Problems in the presentation of speech acts in ELT materials: the case of complaints

This article surveys seven ELT texts that are organized around the teaching of functions in order to explicate several problems evident in their presentation of speech acts. A specific speech act sequence, that of complaint/commiseration, is the focus of the analysis. This speech behaviour is highlighted in order to demonstrate the mismatch between data from spontaneous speech, and data that is contrived through the native speaker intuitions of textbook developers. A first problem is that intuition about speech act realization often differs greatly from the way in which naturalistic speech patterns out. Second, it is demonstrated that important information on underlying social strategies of speech acts is often overlooked entirely. A sample lesson on complaining/commiserating based on spontaneous speech is offered, to draw a contrast with the lessons on complaining presented in the texts surveyed.