‘May I do something for you?’: The effects of audio-visual material (captioned and non-captioned) on EFL pragmatic learning

2022 ◽  
pp. 136216882110670
Author(s):  
Júlia Barón ◽  
M. Luz Celaya
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Visual Material ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
L2 Pragmatics ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Role Play Task ◽  
Positive Effect

The present study deals with the effect of audio-visual material for second language (L2) pragmatic learning in the foreign language classroom. More specifically, it analyzes whether being exposed to captioned and non-captioned input in an experimental condition entailing no instruction on pragmatics might have any influence on the learners’ pragmatic performance. To this aim, two intact classes ( N = 31) of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) at a B1 level were exposed to videos with captions and without captions, respectively. Before and after watching the videos, all the students were asked to carry out a role-play task with situations like those in the videos. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze the learners’ performance in terms of types and number of strategies to perform speech acts (quantitative) and in terms of pragmatic appropriateness (qualitative). Findings show that both groups used more polite strategies after watching the videos, regardless of the captioned/non-captioned condition, which seems to confirm the contribution of audio-visual material for the learning of the L2 pragmatics in an incidental way. Concerning pragmatic appropriateness, we found that learners in the captioned condition produced more pragmalinguistically appropriate role-plays than learners in the non-captioned condition, thus suggesting a positive effect of captioned material on the learning of the L2 pragmatics. Such results are discussed in relation to the few previous similar studies in the field.

Pragmatic instruction in L2-Russian

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-95
Author(s):  
Daniele Artoni ◽  
Valentina Benigni ◽  
Elena Nuzzo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Written Discourse ◽  
Instructional Treatment ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
National Corpus ◽  
Pragmatic Instruction

Over the last three decades, a growing number of studies have investigated the effects of instruction on the acquisition of pragmatic features in L2. The bulk of this research has focused mainly on the teaching of English as a second/foreign language. However, instructional pragmatic studies in L2-Russian are lacking. The main purpose of our study is to contribute towards filling this gap by analysing the effects of pragmatic instruction on the acquisition of two speech acts by Italian learners of Russian. Furthermore, we aim to explore whether the Multimodal Russian Corpus (MURCO), a multimedia subcorpus of the Russian National Corpus, can be an effective tool for teaching speech acts in L2-Russian. Our research was composed of one experimental group (n = 18) and one control group (n = 11); each was composed of two intact classes of Italian university students at an intermediate level of L2-Russian, who were pre- and post-tested using a written discourse completion task. The experimental group was subjected to a programme of pragmatic instruction – eight thirty-minute MURCO-based lessons devoted to requests and advice, while the control group was taught according to the standard syllabus, that is, with no pragmatic instruction. The results revealed that the use of the target pragmatic features varied significantly in the experimental group, but not in the control group, thus showing a general positive effect of the instructional treatment based on the MURCO corpus. However, some limitations were identified with regard to the usability of this tool by teachers and learners.

scholarly journals Students’ willingness to participate in speaking activities through the use of scripted role-plays

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2-2019) ◽  
pp. 71-89
Author(s):  
Jonathan Antonio Lara Castro ◽  
Claudio Díaz Larenas
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Seventh Grade ◽  
English Class ◽  
Language Class ◽  
Before And After

The following study is a result of an action research carried out in an English as a foreign language class in a subsidized Chilean school, where 77 % of its population is at social risk. 38 of the participants are seventh grade students. The study addresses students’ willingness to participate in speaking activities in English class before and after the implementation of a drama based pedagogy strategy known as scripted role-play. The students showed great commitment to scripted role-play as a way to learn English. Participants had the chance to work collaboratively with their peers in a safe and engaging environment, improving their social skills as they performed different roles. The study concludes that students are willing to participate in speaking activities after the use of scripted role-plays. This result is also coherent with the students’ perceptions of the intervention.

Learning pragmatics through tasks

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Júlia Barón ◽  
M. Luz Celaya ◽  
Mayya Levkina
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Interlanguage Pragmatics ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Bilingual Students ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Pedagogical Intervention ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
L2 Pragmatics ◽  
Before And After

Abstract This study aims at examining the benefits of teaching L2 pragmatics with the use of tasks. The participants were 50 Catalan/Spanish bilingual students (aged 12–14) from three intact classes who were learners of English as a Foreign Language and with an upper-intermediate level of proficiency. The three groups followed different approaches to teaching pragmatics: G1 was instructed in pragmatics following a task-supported approach; G2 was also instructed in pragmatics but no tasks were used; and G3 was a control group with no instruction on pragmatics and no use of tasks, either. To assess pragmatic learning, role-plays were used both before and after the pedagogical intervention. The pragmatic analysis focused on the speech acts of giving opinion, agreeing/disagreeing, interrupting, and acknowledging the interlocutor. Results showed that the two instructed groups, regardless of the type, were more pragmatically competent in the posttest in one of the pragmatic moves (i.e., interrupting). Additionally, G1 presented statistically significant differences in the posttest when acknowledging the interlocutor. Regarding the control group, no differences were found in any of the moves. These findings suggest that instruction in general, and task-supported instruction in particular, has a positive impact on the development of interlanguage pragmatics in a classroom context.

Analysis of appropriateness in a speech act of request in L2 English

Pragmatics ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Taguchi
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Role Play ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Role Play Task

Fifty-nine Japanese college students of English at two different proficiency levels were evaluated for their ability to produce a speech act of request in a spoken role play task. Learners’ production was analyzed quantitatively by rating performance on a six-point scale for overall appropriateness, as well as qualitatively by identifying the directness levels of the linguistic expressions used to produce requests. Results revealed a significant L2 proficiency influence on overall appropriateness, but only a marginal difference in the types of linguistic expressions used between the two proficiency groups. Moreover, grammatical and discourse control encoded in the rating scale seemed to have affected the quality of speech acts.

scholarly journals Does the effect of enjoyment outweigh that of anxiety in foreign language performance?

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Dewaele ◽  
Mateb Alfawzan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Positive And Negative Emotions

Interest in the effect of positive and negative emotions in foreign language acquisition has soared recently because of the positive psychology movement (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014, 2016; MacIntyre, Gregersen & Mercer, 2016). No work so far has been carried out on the differential effect of positive and negative emotions on foreign language performance. The current study investigates the effect of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) on foreign language performance in a group of 189 foreign language pupils in two London secondary schools and a group of 152 Saudi English as a foreign language learners and users of English in Saudi Arabia. Correlation analyses showed that the positive effect of FLE on performance was stronger than the negative effect of FLCA. In other words, FLE seems to matter slightly more than FLCA in foreign language (FL) performance. Qualitative material collected from the Saudi participants shed light on the causes of FLCA and FLE and how these shaped participants’ decisions to pursue or abandon the study of the FL.

scholarly journals Introducing blended learning in the English language classroom: Students’ attitudes and perceptions before and after the course

2017 ◽  
pp. 33-49
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Research University ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Before And After

The increased demands for foreign language learning and the dwindling number of contact hours have urged teachers to look for innovative methods of instruction such as blended learning (BL). A study was conducted at a Russian university (The National Research University Higher School of Economics) in order to explore the attitudes and perceptions of the students toward blended learning in the English language classroom. The research instruments were tests and questionnaires administered to students before and after the course. The online portion of the course was realized through the corporate learning management system (LMS). The study revealed a noticeable evolution in students’ perceptions and attitudes towards using blended learning in foreign language instruction. This shift and the consequential outcomes of the study are discussed.

scholarly journals How Iranian Instructors Teach L2 Pragmatics in Their Classroom Practices? A Mixed-Methods Approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Paramasivam Muthusamy ◽  
Atieh Farashaiyan
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Communicative Practice ◽  
L2 Pragmatics ◽  
Culture Teaching ◽  
Feedback Techniques ◽  
Pair Work

<p>This study examined the teaching approaches and techniques that Iranian instructors utilize for teaching L2 pragmatics in their classroom practices. 238 Iranian instructors participated in this study. The data for this study were accumulated through questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. In terms of the instructional approaches, both the quantitative and qualitative results showed that instructors make use of inductive and implicit approaches more than other two approaches, deductive and explicit, to teach L2 pragmatics .With regard to the pragmatic consciousness-raising techniques, the results revealed that instructors mostly make use of conversation topics and also situations to raise learners’ awareness of the speech act under study. In addition to this technique, instructors make use of field experience to give input to learners. Regarding the pragmatic communicative practice techniques, the quantitative and qualitative results showed that instructors mostly make use of role-play and pair- work techniques to engage learners to practice speech acts. Moreover, the results of the questionnaire and interview with regard to pragmatic corrective feedback techniques showed that instructors almost give feedback implicitly by reformulating learners’ mistakes and repeating their errors On the contrary, instructors give less metalinguistic information and explain the inappropriate expressions to learners. In terms of culture teaching techniques, the results illustrated that instructors share their knowledge of what they hear or read about other cultures with their learners. The results of this study have some implications for language instructors.</p>

Effects of task complexity on L2 suggestions

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-265
Author(s):  
Daniel Márquez ◽  
Júlia Barón
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
American English ◽  
L2 Pragmatics ◽  
And Task

Abstract This exploratory study aims at determining whether increased task complexity affects performance of second language (L2) pragmatics. 34 Spanish learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) undertook simple and complex interactive tasks targeting the speech act of suggesting. Although previous analyses of learner-learner interaction have demonstrated that increasing the cognitive load of a task may affect the number of speech acts in conversation, not enough evidence to support this premise was found. In addition, the assessment of suggestions as provided by native speakers of American English shows that increased task complexity along number of elements, social distance, and degree of imposition is likely to promote accuracy and complexity of pragmatic moves without making L2 learners trade off either accuracy or complexity. Pedagogical implications in the fields of L2 pragmatics and task-based language teaching (TBLT) are further discussed.

scholarly journals Notfallmedizinische Kommunikation im Unterricht Polnisch als Fremdsprache. Analyse von Gesprächsverhalten deutschsprachiger Rettungskräfte

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-193
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Lisek
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Emergency Communication ◽  
Language Courses

This paper focuses on the emergency communication of German paramedics who are learning Polish as a foreign language. This is to be tested in a role play, in which speech acts occur. Can the recorded speech acts or certain pragmatic phenomena be used in foreign language teaching of emergency communication? The study shows that the majority of patients’ responses are understood by the paramedics, but they respond to them inappropriately. Therefore, it is concluded that language courses for paramedics should focus much more on fixed phrases in Polish. The analysis of the recordings shows that this would enable them to formulate their answers in Polish, and not in German or English. In addition, code-switching sequences were used as means to identify the areas where there is a need for a modification of the programme and exercises during the lessons. The emphasis should lie on non-medical answers to the patient’s linguistic actions as well.

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