The Effect of Language Learning Experience on the Appropriate Use of Speech Act ‘Request’

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1060
Author(s):  
Zahra Bazyar ◽  
Ali Taghinezhad ◽  
Marziyeh Nekouizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Appropriate Use

Nowadays emphasizing linguistic competence is not a sufficient path to reach a target-like communicative competence. Pragmatic competence should be put emphasis on as well. The importance of learning speech acts which is one aspect in the pragmatics is clear to those who want to learn a second or foreign language. This study after investigating the interest of language learners in the acquisition of appropriate use of second language speech acts, traces the variation over time in the use of speech act of request in Iranian EFL University students and for further clarification a group of non-language University students. The results showed no effect of time on the appropriate use of speech act “request”.

An Investigation of the Relationship between Pragmatic Competence and Motivation for Non-English Majors

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 1308
Author(s):  
Xiaojing Chen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Relationship

Language is used for communication. Pragmatic competence, which is essential in English teaching, is an important component of communicative competence. The development of pragmatic competence will enhance that of foreign language learners’ communicative competence. This study discusses the relation between pragmatic competence and language learning motivation. Results show that students’ general pragmatic competence is at a low level. Most of the subjects hold instrumental motivation as their dominant motivation. Significant correlation has been found between pragmatic competence and language learning motivation (r=.582; p=.000). According to the survey results, the author provides several suggestions on cultivating and maintaining learners’ motivation in their pragmatic learning.

An analysis of pragmatic content in EFL textbooks for young learners in Croatia

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882098693
Author(s):  
Eva Jakupčević ◽  
Mihajla Ćavar Portolan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Insight Into

Pragmatic competence is an essential element of communicative competence, which makes it relevant for speakers of all ages, including young language learners (YLLs). Despite the recognized importance of pragmatics, research of textbooks for adult second language (L2) learners to date has found them lacking in their approach to this key aspect of language. However, there is very little research of pragmatics in textbooks for YLLs, which would provide insight into the extent to which these materials can support teachers in including elements of pragmatic competence into their language classes. The present study aims to fill this gap by determining how much pragmatic content is included in 18 textbooks used in Croatian primary schools with learners aged 9–12 years. The textbooks are compared in regard to the percentage of pages with pragmatic content as well as the different speech acts that receive explicit attention in them. The main finding of the study is the great amount of inconsistency when it comes to the scope and treatment of pragmatic content, with some textbooks proving extremely lacking. The results present a concerning picture as all of the students using these diverse textbooks should be following the same curriculum which emphasizes the development of communicative competence.

Řečové akty omluvy u českých studentů v angličtině (L2): vybrané výsledky pilotáže

2019 ◽  
pp. 157-188
Author(s):  
Marie Vališová
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Shed Light

During the second half of the 20th century, there was a shift in focus in second language acquisition research from linguistic competence to communicative and pragmatic competence (Hymes, 1972; Canale & Swain, 1980; Canale, 1983; Bachman, 1990; Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Usó-Juan & Martínez-Flor, 2006). This resulted in a growing number of studies on speech acts in general. Motivated by a lack of studies on the speech acts of apology in conversations of Czech learners of English as a foreign language, my dissertation project aims to shed light on apology strategies used by Czech university students.

scholarly journals The relationship between language learning experience, motivation and some other individual variables of mature foreign language learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 69-79
Author(s):  
Zofia Chłopek
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Learner Motivation ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
The Relationship

The present paper investigates the issue of motivation of foreign language learners. The main research question, concerning a possible link between the amount of language learning experience and learner motivation, remains unanswered. However, it turns out that a few learner characteristics which some researchers believe to correlate with language learning experience can probably serve as good predictors of foreign language learners’ motivation.

scholarly journals A study of retrospective and concurrent foreign language learning experiences: A comparative interview study in Hungary

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-246
Author(s):  
Kata Csizér ◽  
Csaba Kálmán
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
English Language Teachers

Despite the fact that the influence of learning experiences on foreign language learning motivation has been widely acknowledged and emphasised, there are hardly any studies concentrating on these learning experiences. Hence, the aim of this study is to map the language learning experiences of former and current language learners in order to provide a detailed account of the possible components of the foreign language learning experience. Data were collected with the help of a qualitative interview schedule involving 22 language learners in two subsamples. Ten participants are English language teachers as former foreign language learners, while 12 students, current learners of English, have also been recruited. The most important result of our study is that foreign language learning experience seems to be a complex construct including immediate and present aspects as well as self-related components and attributions. Language learning success, the teacher’s personality, contact experiences, as well as attitudes towards the L2 seem to stand out as important components for both groups of learners. Apart from discussing the differences and similarities between retrospective and concurrent experiences, we will provide pedagogical and research-related implications as well.

Realization of Speech Act of Permission by Kurdish EFL University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
Yaseen Alzeebaree
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Private University ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Completion Test ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Convenience Sampling

This study aims to examine Kurdish EFL university students’ development of L2 pragmatic competence by investigating their performance of the speech acts of permission. The methodology of this study was a combined research method, which comprises a quantitative and a qualitative method (mixed method). Total of 97 participants were involved in this research study. 83 (33 males and 50 females) were from four state universities and one private university in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and 14 were native speakers of English. A discourse completion test (DCT) was used to elicit the required data from participants. The study used convenience sampling for the participants because both native and non-native participants were selected on the basis of their availability. The data were coded and analysed quantitatively in terms of overall strategy use and strategy patterns. The findings revealed that there were differences in the frequency and percentages of strategies and semantic formulae in performing the speech act. KEFLUS tended to use more direct and explicit. There were more politeness and implicitness in NSE' behaviours in performing the speech act, which might have resulted from the lack of pragmatic competence of KEFLUS.

Communicative competence and personality dimensions in first and second language learners

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUDO VERHOEVEN ◽  
ANNE VERMEER
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Organizational Skills

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations between communicative competence and five dimensions of personality in 241 first and second language–learning children in The Netherlands. To determine the underlying communicative competence of the first and second language learners of Dutch, a broad array of linguistic measures and teacher judgments were collected. Observational scales referring to the Big Five personality factors were used to characterize the children's personalities. The results showed that three basic components underlie both the monolingual and bilingual children's communicative competence: organizational competence, involving lexical, syntactic, discourse, and functional abilities; pragmatic competence, involving sociocultural routines and illocutionary force; and strategic competence, involving the planning and monitoring of communicative behavior. The relations between the different dimensions of personality and the components of communicative competence revealed the following patterns to characterize first language learners: conscientiousness and emotional stability correlated with basic organizational skills; openness to experience correlated with pragmatic competence; and a broad range of personality characteristics with the acquisition of communicative strategies. In contrast, primarily openness to experience and, to a lesser extent, conscientiousness and extraversion were found to be related to the buildup of basic organizational skills, the acquisition of pragmatic skills, and the development of monitoring strategies in second language learners.

scholarly journals Promoting pragmatic awareness of Indonesian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners through teaching speech acts of oral and written complaints

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Waliyadin Nuridin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Pragmatic Awareness ◽  
Processing Framework

<p>The lack of pragmatic competence could result in unexpected effects on the speakers; for example, the speakers are considered as rude and aggressive people. Accordingly, developing pragmatic competence for EFL learners should be a great concern. This article is aimed to fill in the needs of pragmatic teaching by providing examples of teaching practices that have successfully developed learners’ pragmatic competence. There are two tasks that have been designed and implemented by drawing on discourse processing framework proposed by Celce-Murcia and Olshtain (2000) to achieve the production of both written and spoken discourses. The first task is on speaking, particularly on the speech act of oral complaints. The second task is on writing a letter of complaint. This article suggests that developing pragmatic awareness through the speech act of oral and written complaints is effective.<strong></strong></p>

scholarly journals Profiling language learners in hybrid learning contexts: Learners’ perceptions

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Pekka Lintunen ◽  
Maarit Mutta ◽  
Sanna Pelttari
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Digital Competence

<p>This article discusses formal and informal foreign language learning before university level. The focus is on beginning university students’ perceptions of their earlier learning experiences, especially in digital contexts. Language learners’ digital competence is a part of their everyday lives, but its relationship to learning in and outside educational settings is still relatively seldom studied. The article discusses learning in formal and informal (i.e., hybrid) contexts and digital learning profiles −that is, a learner’s own personalized style in acquiring language competence by creating affordances in personalized digital or mobile learning environments− in primary and secondary education identified in a language learning survey. The results are based on an online survey sent to all beginning university students majoring in languages at a Finnish university (N= 87/192), which was complemented by a short narrative task (N=47) a few months later focusing on earlier education and the use of language learning technologies. The results suggest that the use of technologies seems to differ between extramural and in-school language learning. The learners were well aware of various possibilities to create affordances for learning, and their own involvement increased with age. Most participants had positive attitudes towards the use of technologies to enhance language learning, but critical views emphasized the importance of inspiring contact teaching. Three different digital learning profiles were identified: a digiage learner, a hybrid learner, and an in-school learner. These can be useful when planning differentiated foreign language instruction.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document