Learning Journal 25

In class on Wednesday we did an activity to help us learn skills in observing speech events. This journal entry shows the results of my observations.

1. Two people greeting each other
Two students, one man one woman, walk towards each other. Man hails woman with gesture made by right hand and verbal greeting "hey how's it going?" Location is library. They seem to be acquainted from a class since the subject matter of verbal communication is difficulty of particular assignment. They stand facing each other about two feet apart. It is 4:30 PM. Lots of influction in their voices, animated hand gestures.

2. Woman speaking with a man
Both people are sitting at a table facing the same direction, not each other. Woman speaks louder than the man, laughs often. Both are eating ice cream at a table in the Wilkinson center terrace. Woman looks at man more than the man looks at the woman. Subject of verbal communication is hobbies they like to do in the summertime. They seem to have romantic interest in each other (at least in my cultural reference frame) but are onlky acquaintences currently. They are sitting about one foot apart.

3. Man speaking with a man
Both are sitting at table facing the same direction, side by side. They make eye contact once per sentence, looking at the table the rest of the time. One man holds a baby and plays with the baby throughout the conversation. Both are older, maybe 70+ years old. Others are sitting at the table and the conversation switches to other periodically. Men seem to be related somehow. Men are dressed casually, polo shirts and khaki slacks. Location is the Wilkinson center terrace near the cougar eat. Time of day is 4:25 PM. Tone of voice is relaxed. Men are about two feet away from each other while talking.

How can I apply what I learned to my project?
The older population that I will be studying represents a different culture even though I live in the same location as them. I will probably not be doing observations like this or participant observations as a direct part of my research, but I will be using these skills to understand my population. When I encounter elderly people this summer I will apply these skills to gain insight into how my population communicates, what is important to them and how these things might influence my data. For example, understanding what is important to them could help me understand possible response biases for people being invited to participate in my research. This will help me with wording for my cover letter.

Keywords: participant observation, observing speech events, class activities