Dr. Montserrat Mir, Illinois State University
Dr. Angela Bailey de las Heras, Illinois State University

Today no one argues that communication should be the core of any language lesson. In task-based instruction, we engage students in communicative tasks where the target language becomes the tool to achieve a goal by means of interacting with each other. It is by practicing speaking that learners learn to speak in the target language. But speaking grammatically correct with appropriate vocabulary is not always enough to converse successfully. Conversational rules vary from one culture to another. The purpose of this presentation is twofold. On the one hand, we will share conversational activities where learners are explicitly taught and exposed to pragmatic rules of speaking in Spanish. On the other hand, we will explain how to create tasks where students ‘explore’ and ‘research’ conversational rules by interacting with penpals online.