Why can’t he hear what I’m saying? By Deborah Tannen

Why can’t he hear what I’m saying? By Deborah Tannen

Work type:          Research paper

Format:      APA

Pages:        2 pages ( 550 words, Double spaced

Academic level:  Undergrad. (yrs 1-2)

Subject or discipline:   Literature

Title: Why can’t he hear what I’m saying? By Deborah Tannen

Number of sources:     1

Paper instructions:     

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What is Deborah Tannen’s purpose in writing this article? Which passages best Communicate that purpose?

2. Tannen uses the pronoun you in addressing the reader. Who is Tannen’s Intended audience?

3. Tannen argues that differences in conversational style between men and women cause miscommunication. What examples does she offer in support of this idea? Do you agree with her position?

4. What have you observed as the most important difference between men and women, a difference that sometimes makes communication difficult?

5. Paraphrase Tannen’s definition of culture in paragraph 10. Find another defini tion of culture in a dictionary or encyclopedia. How does it compare with Tannen’s? How does Tannen’s definition fit her purpose?

6. What connections does Tannen make between the “culture” learned as children and the adult behavior of men and women? What behavior does this early pat terning cause? What evidence does she provide, and is the evidence sufficient to make this connection between childhood and adult behavior plausible?