below the dots on the line.
Place a 
on the dot closest to the way you communicate.
Objectives
In this chapter, we will develop language functions to
- recognize how people change their tone and word choice to be formal or informal
- compare how and why different generations of people talk and write to each other
- identify reasons strangers and/or familiar people talk or write to each other
- look for patterns of formality and directness in greetings
- adjust how we speak and write for different listeners or readers.
You will build up your language skills in
- vocabulary through synonyms, word families, phrasal verbs, idioms, and texting abbreviations
- accuracy through grammar practice with stative verbs and tag questions
- fluency through writing and speaking tasks related to receiving communication and engaging respectfully in community relationships
