Jij, vous, Sie, tú: Teaching address forms

Jij, vous, Sie, tú: Teaching address forms

Communicating successfully in a (new) language requires learning the pragmatics of that language: it requires learning what to say to whom and when, and how to say it. How to address people in conversation is a crucial yet challenging pragmatic aspect for learners of Dutch, French, German or Spanish. These languages have a so-called informal pronoun (jij/je, tu, du, tú) and a formal one (u, vous, Sie, usted). Textbooks tend to cover the topic of pronouns of address superficially, often reducing their use to simplistic guidelines—for example, formal forms at work and informal ones in casual, public settings.

What will you do?

In this workshop, we will first discuss how first speakers of the above-mentioned languages use and are affected by receiving (in)formal pronouns of address, drawing from state-of-the-art research. Through hands-on activities and real-life examples, participants will then have the opportunity to work alongside colleagues to come up with efficient strategies for teaching the pragmatics of pronouns of address to their (L2) students.

For whom is this workshop?

This workshop is designed for second language teachers of Dutch (NT2), German, French, and Spanish who want to make their classrooms more communicatively authentic and culturally sensitive. No previous background in pragmatics is required. The workshop is aimed primarily at secondary school teachers and ties in with the topic of language awareness, a new end term in SLO's exam programs.

What can you expect?

The session will be partly interactive, with opportunities to share teaching experiences and come up with activities together for during the lesson. Participants will be provided with teaching materials and strategies for teaching the use and effects of address forms.

Preliminary programme

• 14:00 – 14:30: Welcome and introduction
• 14.30 – 15.15: Insights from the project ‘Processing pronouns of address (ImPro)’ 
• 15.15 – 15.30: Break 
• 15.30 – 16.15: Interactive discussion
• 16.15 – 16.30: Closing 
• 16.30 – 17:30: Drinks 

When

Friday 17 October 2025, 2 pm - 5:30 pm

Organisation

Radboud University

The organizers of the workshop are Patricia Sánchez Carrasco and Maria den Hartog. In case you have questions, please contact Patricia Sánchez Carrasco (patricia.sanchezcarrasco [at] ru.nl (patricia[dot]sanchezcarrasco[at]ru[dot]nl)).

Registration for the workshop is possible up to two weeks before the workshop takes place. All participants can receive a certificate of participation afterwards.