profiling pragmatic ability of foreign language learners marija kusevska, biljana ivanovska, nina...
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PROFILING PRAGMATIC ABILITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERSMarija Kusevska, Biljana Ivanovska, Nina Daskalovska & Liljana Mitkovska; Goce Delcev University-Stip, Republic of Macedonia
Project titleProject title
The role of explicit instruction in developing pragmatic competence in learning English and German as a foreign language
Goce Delcev University-Stip, Republic of Macedonia
Aims of the projectAims of the project
1. to research how explicit instructions influence the development of pragmatic competence in foreign language learning; and
2. to investigate the role of the Internet as a platform for foreign language learning.
Focal points of the projectFocal points of the project
comparison of the realization of the speech acts of requesting, apologizing and complaining in Macedonian and in English, i.e German;
realization of the above speech acts in the interlanguage of English and German language learners in Macedonia;
definition of the reasons that bring about pragmatic failure by foreign language learners;
the role of explicit instructions in the development of the pragmatic competence of English and German foreign language learners;
the role of the Internet as a medium for learning foreign languages.
Project phasesProject phases
Phase 1. Review of existing research; Design of appropriate instruments for pragmatic competence assessment; Selection of English and German language students who will be participating in the project and administration of the instruments for profiling students’ pragmatic competence;
Phase 2. Definition of the pragmatic features to be observed; Design of e-learning modules; Introducing student-participants to the project;
Phase 3. Definition of the instruments for evaluation of the effects of the explicit instructions;
Phase 4. Dissemination of the results (monograph and conference).
MotivationMotivation
lack of valid data on communicative competences of Macedonian learners of English and German
lack of syllabi focusing on teaching communicative competences
need of tracing effective methods for reinforcing communication skills
Defining learner’s pragmatic Defining learner’s pragmatic ability or interlanguage ability or interlanguage pragmaticspragmaticsPragmatics is the study of language from the point
of view of users, especially of the choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using language in social interaction and the effects their use of language has on other participants in the act of communication. (Crystal, 1985: 240)
Pragmatic failure (Thomas, 1983) could occur when learners misunderstand what a speaker of a TL says, and/or when they produce inappropriate expressions that do not meet the TL pragmatics or cultural norms.
What learners should knowWhat learners should know
Sociopragmatic knowledge refers to the “specific ‘local’ conditions on language use […] for it is clear that the Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle operate variably in different cultures or language communities, in different social situations, among different social classes, etc.” (Leech 1983: 10).
- This means knowledge of the context, recognition and production of illocutionary meaning, distribution of politeness strategies, the speaker-hearer relashionships, formality of the situation, social values and cultural beliefs, etc.
Pragmalinguistic knowledge, on the other hand, refers to the particular linguistic resources which a given language provides for conveying particular illocutions.
- This means knowledge of socially appropriate language use with respect to the sociopragmatic variables.
What abilities do learners have to What abilities do learners have to acquire in order to become acquire in order to become pragmatically competentpragmatically competent The ability to perform speech acts The ability to convey and interpret
non-literal meanings The ability to perform politeness
functions The ability to perform discourse
functions The ability to use cultural knowledge
Instruments for assessing Instruments for assessing interlanguage pragmatic interlanguage pragmatic abilityability1. define instruments for measuring
pragmatic competence, 2. context variables, i.e. the setting in
which the speech act takes place, the interlocutors and their relationship, etc.
3. the importance of authenticity, and 4. the importance of retrospection
The responses will be analysed for: (1) ability to use the correct speech act; (2) typicality of expressions; (3) appropriateness of amount of speech
and information given;(4) level of formality; (5) directness; and (6) politeness.
Discourse Completion TestDiscourse Completion Test
requests, apologies and complaints six tasks for each speech acts = 18 tasks contextual setting, participant’s role,
social status (vertical distance/power), social distance (horizontal distance), severity of offence/degree of imposition
piloting the DCT 134 students
Situation Contextual setting social status/ vertical distance/ power
Social distance/ horizontal distance
Severity of offence
Apologies
1. Library book + + medium
2. Borrowed book + + high
3. Baggage reclaim - + medium/low
4. Shopping bag - + high
5. Appointment - - high/low - cultural
6. Term paper - - high
Requests power/ social status social distance degree of imposition
1. Project + + high for the speaker/ medium for the hearer
2. Invitation -/+ + high for the speaker/ medium for the hearer
3. Ride - + medium for the speaker/ high for the heare
4. Lighter - + low
5. Notes - - medium
6. Down payment - - high
Complaints power social distance Severity of offence
1. Wrong mark + + high
2. Wrong medicine + + high
3. Noisy party - + medium
4. Cut in line - + low
5. Late pick up - - medium
6. Dent - - high
Role playsRole plays
are more similar to real life speech situations as in real conversation “there is a distributed
responsibility among interlocutors for the creation of sequential coherence, identities, meaning, and events.” (McNamara, p 46)
the situation is described in more detail, roles are described more precisely, there is a moment of surprise
there is language planning, asking for clarification, conversation management, etc.
Still, it cannot establish context as in real world. There is nothing at stake, the face of the speaker and the hearer is not really threatened, speakers may be bolder and risk more than in real life.
9 role plays, three for each of the speech acts
same variables as in DCT tasks
DrawbacksDrawbacks
It is more difficult to organize it and manage the whole situation. It is difficult to keep track of a large number of students.
It is difficult to ensure that pairs are formed of students of the same level of proficiency.
It is time consuming and it is difficult to transcribe the conversations.
For most of the students it is an interesting experience. However, for some students it may be stressful.
Retrospective interviewRetrospective interview
To check if the students are aware of the norms of interaction in a given context: power, social distance and severity of offence/degree of imposition
To check if the students are aware of the characteristics/norms of interaction of the English and Macedonian culture (positive politeness/ negative politeness; directness/ indirectness)
To check how the actual environment influences their behavior (classroom, not natural environment)
Verbal reports from raters-Verbal reports from raters-native speakersnative speakers collecting verbal report from the raters to check native-speaker’s expectations in
the given situations and if this coincides with learners’ production
to check how native speakers would react to learner’s utterances
to receive some guidance from native speakers on how they think our learners should improve their communication skills
Issues often investigated in Issues often investigated in interlanguage pragmaticsinterlanguage pragmatics Misunderstandings between speakers L1 pragmatic transfer Participating in a conversation as a listener
(backchannelling) Understanding the unsaid and assessing the
unsaid Avoiding a speech act to accommodate a
target culture norm Nonverbal behaviour Relationship between language proficiency
and pragmatic competence
What learners should know What learners should know about speech actsabout speech acts speech acts are what we do with words to
achieve a specific goal: request, invite, refuse, apologize, complement, complain, agree, disagree, etc. Ss need to be able to formulate speech acts appropriately with respect to who the speakers and hearers are, the context, the seriousness of the offence, urgency, etc., as well as to combine speech acts into speech act sets
to apply the politeness principles in their L2 as well as to vary their strategies for speech act realization with reference to their interlocutors, the social distance between them and the context.
to be able to recognize their interlocutor’s indirect strategies and decode the implicit meaning of their utterances;
to be able to apply the appropriate linguistic means in accordance with the socicultural norms;