A grammar of L2 pragmatics: Issues in learning and teaching

A grammar represents knowledge of given linguistic forms and rules for their use.This chapter addresses a broad conceptualization of a grammar of second language (L2) pragmatics and issues for teaching and learning.Three aspects of a grammar of L2 pragmatics are discussed in the chapter. First, a focus on the larger communicative goals of pragmatic instruction—not simply on a set of speech acts but aiming for overall successful interaction between learners and native speakers—requires an articulation between speech act knowledge and face-to-face conversation.This articulation in turn, entails a degree of target language expectations of how coherent and cohesive talk should flow. Second, the chapter addresses the kinds of knowledge—grammatical, pragmatic, and sociocultural— that are required to communicate successfully.Third, it explores the knowledge of the linguistic variation inherent in speech communities, such as registers and other contextual factors like gender and social dynamics.These three issues are discussed considering the relevant research in the respective areas.The chapter concludes with suggestions for a usage-based, contextualized approach to an L2 grammar of pragmatics

The aquisition of pragmatic competence in an L2 classroom: giving advice in Spanish

textThis dissertation investigates the effect of instructional video, metapragmatic discussion and explicit pragmatic instruction on the acquisition of the advice speech act (SA) by second language (L2) learners in fourth-semester Spanish courses at the university level. Though universals of pragmatics may facilitate the development of interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) (Kasper and Schmidt, 1996), L2 learners display a noticeably different L2 pragmatic system in both production and comprehension than native speakers (Bardovi-Harlig, 2001; Kasper, 1997). ILP research has shown that even among advanced L2 learners, L2 pragmatic competence is lacking (Kasper & Schmidt, 1996; Kasper & Rose, 1999). In response to this problem, the investigation proposes an appropriate and effective way to facilitate the acquisition of L2 pragmatic knowledge. The study adopted a design including pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest with three groups, incorporating video, metapragmatic discussion, and pragmatic instruction into its treatments in order to teach sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic components of the Spanish advice SA. The data used for the study were collected from the learners by means of role-play and were transcribed and quantitatively analyzed. The learners’ advice realizations were analyzed for the following: (a) advice head act; (b) typical linguistic items; (c) amount of speech; (d) level of formality; (e) level of directness; and (f) politeness. Also, assessments from instructors and learners about the treatments and the teaching of Spanish pragmatics were collected and analyzed. The findings of the investigation indicate that the instructional approach that included the use of video, metapragmatic discussion and pragmatic instruction, enabled the learners in this particular group to perform better than the other two groups in acquiring L2 pragmatic competence of the Spanish advice SA. These results imply that the L2 instructional techniques and opportunities for meaningful language practice in the classroom used here may result in gains of L2 pragmatic development.Spanish and Portugues

Ideologies of English in Japan: the perspective of policy and pedagogy

This paper examines the ideologies of language which underpin mainstream applied linguistic research and educational policy generation for English language teaching in Japan. Over the last 30 years a burgeoning literature has devoted itself to the task of researching and directing English language education in Japan, but has, by its own admission, had little success in effecting much change in what it perceives as a system incompatible with effective language learning. By surveying prominent academic studies on this topic and analysing these with reference to the policy reforms with which they interact, the paper makes explicit the linguistic and socio-political assumptions upon which this work is based and suggests that a critical awareness of these ideologies can assist in the production of sustainable language regulation