What makes a successful spoken request? Using corpus tools to analyse learner language in a UK EAP context

This study analyses the language of successful spoken requests used by Chinese intermediate level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students in Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) at a UK higher education institution. Using corpus tools, the authors examined the frequent words, chunks and moves in request data and compared this to general reference corpora. Findings suggest that successful spoken requests often made use of high frequency modals and chunks. The data also demonstrated that the use of appropriate request moves were often associated with success, even if the language used contained linguistic errors. The findings have important implications for how spoken requests are taught in an academic context. The study also shows how learner data can be analysed with open-access corpus analysis tools used to provide a model of successful learner language; something which may be a more achievable model to aspire to than native speaker language

Embedding ICT to teach and assess the pragmatic targets of refusals and disagreements in spoken English

This study employs innovative ICT tools to enhance an explicit instructional period to help international learners develop their pragmatic competence, defined as ‘the ability to communicate and interpret meaning in social interactions’ (Taguchi, 2011: 289). Specifically, the study focuses on developing Mexican learners’ ability to produce pragmatically-appropriate refusals and disagreements in spoken English, which are relatively under-explored interlanguage features and have been reported to differ amongst Spanish and English first language speakers (e.g. Félix-Brasdefer, 2006; 2008). Virtual role plays and online learning activities designed for the study are incorporated into the instruction with an experimental group (n = 16), and used as assessment tools during the testing stages which include a control group for comparison purposes (n = 16). A pretest-posttest design is employed to measure the extent of instructional gains within and between the two groups. In addition, participants reflect on their experience of using technology-enhanced materials. The results are viewed from the perspectives of how appropriate the responses are, acknowledging that differences in the status of the interlocutor and contextual situation will trigger different ways to refuse or disagree, and from a linguistic perspective with regards to the content and organisation of the responses. The aim is to examine to what extent technology-enhanced teaching and learning can benefit the development of these specific pragmatic targets

Teaching Pragmatics and Instructed Second Language Learning: Study Abroad and Technology-Enhanced Teaching

Teaching Pragmatics and Instructed Second Language Learning directly compares the effects of technology platforms and traditional paper-based tasks within the second language environment for developing pragmatic competence. These analyses are based on empirical research of how undergraduate Chinese learners of English receive explicit instruction in classrooms using different training materials. The book makes an original and innovative contribution to collecting oral speech act data in the form of computer-animated production tasks (CAPT) designed to enhance learner engagement and performance. Using this tool, it explores the beneficial role of technology in teaching and learning, offering practitioners and researchers practical ways to maximise second language pragmatic development in the classroom

Evaluating the explicit pragmatic instruction of requests and apologies in a study abroad setting:the case of ESL Chinese learners at a UK Higher Education institution

This study aimed to determine the effects of an explicit instructional treatment, within a study abroad context, for improving the spoken pragmatic competence of Chinese English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in the UK. The intervention in this study specifically focused on the speech acts of requests and apologies, and the effects of differentiated training materials, i.e., paper-based versus computer-based tasks. Instructional effects were compared to a control group receiving no instruction to further investigate the extent to which exposure to the second language environment naturally enhanced the development of request and apology language. The data were captured from 61 undergraduate Chinese learners of English. Two experimental groups (paper-based vs. computer-based training materials) participated in ten hours of explicit instruction on the linguistic and cultural aspects of making requests and apologies in an academic setting. A language contact questionnaire tracked learners’ engagement with English outside the classroom. A pretest and multiple posttest design using oral and written production tasks analysed instructional effects over time, measured against the uninstructed control group. The oral task took the format of innovative computer-based virtual role plays, which were also employed for communicative practice with one of the experimental groups. The data were: i) rated for socio-pragmatic success by experienced tutors, and ii) linguistically analysed, including identifying what were considered the essential components for successful requests and apologies. Results showed that explicit instruction was highly effective, with the group using computer-based tasks outperforming the other groups. Some evidence of attrition was found in the longer term, however. Exposure to the L2 environment facilitated little change in the production of request and apology language though increased L2 interaction appeared concomitant with prolonged L2 stay. The outcomes underline the positive benefits of explicit pragmatic instruction and technology-enhanced teaching, but indicate a need for regular input and practice opportunities for long-term retention of pragmatic knowledge

Evaluating the explicit pragmatic instruction of requests and apologies in a study abroad setting:the case of ESL Chinese learners at a UK Higher Education institution

This study aimed to determine the effects of an explicit instructional treatment, within a study abroad context, for improving the spoken pragmatic competence of Chinese English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in the UK. The intervention in this study specifically focused on the speech acts of requests and apologies, and the effects of differentiated training materials, i.e., paper-based versus computer-based tasks. Instructional effects were compared to a control group receiving no instruction to further investigate the extent to which exposure to the second language environment naturally enhanced the development of request and apology language. The data were captured from 61 undergraduate Chinese learners of English. Two experimental groups (paper-based vs. computer-based training materials) participated in ten hours of explicit instruction on the linguistic and cultural aspects of making requests and apologies in an academic setting. A language contact questionnaire tracked learners’ engagement with English outside the classroom. A pretest and multiple posttest design using oral and written production tasks analysed instructional effects over time, measured against the uninstructed control group. The oral task took the format of innovative computer-based virtual role plays, which were also employed for communicative practice with one of the experimental groups. The data were: i) rated for socio-pragmatic success by experienced tutors, and ii) linguistically analysed, including identifying what were considered the essential components for successful requests and apologies. Results showed that explicit instruction was highly effective, with the group using computer-based tasks outperforming the other groups. Some evidence of attrition was found in the longer term, however. Exposure to the L2 environment facilitated little change in the production of request and apology language though increased L2 interaction appeared concomitant with prolonged L2 stay. The outcomes underline the positive benefits of explicit pragmatic instruction and technology-enhanced teaching, but indicate a need for regular input and practice opportunities for long-term retention of pragmatic knowledge

Second language pragmatics

Second language pragmatics, also known as interlanguage pragmatics, “investigates how L2 learners develop the ability to understand and perform action in a target language” (Kasper & Rose, 2002, p. 5). Being pragmatically competent in another language is considered an essential component of being a successful communicator, as outlined in a number of leading influential frameworks of communicative competence (Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Canale & Swain, 1980; Hymes, 1972). These early frameworks advocate not only the importance of knowing the constructs of a language, but having the ability to use language in socially appropriate ways. For instance, when requesting a favour from someone, in addition to knowing what forms and lexis are needed to produce the request (grammatical competence), users need to consider their linguistic choices in light of acceptability of the request according to the local cultural norms, the specific situation, the favour itself, and from whom they are soliciting the favour (pragmatic competence). Both competencies are inextricably linked and need equal attention in the language-learning process. Leech (1983) and Thomas (1983) describe pragmatic competence as the sum of two specific components: ‘pragmalinguistics’ (the knowledge of linguistic resources needed for communication) and ‘sociopragmatics’ (the knowledge of sociocultural rules which govern these resources). Second language pragmatics investigations often draw on these distinctions when evaluating and assessing L2 performance. Recently, second language pragmatic investigations have begun to highlight the interplay of interactional and intercultural competences in the language-learning process given today’s interconnected societies within which language users now operate

Longitudinal benefits of pre-departure pragmatics instruction for study abroad: Chinese as a second/foreign language

Whilst the study of second language pragmatic development in study abroad (SA) contexts has gained momentum in recent years, research on L2 Chinese pragmatics, in general, remains in its infancy and is therefore limited. Longitudinal studies on the effects of instruction before, during and after SA remain scant. Following a short pre-SA pragmatics intervention on formulaic expressions with a group of UK undergraduate learners of Chinese, qualitative data in three phases (before, during, and after a year abroad in China) were collected and analysed to shed light on the perceived benefits of the treatment. The findings show that in all three phases, learners highly valued the instruction provided, but they seemed to benefit from the sociopragmatic input the most, particularly in the pre-departure stage and after completion of the SA period. The findings will be discussed in relation to the learners' accounts of their SA experiences and the implications for pre-SA instructio

Pragmatics in English Language Learning

Written by an international team of experts, this groundbreaking book explores the benefits and challenges of developing pragmatic competence in English as a target language, inside and outside the classroom, and among young and adult learners. The chapters present a range of first language contexts, including China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico and Norway, to provide international perspectives on how different first languages present varying challenges for developing pragmatic awareness. The book outlines cutting-edge techniques for investigating spoken and written pragmatic competence, and offers practical teaching solutions, both face-to-face and online. It also examines underexplored areas of L2 pragmatics research, such as young learner groups, the effects of textbook materials, study abroad contexts and technology-mediated instruction and assessment. Innovative and comprehensive, this volume is a unique contribution to the field of L2 pragmatics, and will be essential reading for researchers, course developers, language teachers and students

Explicit instruction of spoken requests: an examination of pre-departure instruction and the study abroad environment

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of explicit interventional treatment on developing pragmatic awareness and production of spoken requests in a study abroad context (taken here to mean those studying/using English for academic purposes in the UK) with Chinese learners of English at a British higher education institution. The study employed an experimental design over a 6 month period with 34 students assigned to either an explicitly instructed group or a control group receiving no instruction. Instruction took place prior to departure for the UK and performance was measured based on a pre-, immediate and delayed post-test design using a computer-animated production test (CAPT); an oral discourse completion test (DCT). The findings revealed that explicit instruction facilitated development of pragmatically appropriate request language in the short term and, to some extent, this was sustained over time. The CAPT data was also analysed in order to examine the use of internal and external modification of requests by each group. Results demonstrate that the explicit instruction group used significantly more modification at the immediate post-test stage but that the control group used significantly more at the delayed test stage

Surveying pragmatic performance during a study abroad stay: A cross-sectional look at the language of spoken requests

This paper documents a cross-sectional look at L1 transfer and L2 contact for learners of English in a UK study abroad (SA) context. The study employed an instructional experimental design over a 6-month period with 34 Chinese students assigned to either an explicitly instructed group or a control group receiving no instruction. Instruction took place prior to departure for the UK and performance was measured based on a pretest-posttest design using an oral computer-animated production test (CAPT). This paper explores the data in two specific ways. Firstly, the request data were analysed at the pre-and delayed test stages (six months into the study abroad period) to analyse the extent to which participants’ reliance on L1 request strategies and language changes over time. Secondly, we measured the amount and type of contact with English which participants reported prior to and six months into the study abroad period. Results show that instruction facilitated development of pragmatically appropriate request language over time, with instructed learners showing significantly less reliance on L1 transfer than non-instructed learners. Contact with English increased significantly for both groups on all measures of language production but not all receptive contact with English. When compared, there was no significant difference between the groups’ contact with English at each stage, suggesting that instruction did not result in significantly more interaction with English during the study abroad period