Read the following three classroom interactions, identify a) what functions they might have (teacher elicitation, teacher explanation, teacher question, teacher feedback or teacher correction) b) what strength or weakness they might appear; c) any suggestions for improvements (15%) Episode A: T: ...Let's see how the old man expressed his wish. How did he make a wish? Did he simply say "I wish..."? What special structure did he use? Ss: If only. T: That’s right. And is “if only” here used with a phrase or a clause? Examine the sentence. Ss: A clause. T: Right. ...What's special about the clause? Ss: It's subjunctive clause. T: Yes. It's a subjunctive clause. He wished Death would come, because Death hadn't come yet. If the wish is for present or future, we use were, if it is a “be”, or did, that is the simple past tense. And how about a wish that is contrary to the fact in the past? Ss: We use “had done”. T: Good. Look, we've got a situation:... Episode B: T: Here, I've got a picture. Can you see it clearly? Ss: Yes. T: Now, tell me what you can see. Ss: There is an old man. T: .. .How can you tell he is an old man? Ss: .. .He is bent; he has a bald head, and he almost has no hair. T: Yes. Almost no hair.. ..What else can you see here? Ss: A skeleton. T: Yes... .Look at the skeleton. You can't see the whole thing, right? Why? Episode C: T:...Now, let’s make our own wishes with “if only”. But please don’t forget to give a description, even though it’s very brief, of situation, the context, where you make the wish with one or two sentences.... How about Liz? Liz: Now it's 5 o’clock, and there is a traffic jam on the express way. The hotel will cancel our room at 6 o’clock if we do not get the hotel. Then, I’ll say: Oh, I wish if only I didn’t go on the journey. T: Listen, Liz. You see, once you use “I wish”, you don’t need to use “if only”. Just use either one. L: Yes. T: So will you try again? Just the wish. L: If only I didn’t go on the journey. T: To make it better, you can say “if only I hadn’t gone on this journey”, because you are already on the way.” More? Lois, please.