scholarly journals Cross-Cultural Pragmatic Competence in an EFL Context for a Sustainable Learning Environment: A Case of Northern Cyprus

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 10346
Author(s):  
Ben Bardis ◽  
Fatoş Silman ◽  
Behbood Mohammadzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Mixed Approach ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge

A review of literature on pragmatic competence reveals that less attention is given to the enrichment of cross-cultural pragmatic awareness in the classroom. The study focuses on the need to survey and discuss communicative dynamics in classroom situations and the importance of enhancing cross-cultural pragmatic competence in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. We believe that enhancing students’ cross-cultural pragmatic competence will provide students with a sustainable learning environment, which is crucial for the quality of education. The investigation involves a mixed approach of quantitative and qualitative methods by using a questionnaire for EFL students and interview guide questions for both EFL students and teachers. For quantitative analysis, the participants involved in this research include 200 EFL students of different nationalities, and for the qualitative analysis, the participants include 10 teachers and 20 EFL students in a university in North Cyprus. The study’s findings indicate that students lack cross-cultural pragmatic knowledge and must be provided with classroom activities for social interaction and to develop explicit and implicit communicative competencies in EFL as a target language. Findings further reveal that EFL students are not endowed with cross-cultural pragmatic competence by the EFL teachers who provide little attention to pragmatic knowledge and classroom activities in the EFL context.

scholarly journals Cross-Cultural Pragmatics and Its challenges in EFL context

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dian Rianita
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
High Level ◽  
Cultural Pragmatics

Preprint-The target of teaching and learning a foreign language, like English, is customary to give the learners knowledge in using the target language for communication in an appropriate way. Because of that, it is not enough to teach the learners merely grammar skills, but they have to be provided with the cross-cultural competence in using the target language. Linguists believe that mastering high-level skills in grammar does not mean the learners have the equal pragmatic competence. Thus, the instruction concerning pragmatics is compulsory in term of rising a cross-cultural awareness. This paper discusses the intercultural pragmatics and its importance in second language acquisition. The discussion covers the challenges faced by the learners in becoming proficient at using English as their target language

scholarly journals A Qualitative Investigation of Pragmatic Development in Foreign and Target Context

2018 ◽  
pp. 158-192
Author(s):  
Ayşegül Takkaç-Tulgar
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Pragmatic Development ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Purposeful Sampling ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge

The effects of learning environment on language development in general and pragmatic competence have received increasing attention in the last few decades. The existing studies examined the effects of ESL and EFL settings on pragmatic development from a variety of standpoints. Taking these studies as the basis, this comparative case study aimed to investigate the effects of target context and foreign context on the pragmatic development of two groups of learners, one learning a foreign language (English) and the other learning a second language (Turkish). What differentiates this study from the previous ones is that it compares the cases of learning foreign and second languages (by two different student groups) in the same country (Turkey) The participants, selected on purposeful sampling, were one group of Turkish learners of English in an EFL department in Turkey and the other group was learners from different nationalities learning Turkish in Turkey. The data were collected through participants’ self-reports, interviews and in-class observations by the researcher. The content analysis mainly revealed that the foreign context did not offer learners adequate chances for exposure to and practice in the target language, which negatively influenced their pragmatic development. However, the target context provided ample chances of natural and authentic communication in which learners of Turkish could develop their pragmatic knowledge and production. Based on these results, some pedagogical and practical suggestions are provided.        

scholarly journals Pragmatic Competence: Difficulties faced by Pakistani EFL Learners

sjesr ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 444-451
Author(s):  
Dr. Sikander Ali ◽  
Muhammad Ashraf
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Competence Level ◽  
Pragmatic Failure ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge

The study investigates the pragmatic knowledge; pragmatic competence level as well as speech act strategies used by Pakistani EFL learners. It reveals that Master level English language learners are unable to produce and comprehend the intended meanings in the target language. As a result, pragmatic failure and misunderstanding occurred. Pragmatic comprehension and production is essential for effective communication especially for EFL learners in this modern age where people have to communicate cross-culturally as English is being used as lingua franca internationally. The study explores the problems faced by EFL learners in comprehending and producing the correct speech acts in English. The study used two data collection tools: a WDCT in which speech acts of refusal and apology are used to find out pragmatic competence level and difficulties faced by Pakistani EFL learners. A Likert Scale questionnaire is used to know about the views and suggestions of the Pakistani EFL learners about the teaching and learning environment regarding the pragmatics. The data of speech acts of refusal is analyzed qualitatively according to the taxonomy of Beebe, keeping in view frequency, shift and content of semantic formulas. While the data of speech acts of apology is analyzed according to the speech act strategies of Cohen. Data collected through the Likert scale questionnaire is analyzed quantitatively. The study finds out that pragmatic competence level of Pakistani EFL learners is very low as well as they have to face many difficulties which result in pragmatic failure.  Findings of the study show that Pakistani EFL learners lack knowledge of pragmatics in the target language. EFL learners acknowledged that pragmatic knowledge is very important for effective communication and it should be an integral part of syllabus and classroom activities.

Disagreement Realizations: Some Methodological Concerns

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Hady Hamdan
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Interlanguage Pragmatics ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Communication Breakdowns

Interlanguage pragmatics is concerned with how nonnative speakers use and develop their L2 pragmatic competence (Kasper 1996: 145). In this context, realizations of face threatening speech acts that such speakers perform are examined and contrasted with those of native speakers of the same target language. This has been done with a view to minimizing communication breakdowns and developing a better mutual cross-cultural understanding. Yet, despite the large number of studies conducted in this field, only a few have manage to achieve their purpose. This is often the case due to some methodological flaws that characterize such studies. The current study sheds light on these methodological flaws so that future research yields more representative, credible and informative findings. In particular, the researcher provides a critique of the methodological perspectives adopted in contrastive cross-cultural research on disagreement realizations by reviewing eight studies that have examined disagreement strategies in English by speakers of different language backgrounds.

scholarly journals Cultural Collision: The Interference of First Language Cultural Identity on Pragmatic Competence of the Target Language

2016 ◽  
pp. 131-147
Author(s):  
Yi-Fen Cecilia Liu
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Reflective Study ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge

This reflective study explores a different perspective of intercultural communicative competency (ICC) by focusing on the speech acts that nonnative speakers of Spanish from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds find difficult to perform competently in various contexts in Colombia. This article covers a qualitative case study using interpretative phenomenological analysis to describe these foreign learners’ experiences. It aims to understand the role of their first language, culture, and identity in their use of Spanish and intercultural communication. The data was collected through interviews and reflection notes. The findings demonstrate the interaction and negotiation between the pragmatic knowledge embedded in participants’ mother tongue and the target language as they encountered contradictions of their native cultural identity and that of the target culture.

Developing Intercultural Awareness and Language Speaking Proficiency for Foreign Language Learners through Cross–Cultural Voicemail Exchange

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Yayin Wang ◽  
Wan-Jeng Chang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
English Speaking

To expand global and intercultural communication, the effectiveness of asynchronous online communication devices, especially email, have been discussed in the area of foreign language teaching. A lack of specific research exists that addresses the application of online voicemail. This paper reports on a five month period of voicemail exchanges between 53 EFL learners in Taiwan and 56 CFL learners in the United States. The authors examine the responses of EFL students to this cross–cultural voicemail project and assess their progress in intercultural awareness and English speaking proficiency before and after the project. This study concludes that the use of voicemail creates an impact on the English speaking performance and intercultural awareness of EFL students and increases the motivation of EFL students in using English to express ideas. Further implications for teaching are discussed.

scholarly journals Building EFL Students‟ Reservoir through Multimodal Classroom: Teacher‟s Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
Laily Maulida Septiana Harti ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Classroom Teacher ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
English Literacy ◽  
Global Language ◽  
Conducive Environment

The ever-growing ideology of English as global language has brought significant effect to education. Moving from the want to learn the language, English literacy has become the need. Learning English thus becomes an urge, especially in English as Foreign Language (EFL) context. Teaching English needs to go over teaching the elements of the language itself, but more to encouraging learners to be able to negotiate meaning in their purposeful interaction. In EFL teaching and learning setting, various studies focusing on the pedagogy have been conducted. This study is, indeed, leading to the pedagogy of English, focusing on the resources that teachers can utilize to create a conducive environment for learning and building the students’ reservoir. In addition, the concept of space in educational setting has given a valuable contribution to carry out pedagogical approach multimodally. This paper examines the employment of multimodal classroom in an EFL university context in Indonesia to develop students’ reservoir of English. How multimodality and the use of technology provide affordances and possible constraints to the teaching and learning process is as well presented according to published researches on the same field of study.

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