The Development of Pragmatic Competence

Unlike other areas of second language study, which are primarily concerned with acquisitional patterns of interlanguage knowledge over time, most studies in interlanguage pragmatics have focused on second language use rather than second language learning. The aim of this paper is to profile interlanguage pragmatics as an area of inquiry in second language acquisition research, by reviewing existing studies with a focus on learning, examining research findings in interlanguage pragmatics that shed light on some basic questions in SLA, exploring cognitive and social-psychological theories that might offer explanations of different aspects of pragmatic development, and proposing a research agenda for the study of interlanguage pragmatics with a developmental perspective that will tie it more closely to other areas of SLA.

Download Full-text

Review. Social Psychological Perspectives on Second Language Learning. RK Agnihotri, AL Khanna, I Sachdev (eds). Contemporary Approaches to Second Language Acquisition in Context. V Regan (ed)

Applied Linguistics ◽

10.1093/applin/21.4.576 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 576-581

Author(s):

M Lacorte

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Social Psychological

Download Full-text

L2 acquisition in childhood, adulthood and old age

Journal of Second Language Studies ◽

10.1075/jsls.00003.sin ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 254-276 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David Singleton ◽

Simone E. Pfenninger

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Empirical Investigation ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Relevant Research ◽

Age Factor ◽

Research Findings

Abstract This article deals with some misunderstandings about the age factor in second language acquisition which result from a reliance on an incomplete interpretation of relevant research findings. It begins with an exploration of the work of Penfield and Lenneberg and goes on to weigh recent evidence for and against the hypothesis of a “critical period” in the context of naturalistic second language acquisition. It then turns to the question of the effects of early instructed second language learning. Finally, it addresses the issue of second language learning in late adulthood, summarizing the results of such empirical investigation as has been undertaken to date on this topic and arguing for more attention to be devoted to this area in the future.

Download Full-text

Machiko Achiba, Learning to request in a second language: A study of child interlanguage pragmatics. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2003. Pp. xii, 223. HB £42.95/US $69.95/Can $99.95.

Language in Society ◽

10.1017/s0047404504245055 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 780-783

Author(s):

Akiko Kato-Yoshioka

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Pragmatic Competence ◽

Interlanguage Pragmatics ◽

Pragmatic Development ◽

Second Languages ◽

Proficiency Levels ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Old Japanese ◽

Single Moment

The question of “how second languages are learned” (Gass & Selinker 1994:1) is central to second language acquisition (SLA) research; however, although a number of longitudinal studies have been carried out examining second language (L2) grammatical development, very little attention has been devoted to L2 learners' development of pragmatic competence over time. As Achiba points out, the majority of previous studies on L2 (or interlanguage) pragmatics have observed the single-moment pragmatic realization of a group of L2 learners with similar proficiency levels and compared it with that of native speakers or L2 learners with different proficiency levels or first language (L1) backgrounds. The current paucity of knowledge regarding the developmental aspect of L2 pragmatic competence has led to calls for detailed longitudinal interlanguage pragmatic studies (cf. Kasper & Schmidt 1996, Kasper & Rose 1999). Achiba's study, which carefully observes the pragmatic development in English requestive realization of a seven-year-old Japanese girl over a period of 17 months, certainly meets these essential needs.

Download Full-text

An evaluation of the contemporary status of pragmatics within the field of second language learning and teaching

10.31124/advance.12905759.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ahmed Mahfoodh

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Pragmatic Competence ◽

Current Position ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

The Status ◽

Contemporary Status

This paper aims to evaluate the current position of pragmatics in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) with focus on teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL). First it attempts to reach an overall understanding of pragmatics by looking into its history and its main definitions in the relative literature. Building on this understanding, pragmatics is given a definition that suits the SLA paradigm, including second language learning and teaching (SLLT). Then the concept of pragmatic competence will be discussed and how it can be achieved. This paves the way for shedding light on the status of teaching of pragmatics within the field of SLA/TEFL. This will include its representation in published TEFL materials and the difficulties that face assessing pragmatic competence.

Download Full-text

An evaluation of the contemporary status of pragmatics within the field of second language learning and teaching

10.31124/advance.12905759 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ahmed Mahfoodh

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Pragmatic Competence ◽

Current Position ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

The Status ◽

Contemporary Status

This paper aims to evaluate the current position of pragmatics in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) with focus on teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL). First it attempts to reach an overall understanding of pragmatics by looking into its history and its main definitions in the relative literature. Building on this understanding, pragmatics is given a definition that suits the SLA paradigm, including second language learning and teaching (SLLT). Then the concept of pragmatic competence will be discussed and how it can be achieved. This paves the way for shedding light on the status of teaching of pragmatics within the field of SLA/TEFL. This will include its representation in published TEFL materials and the difficulties that face assessing pragmatic competence.

Download Full-text

Language Ideology and Second Language Learning

ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.2143/itl.155.0.2032360 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 155 ◽

pp. 95-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Theresa McGarry

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Ideology ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Classroom Practices ◽

Explanatory Power

AbstractThe increasing recognition of the concept language ideology and the corresponding increasing use of the term have not yet been matched by applications in the field of second language acquisition. However, applications of the concept in analysis of actual classroom practices have shown it to have considerable explanatory power. Greater consideration of language ideology in SLA is necessary not only to achieve greater understanding of the role of ideology in various areas but also to show connections between these areas that may yield important generalizations and to impel the application of the concept in areas where it has been neglected by highlighting its uneven treatment.

Download Full-text

Social Psychological Theories and Sustainable Second Language Learning: A Model Comparison Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11010016 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 16

Author(s):

Kyung Kim ◽

Tae-Il Pae

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Second Language ◽

High School Students ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Social Psychological ◽

School Students ◽

South Korean

The purposes of the present study are two-fold: (1) To examine whether social psychological variables, such as attitude and subjective norm, can predict South Korean English as a foreign language high school students’ intention to learn English, and (2) to identify the best social psychological model for sustainable second language learning in the context of South Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. A total of 614 South Korean high school learners of English participated in the present study. Data collected from a survey questionnaire were analyzed using a structural equation modeling procedure. Results of the present study indicate that South Korean high school students’ attitudes toward learning English and subjective norms made a significant and independent contribution to the variance in their intention to study English. Among the three competing social psychological models examined in the current study, the theory of Planned Behavior and an expanded model of Gardner’s Socio-educational Model proved to be the most effective in terms of the strength of path coefficients and explanatory power. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are provided.

Download Full-text

An Overview of Motivation: The Challenges and the Importance of Motivation for Second Language Acquisition

Journal for the Study of English Linguistics ◽

10.5296/jsel.v4i1.9407 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 53 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zahra Mahdikhani

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Affective Filter ◽

Strategy Model ◽

Language Exposure ◽

Reinforcement Model ◽

Knowledge Communication

The importance of the learner's attitudes and motivation plays a major role for most psycholinguists, either in a language learning situation or in a second language acquisition context. A quick look at the major theories of language acquisition can be helpful to establish this. Krashen's monitor model argues attitudes and motivation most influential in unconscious language acquisition. The learner's motivational level acts as an affective filter on language intake (Krashen 1981, p. 102). In another model language learning begins when the learner feels motivated to communicate something to someone (see Carroll's conscious reinforcement model, 1981). Reinforcement takes place when the desired end is obtained. Bialystok's strategy model (1978) demonstrates that it can be assumed that learners will seek language exposure only if they feel motivated. Therefore, using their explicit and/or implicit knowledge, communication will take place. This study investigates the challenges and the importance of motivation for second language learning or SL acquisition.

Download Full-text

Modeling Second-Language Learning from a Psychological Perspective

10.31234/osf.io/r93wc ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Alexander Rich ◽

Pamela Joy Osborn Popp ◽

David Halpern ◽

Anselm Rothe ◽

Todd Matthew Gureckis

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Educational Software ◽

Psychological Theory ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Small Scale ◽

Boosted Decision Trees ◽

New Perspective

Psychological research on learning and memory has tended to emphasize small-scale laboratory studies. However, large datasets of people using educational software provide opportunities to explore these issues from a new perspective. In this paper we describe our approach to the Duolingo Second Language Acquisition Modeling (SLAM) competition which was run in early 2018. We used a well-known class of algorithms (gradient boosted decision trees), with features partially informed by theories from the psychological literature. After detailing our modeling approach and a number of supplementary simulations, we reflect on the degree to which psychological theory aided the model, and the potential for cognitive science and predictive modeling competitions to gain from each other.

Download Full-text