scholarly journals An Explicit/Implicit Lead to Producing Requests: Eliciting Learners’ Awareness or Soliciting Metapragmatic Knowledge

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Nasim Ariana ◽  
Masoumeh Ahmadi Shirazi ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Mousavi Nadoushani
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Implicit Affect ◽  
Direct Awareness ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
Request Strategies ◽  
Pragmatic Instruction

This study attempted to investigate the extent to which two types of pragmatic instruction -explicit versus implicit- affect learners’ knowledge in terms of their awareness and production of request strategies. Thirty students with the same level of proficiency were divided into two groups (explicit and implicit). They were exposed to listening excerpts taken from the book Tactics for Listening, with the focus on request making strategies. While the explicit group was equipped with direct awareness-raising tasks and written metapragmatic explanations on the use of appropriate requests, the implicit group was provided with a set of implicit awareness-raising tasks. Outcomes of the study demonstrate that pragmatic instruction of requesting improved learners’ awareness of both groups. Also an improvement of learners’ production of requests did take place in both groups after the interventional period. However, the explicit group outperformed the implicit one as far as production of request making was concerned.Keywords: Pragmatic competence, Speech acts, Requests, Explicit/Implicit pragmatic instruction

scholarly journals The Importance of the Request Strategies in the Iraqi EFL Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Nadhim Obaid Hussein ◽  
Intan Safinas Mohd Ariff Albakri
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Social Communications ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
Request Strategies ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
English Students

This paper explained English students’ pragmatics development, students’ pragmatics competence in chosen speech acts, request strategies that they used in gaining pragmatic ability. The paper was presented by a public syllabus lead that prioritizes the need for English learners to improve their ability to utilize request strategies successfully in academic and social communications. The study aimed to explain the significance of request strategies on developing EFL learners’ usage of the request in the classroom. Additionally, Many English learners fail to present pragmatic ability on how to understand request strategies by relating utterances to their meanings, knowing the intention of language users, and how request strategies are utilized in specific settings. There is growing material of researches on awareness-raising of the value of pragmatic competence and request strategies for EFL schoolroom teaching. However, researchers have pointed to concentrate on the traditional approaches rather than how English learners require or understand request strategies to develop the learners’ production of the request in the EFL schoolroom. Therefore, depending on the successful findings of previous studies, the study focused on the importance of strategies on developing students’ usage of the request. The request strategies and approaches of teaching English to these Iraqi students have been discussed in details of the current paper.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATING AGE–BASED COMPLIMENTS IN PERSIAN

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 275
Author(s):  
Vahid Shahidi Pour ◽  
Gholam Reza Zarei
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Request Strategies ◽  
Effect Of Age ◽  
Future Reference

The present study was an attempt to investigate differences in the use of compliments in Persian across age as a social variable. Data was gathered through a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) with imaginary situations in which 200 native Persian speakers were asked to put themselves in those situations and give compliments. The results indicated that the most frequently used compliment strategies by Persian native speakers were explicit unbound semantic formula and non-compliment strategies. However, the participants used 'other' strategies, future reference, contrast, and request strategies the least. The results also suggested the effect of age on the distribution of compliments. While the younger participants preferred non-compliment strategies the most, the older participants preferred explicit unbound semantic formula strategies the most. However, despite minor differences, all age-groups rarely tended to use future reference, contrast, request, and 'other' strategies. The results cashed light on the cultural and socio-cultural factors affecting the way people offer compliments.Keywords: Pragmatic competence, Speech acts, Compliments, Discourse Completion Task (DCT), Social variables

An Investigation into EFL Learners’ Perception towards L2 Pragmatic Instruction

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyekyeng Kim
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Positive Perception ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Regular Class ◽  
Pragmatic Awareness ◽  
L2 Pragmatics ◽  
Sentence Patterns ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Pragmatic Instruction

The present study investigated EFL students’ perception toward the pragmatic instruction provided as a part of regular English curricula. A total of 52 university students from various majors participated in the study. The treatment was given for nine weeks during the regular class hours in terms of four speech acts, compliments, apologies, requests, and refusals, with the goal of enhancing the learners’ pragmatic awareness as well as pragmatic competence. A questionnaire and the learners’ reflection journals were adopted as data collection instruments, and an eclectic design was adopted to analyze their perception. Both the intermediate and low groups showed positive perception in terms of the four major categories—interest, usefulness, importance, and motivation, yet more than half of the learners from the low group found that learning L2 pragmatics was difficult due to the complexity and length of some of the sentence patterns of formulaic expressions. Further, there were significant differences between subjects regarding the category of difficulty for each speech act. Nevertheless, the learners expressed that pragmatic instruction facilitated their communication skills, enhanced their pragmatic awareness on intercultural differences, as well as instilled confidence in English interactions. These findings imply learners’ motivation and needs for learning L2 pragmatic features.

scholarly journals Pragmatic Competence of Iranian EFL Learners in the Light of Refusal Speech Act

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-65
Author(s):  
Bibi Malihe Vamagh Shahi
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Know How ◽  
Refusal Strategies ◽  
Pragmatic Instruction

In order to communicate accurately and fluently, learners need to know how to produce different speech acts inside and outside the classroom context. Refusal speech act is complicated, and performing refusals successfully needs a higher level of pragmatic competence (Eslami, 2010). This study is done in order to analyze refusal speech act and its responses among Iranian EFL learners. The participants of this study are 120 advanced Iranian EFL learners. These learners are provided with scenarios so that they are exposed to situations where they should both refuse and respond to refusals. The first phase of this paper includes the analysis of refusal strategies. The second phase of the paper deals with refusal responses. It was revealed that female participants are more inclined to use indirect strategies as related to refusals and male participants are more inclined to use direct strategies. For refusal responses, male learners used reinforcing micro functions while female learners used accepting micro functions more frequently. The results of this study contribute to pragmatic instruction in a way to help learners interpret and realize this speech act successfully. I will also investigate possible cross-cultural miscommunication, which its occurrence is also acknowledged in previous research studies (Shishavan & Sharifian, 2016).

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.

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.

scholarly journals Rater Behaviour When Judging Language Learners’ Pragmatic Appropriateness in Extended Discourse

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetyana Sydorenko ◽  
Carson Maynard ◽  
Erin Guntly
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Request Sequence ◽  
Pragmatic Strategies ◽  
Target Speaker

The criteria by which raters judge pragmatic appropriateness of language learners’ speech acts are underexamined, especially when raters evaluate extended discourse. To shed more light on this process, the present study investigated what factors are salient to raters when scoring pragmatic appropriateness of extended request sequences, and which specific aspects of performance they attend to as appropriate or inappropriate. Three judges evaluated request sequences using a 6-point scale, marked appropriate and inappropriate elements of each request, and explained how they approached the rating of each response. It was found that all raters oriented to the appropriateness of a request sequence as a whole, paying attention not only to the request proper but also to all follow-up moves, including appreciation and closing. Additionally, raters oriented to the surrounding context: the same expressions, such as a specific appreciation statement, were rated as appropriate in some contexts and inappropriate in others. Raters also oriented to pragmatic competence broadly, paying attention not only to appropriate pragmatic strategies and expressions in a particular context, but also to such aspects as intonation and cultural knowledge. Finally, while native and near-native speaker tendencies were observed, target speaker norms were not. Implications for pragmatics teaching and assessment are discussed.Les critères selon lesquels les évaluateurs jugent la pertinence pragmatique des actes de langage d’apprenants de langue n’ont pas suffisamment fait l’objet d’études, notamment lors de l’évaluation de longues conversations. Pour éclairer davantage le processus, la présente étude a cherché à déterminer quels facteurs les évaluateurs jugent importants dans la pertinence pragmatique de séquences de requête étendues, et quels aspects spécifiques de la performance ils estiment appropriés ou pas. Trois juges ont évalué des séquences de requête selon une échelle de 6 points, ont indiqué les éléments appropriés et inappropriés de chaque requête et ont expliqué comment ils avaient abordé l’évaluation de chaque réponse. Les résultats indiquent que tous les évaluateurs jugeaient de la pertinence d’une séquence de requête dans son intégralité, portant attention non seulement à la requête comme telle mais aussi à toutes les démarches qui la suivaient, y compris le remerciement et la clôture. De plus, les évaluateurs tenaient compte du contexte : ils jugeaient qu’une même expression, une déclaration spécifique d’appréciation par exemple, était appropriée dans un contexte donné alors qu’elle ne l’était pas dans un autre. Ils ont également considéré la compétence pragmatique globale, notant, au delà des stratégies et des expressions pragmatiques appropriées dans un contexte donné, des aspects comme l’intonation et les connaissances culturelles. Finalement, si les évaluateurs ont observé des tendances de locuteurs natifs ou quasi-natifs, on ne peut en dire autant des normes de la langue cible. On discute des incidences de l’étude sur l’enseignement et l’évaluation des compétences pragmatiques.

Teacher agency in pragmatic pedagogy

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zia Tajeddin ◽  
Mehri Bagheri
Keyword(s):  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge ◽  
Pragmatic Instruction

Despite the existence of a large body of research on pragmatic instruction, teachers’ beliefs about teaching and assessing pragmatic competence have received scant attention. The present study sought to investigate Persian-speaking EFL teachers’ beliefs and perceived knowledge about pragmatic instruction and assessment and their self-reported instructional practice. To achieve this aim, a questionnaire was administered to 204 EFL teachers and 30 of these teachers also participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that even though the teachers were aware of the importance of pragmatics, they did not consider themselves highly competent in teaching the subject to learners or in the assessment of learners’ pragmatic abilities. The most frequent method they reported having used was pragmatic corrective feedback. Further, the teachers believed that their colleagues and institute directors also gave little weight to the improvement of learners’ pragmatic abilities, and they further argued that textbooks and exams, while containing some pragmatics-related sections, failed to enhance and measure learners’ pragmatic knowledge. These results have critical implications for teachers’ pragmatic awareness in their professional development and for the inclusion of more explicit pragmatic activities in textbooks.

Mitigated request speech acts in learner discourse

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Huschová
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Directive Speech Acts ◽  
Directive Speech

This paper is concerned with the usage of directive speech acts in the Czech Students’ Spoken English (CSSE) corpus, particularly with requests produced by Czech EFL undergraduate learners in role-play tasks. It aims to investigate request modifications, focusing primarily on identifying syntactic and lexical devices within the request head act that mitigate the imposition of requests. The findings indicate that Czech learners prefer syntactic mitigating devices, whereas the range of lexical internal modifiers employed is limited. Finally, the paper briefly comments on the students’ linguistic and pragmatic competence in producing requests for information

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.

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