1.

1 Understanding context, audience

and purpose
Key concepts

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Context
• What are some contexts for speech and writing?
• When do you change how you speak or write?
• Do you:
o ever switch between English and another language?
o ever make your speech or writing more formal?
o alter the accent you use? Or, do you ever use words
in one situation that you wouldn’t in another?
o think about what you hope to achieve when you
speak or write?

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Context

• Contextual factors may be:

o Psychological – e.g. when you switch between English and
another language you speak.
o Social – e.g. is the situation formal or informal?
o Geographical – e.g. when you use different dialects or
accents.
o Influenced by purpose – can be general, e.g. ‘to persuade’,
‘to entertain’, or specific, e.g. to show academic
knowledge and writing skills.

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Audience

• How would your language use differ when:

ospeaking with a sibling/family member?
oin a job application or interview?
oin an exam?
• Speakers and writers alter their language use based
on who they are addressing – the audience.

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Purpose

What reasons or purposes can you think of for speech

or writing?

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Purpose

General purposes:

• Persuading; Entertaining; Informing; Instructing

• Can you think of examples of spoken and written
language for each of the above?

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Purpose

• Purposes can be very specific, e.g. to persuade

potential voters to vote for you / your political party
in an election this year.
• Speech or writing can have multiple or hybrid
purposes, e.g. to inform in an entertaining way.

© Cambridge University Press 2019