The functions of formulaic speech in the L2 class

The development of pragmatic competence in another language is significant to second (L2) and foreign language (FL) learners’ ability to communicate successfully in the target language. Although a great deal of research has focused on defining and comparing the content of pragmatic competence across culture groups, far less attention has been given to examining its development. Our study is a partial response to this gap. The purpose of the study was to investigate the connection between Korean children's participation in an interactive book reading program and their development of pragmatic competence in English. We found that their participation led to significant changes over a 4–month period in the mean number of words, utterances, and talk management features as measured by the changes in children's use of these during role play sessions. The findings suggest that participation in such reading programs provides opportunities for the development of at least some aspects of L2 pragmatic competence.

This paper aims to discuss how the emerging new language with its own developing socio-cultural foundation affects the existing L1-governed knowledge and pragmatic competence of adult sequential bilinguals. It is assumed that these bilinguals already have an L1-governed pragmatic competence at place, which will be adjusted to accommodate the socio-cultural requirements of the new language. So there is no separate L2 pragmatic competence. What happens is that the existing L1-governed pragmatic competence becomes bilingual pragmatic competence while changing dynamically under the influence of the new language and its socio-cultural requirements and behaviour patterns blending the emerging features and skills with the existing ones. I will argue that there is a basic difference between the development of pragmatic competence in L1 and the sequential development of bilingual pragmatic competence. While the former is controlled mainly by the socio-cultural environment the latter is mostly motivated by individual will and preference. In the L1 language development and social development go hand in hand as a mostly subconscious, automatic and instinctive process in which individual consciousness and willingness to acquire social skills and knowledge play a relatively limited role. The whole process depends mainly on exposure to and nature of socio-cultural environment. Bilingual pragmatic competence, however, develops differently. When the new language is added gradually the existing L1-governed pragmatic competence is affected (besides exposure to L2 and environment) and motivated by individual control, consciousness and willingness to modify existing skills and behaviour patterns and acquire particular social skills and ignore others. This is not to say that the socio-cultural exposure and environment is not important. It of course is. However, it appears that there is more individual control included in bilingual pragmatic development than is the case in L1 pragmatic development.

This study looks into one context of Formulaic Speech (FS) usage: The partial L2 immersion class. It tries to define and classify FS according to Raupach’s contextual list (1984) and lexical criteria as well as differentiating it from creative speech. FS is presented mostly as a pragmatic concept challenging the usual conceptions of language acquisition as an analytical process. Also challenged is the idea that language production is based on analysis of the input followed by production out of parsed output. In a Second Language Acquisition perspective, FS is shown as being a temporary stage of acquisition which, among other aspects, enables the speaker to reach idiomaticity in his or her L2 and thereby efficient communication with native speakers.

The effects of deductive instruction and inductive instruction on learners’ development of pragmatic competence in the teaching of Chinese as a second language

Computerized Dynamic Assessment (CDA), encouraged by Brown and colleagues’ graduated prompt approach, is grounded in Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory (SCT) of mind and its concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). It emerged to respond to the challenge of implementing DA in large classes and to meet the psychometric properties of assessment. To this end, the present study attempted to design a unique computerized dynamic assessment tool to diagnose learners’ development of pragmatic competence, specifically their knowledge of the speech acts of apology and request. To conduct the research, a number of 60 BSc students of engineering, aged 18-24, participated in the study. They had different proficiency levels, including pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate levels. In the course of CDA, they were provided with 30 multiple choice discourse completion tests of apology and request and they were required to choose what they would say in that specific situation. The participants received pre-established meditational hints for each of the unacceptable responses, which were arranged from the most implicit to the most explicit. Finally, to diagnose learners’ development, their test performance, including their actual score, mediated score and learning potential score (LPS), was instantly displayed. Paired samples t-test showed development in learners’ mediated score. The results of the univariate analysis of variance showed that there is no interaction between mediation and proficiency level. Teachers can use this supplementary dynamic assessment tool to diagnose learners’ development of pragmatic competence.

Formulaic language units, ready-made chunks and sequences of words, have been the subject of a large and growing body of research. Although formulaic language has been largely overlooked in favor of models of language that center around the rule-governed, systematic nature of language and its use, there is increasing evidence that these multiword lexical units are integral to first- and second-language acquisition, as they are segmented from input and stored as wholes in long-term memory. They are fundamental to fluent language production, as they allow language production to occur while bypassing controlled processing and the constraints of short-term memory capacity. This article defines and describes formulaic language units and surveys the research evidence of their role in language acquisition and production. The implications of this knowledge for classroom teaching are considered, with particular emphasis on attending to input and fostering interaction to facilitate the acquisition of a repertoire of formulaic language.

The question of how to teach toward social, cultural and linguistic L2 pragmatic competence has raised serious challenges (Kasper, 1997). This is more the case for spoken rather than written discourse. As can be expected, the underlying pragmatic implications of spontaneous face-to-face communication naturally constrains the interactional scope and its potential pedagogical application. To address this issue, this naturalistic study explores two key potential contributors to the development of oral pragmatic competence: meta-pragmatic classroom conversational discourse and the course framework supporting that kind of relatively spontaneous interaction. An English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course provided fluency practice protocols, instruction in pragmatic categories, analysis of conversational data and “live” in-class intervention, focusing on meaning and alternate expressions and forms. Those interventions were designed to enhance learners’ ability to self-assess, monitor and expand their interactional repertoires. Part of a larger research project examining principles of pragmatics applied in EAP instruction, this study focuses on data from spontaneous classroom interactions situated within the integrated instructional framework of the course. Results present a range of strategies employed by the instructor consistent with current theoretical models of factors or pedagogical interventions that facilitate development of pragmatic competence.

This research aims to examine the role of listening comprehension in the development of pragmatic competence in students of German as a Foreign Language (DaF). Pragmatic competence, which involves understanding and using language appropriately according to social and cultural contexts, is a crucial aspect of effective communication. This literature review analyzes various theories and concepts related to pragmatics, listening comprehension, and foreign language learning to identify how listening comprehension activities can significantly contribute to the improvement of students' pragmatic competence. The results of the analysis indicate that exposure to authentic contexts through listening materials, coupled with teaching strategies that focus on the interpretation of implicit meaning and social nuances, can enrich learners' pragmatic understanding. The implications of this research highlight the importance of integrating specifically designed listening comprehension materials and activities into the DaF curriculum to facilitate the development of holistic communicative competence.

Over recent years, pragmatic knowledge has been a major area of interest within the field of second language acquisition. Despite this, most studies available in the literature have only focused on testing and analyzing L2 learners’ knowledge of speech acts such as request and suggestion structures. However, pragmatic competence stretches beyond these structures to encompass more significant issues including conversational implicatures, a key element in interactional conversations. This paper seeks to remedy the problem by analyzing the effects of explicit vs. implicit instructions of implicatures on developing intermediate EFL learners’ pragmatic competence in a pre-test, post-test, and delayed-post-test equivalent-groups research design. The participants were 63 intermediate EFL learners randomly assigned into two experimental groups and a control group. The first experimental group received explicit instructions on conversational implicatures and the second one received implicit instructions. The results revealed that the explicit group outperformed the implicit group. Accordingly, explicit instruction had priority over implicit instruction leading to a significant increase in learners’ pragmatic competence development. The results also indicated that explicitly instructed materials enjoyed significantly greater chances of retention after a one-week delay.

Background: Studies of productive language in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have focused on formal testing of syntax and semantics but have directed less attention to naturalistic discourse and formulaic language. Clinical observations suggest that individuals with AD retain the ability to produce formulaic language long after other cognitive abilities have deteriorated. Aims: This study quantifies production of formulaic expressions in the spontaneous speech of individuals with AD. Persons with early and late onset forms of the disease were compared. Methods & Procedures: Conversational language samples of individuals with early (n = 5) and late onset (n = 6) AD and healthy controls (n = 5) were analysed to determine whether formulaic language, as measured by the number of words in formulaic expressions, differs between groups. Outcomes & Results: Results indicate that individuals with AD, regardless of age of onset, used significantly more formulaic expressions than healthy controls. The early and late onset AD groups did not differ on formulaic language measures. Conclusions: These findings contribute to a dual process model of cerebral function, which proposes differing processing principles for formulaic and novel expressions. In this model, subcortical areas, which remain intact into late in the progression of Alzheimer's disease, play an important role in the production of formulaic language. Applications to clinical practice include identifying preserved formulaic language and providing informed counselling to patient and family.

This chapter presents a study that investigated the perceptions of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' pragmatic competence development in virtual environments in higher education in Palestine for the academic year 2020- 2021 in light of COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, a mixed-methods approach was employed using a questionnaire, role-play, and semi-structured interview. Seventy-five undergraduate EFL learners from four universities participated in this study. Results of the quantitative phase revealed positive perceptions of EFL learners towards pragmatic competence development in virtual environments, with the majority of responses falling under the categories of agree or strongly agree. Responses to the role-play activity demonstrated that there were differences in the pragmatic aspects EFL learners employed in favor of females, particularly in the richness of linguistic resources and level of politeness. EFL learners acknowledged the importance of pragmatic competence as a means to successful communication and emphasized its teachability in formal instruction.

Language learning

Multiword units of language, known as formulaic sequences, are pervasive and essential in communication (Wray, 2008). Although issues related to formulaicity have been under investigation in a number of research studies (e.g. Conklin & Schmitt, 2008; Wood, 2006), the present study is different in investigating the functions of formulaic sequences in the oral language production of young learners in the context of English as a foreign language. A class of 11 students (aged 9 to 11) was observed and video recorded for 16 sessions (90 minutes per session). Following transcription of selected speech samples, formulaic sequences were identified based on pre-established criteria. Analysis enabled categorisation of a range of functions for formulaic sequences in learners’ oral language production. Results revealed evidence that formulaic sequences performed a variety of roles in the learners’ language production. These sequences helped young language learners to improve their fluency, to economize effort on processing and also to buy time for processing. A significant novel finding of this study was evidence that language users might introduce dis-fluency in the production of their sequences in order to buy time for further processing.

This study investigated the development of pragmatic competence of L2 Korean learners in the longitudinal frame. The study employed 20 students at the intermediate level who just arrived in Korea to continue their study. To conduct this study, ‘leaving message on the answering machine’ task was developed using computer program. and collected the verbal data of request speech act and denial speech act of the participants. Overall, the participants developed pragmatic competence as their study continued. The rate of increasement showed rapid for three month at the beginning of the study, but turned slow or went back at the end of study. In terms of speech act, while the development of request speech act continued from the beginning to the end, that of denial speech act took place at the beginning and became fossilized later. And the difference following to the proficiency revealed as the higher level group showed continued development till the end of the study comparing to the lower level group. The lower level group showed development and backsliding alternatively during the period of study.

Interlanguage pragmatic development: the relation between pragmalinguistic competence and sociopragmatic competence