Pragmatic development, the L2 motivational self-system, and other affective factors in a study-abroad context

Abstract

This study investigates (1) whether the pragmatic competence of Japanese learners of English improves when studying abroad and (2) the relationship between the learners' pragmatic development and their motivational factors. In order to investigate the pragmatic comprehension of conventional/non-conventional implicatures, a Pragmatic Comprehension Test (PCT) was given to approximately 150 Japanese learners of English before and after a sixteen-week study-abroad programme. A questionnaire exploring motivational factors, such as intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, L2 ideal/ought-to selves, Can-Do attitude, and willingness to communicate was also circulated amongst the participants before the programme. Factor analysis was performed to determine which factors were related to learners' motivation, and six factors were selected. The results indicated that the participants developed comprehension of conventional implicature but not non-conventional implicature. A cluster analysis was conducted on the participants' PCT scores, and the participants were divided into three groups. The highest scoring group showed a statistically significant result on one factor - confidence.