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

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.

Classroom learning of English L2 requests: Input and interactional opportunities in French secondary schools

With today’s strong focus on communicative competence in second language (L2) classrooms, speech acts like suggestions, requests, refusals, and apologies are often investigated in interlanguage pragmatic (ILP) as well as instructional pragmatics. Even though there is strong evidence in ILP research that purports that L2 learners respond well to pragmatic instruction (Taguchi, 2015), the teaching of L2 pragmatics is not always prioritized in textbooks, teaching programmes or teacher education (Barron, 2016; Savvidou & Economidou-Kogetsidis, 2019) with the consequence that pragmatic learning can only occur incidentally. The present study examines opportunities to acquire L2 requests for 308 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners across 7 years of instruction in French secondary schools, investigating textbooks preferred by teachers, classroom interaction (39 hours), and teacher perspectives (semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers). After a pragmatic analysis of 15 EFL textbooks with a focus on requests, the study examines the incidence of metapragmatic input in 39 hours of teaching in 13 classes at 3 levels, and relates interactional patterns with interview data from the 10 teachers concerned. Findings suggest limited pragmatic input in both textbooks and classroom interaction. By comparing the profiles of teachers who encouraged L2 requests with those who did not, the study offers new explanations for L2 learners’ limited pragmatic development which also broadly corroborate previous findings of somewhat limited potential for L2 pragmatic development in obligatory school contexts.

Effects of task complexity on L2 suggestions

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.

Cognitive Processes of ESL Learners in Pragmatic Role-Play Tasks in Academic Settings

The purpose of the study was to investigate the cognitive processes of English as second language (L2) learners that are involved in their task-based pragmatic performances in academic settings. This study, therefore, examined the cognitive processes of 30 English L2 learners when engaging in various role-play-based pragmatic performances, such as requesting a recommendation letter from a professor and negotiating an agreeable meeting time with classmates. The qualitative analyses of the retrospective verbal reports (RVRs) data of the participants indicated that the learners employed a series of cognitive, metacognitive, and pragmatic strategies when accomplishing various speech acts (e.g., requests and refusals). This study hoped to make two new contributions to the field. First, the study provided empirical evidence to validate the theoretical taxonomy of the strategy use of learners in L2 pragmatics. Additionally, the theoretical foundations of current research on cognitive processes are primarily informed by pragmatic theories. Thus, the study aims to explicate a more comprehensive view of the cognitive processes of L2 learners in pragmatic performances by employing the theories from both pragmatic and learner strategy perspectives.

Teaching Sarcasm to Japanese University Students: Pilot Workshop and Plans for Future Study

In the field of L2 pragmatics, the use of humor is researched far less than other areas, with sarcasm taking up an even smaller percentage of those studies. Despite this, the ubiquity of sarcasm in American media and casual conversation leads many L2 learners of English to struggle to fit in and be in on the jokes, which in turn points to the importance of teaching sarcasm to EFL students. In a pilot workshop, this researcher looked into the potential effects of using explicit instruction, paired with samples of American media and gifs, to teach sarcastic play frames endemic to North America. Participant interviews showed promising effects, which has led the researcher to design a study to examine the effects more concisely over time. 第二言語の語用論の分野のうち、ユーモアに関しての研究は他の分野より比較的少ないです。特に皮肉に関しての研究が割合として非常に少ないです。それにもかかわらず、アメリカのメディアや日常会話的な英語では皮肉がよく使われるため、多くの第二言語の学習者は溶け込もうとして冗談を理解しようとするため、英語学習者に皮肉を教えるのは重要だと思われます。筆者は北米のユーモアの枠組みを生徒に教えるため、パイロットワークショップで明示的な指導法と共に、アメリカのメディアや画像を使った指導の影響について調べました。インタビューの結果により、上記の指導法は参加者に良い影響を与えたことが明らかになり、筆者はその影響をより詳細に調べるために研究を行う予定です。

Second Language Pragmatics

The field of second language (L2) pragmatics surveys a range of research issues on how L2 learners learn to use a target language in context-appropriate manners. In the late 1970s, the field of interlanguage pragmatics emerged from cross-cultural pragmatic research. The field has now moved beyond comparisons of different pragmatic norms or simply describing language use. With nearly four decades of research, second language pragmatics has now become an independent field. Informed by different theories, the scope and definitions of L2 pragmatic competence have been expanded. An accumulative body of research illuminates underlying mechanisms and processes of L2 pragmatic development and what L2 pragmatic competence entails. In part, the increasing interest in interlanguage pragmatics reflects the notion that language competence entails the ability to use language in context, in addition to grammar. L2 pragmatics is also situated in a larger domain of language teaching, reflecting a call for more context-specific and more dynamic views of L2 communicative competence. In addition to formal aspects of language (e.g., grammar), L2 communicative competence entails the ability to engage in social interaction and perform speech acts in a contextually appropriate way. This article focuses on providing selective references, since the entire literature cannot be encapsulated in an article-length format. This article is organized around six topics: (1) Theoretical Approaches, (2) Analytical Objects of L2 Pragmatics, (3) Data Elicitation Methods, (4) Instructed L2 Pragmatics, (5) Assessing L2 Pragmatics, and (6) L2 Pragmatics in Diverse Social Interaction.