L2 Pragmatics Research Articles

How language teachers can go beyond speech etiquette: Adapting L2 Russian coursebooks to improve pragmatic competence

Within the field of RKI – russkij kak inostrannyj ‘Russian as a Foreign Language/L2 Russian’, so far little attention has been paid to teaching pragmatic competence, as the issues of language in context are traditionally covered by the subject rečevoj ėtiket ‘speech etiquette’, leaving pragmatics an underexplored field.The present study aims to analyze whether and to what extent current L2 Russian textbooks introduce topics related to pragmatics and, if so, how the existing material can be adapted to improve explicit instruction of pragmatic competence.The analysis was conducted on two handbooks of Russian rečevoj ėtiket ‘speech etiquette’ for L2 learners and a series of four textbooks designed for L1 Italian learners. Data analysis confirms the global tendency for textbooks to provide scarce to null meta-pragmatic explanations. The coursebooks were then searched for elements related to the speech act of request, and the materials were adapted to fit explicit pragmatic instruction. The material adaptations proposed in the current study are based on previous research on Russian pragmatics and L2 pragmatics and aim to overcome the ethno-nationalistic perspective of speech etiquette toward a more transnational Russophone context. Implications for teacher education are presented.

Fostering a translingual framework in teacher education focused on pragmatics: Identity and the multilingual turn in pragmatics pedagogy

As part of the multilingual turn in applied linguistics, practices in teacher education for L2 pragmatics should be reconsidered to highlight the interconnection between identity and pragmatics and explore ways to support learners' and teachers' multilingualism through pragmatics instruction. This paper aims to provide an overview of second language (L2) pragmatics research informed by a multilingual or translingual framework and to illustrate how teacher education can integrate its basic tenets into teachers’ professional development so that multicompetence can become a prominent goal in the teaching and assessment of pragmatic competence rather than monolingual native-speakerism.Although language teachers are often multilingual themselves, they may not readily see the potential of their own hybrid identities under the influence of a dominant monolingual ideology and thus may not spontaneously foster learners' multicompetence. Through an example of collaborative interactions in a teacher development course centered on pragmatics instruction, this paper will explore how teachers can jointly mediate their metapragmatic awareness while engaging in translingual pedagogy and strategically leverage their own translingual identity as pedagogy in teaching pragmatics. The paper will conclude by identifying three approaches to translingual pedagogy in pragmatics-focused instruction that acknowledges learners' and teachers’ multilingual repertoire and legitimatizes their voices, languages, and knowledge construction. (200 words).

Affording pragmatics-focused training for language teachers: The case of L2 Mandarin Chinese

This study reported the design and implementation of a 16-week graduate seminar on second language (L2) pragmatics offered for 14 graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) who were teaching various target languages as teachers of record at a US public university. Grounded in the explicit awareness-raising approach, the seminar was designed to increase the GTAs' pragmatic knowledge, promote their cross-cultural pragmatic awareness, and facilitate their teaching and researching of pragmatics. Specifically, the training comprised four modules: key concepts in pragmatics, cross-cultural pragmatics, L2 pragmatics, and instructional pragmatics. With the recent advances in technology, the guidelines and practices for effectively designing web-based pragmatic materials were also incorporated. One of the GTAs, who was a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and taught the language in the program, was observed as a focal participant to track the development of her pragmatic knowledge and application. Overall, the participants' positive evaluation ratings and comments on the seminar, as well as the focal Chinese GTA's demonstrated knowledge and application in pragmatics over time, suggest that the pragmatics-focused training is beneficial to cultivate the GTAs' professional knowledge and qualities in delivering pragmatics instruction.

The role of individual differences in second language pragmatics: A systematic review

AbstractThe current systematic review aims to understand the role of individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) pragmatics and offer recommendations for further research in this domain. To achieve this, 86 empirical studies in L2 pragmatics published in SSCI (Social Science Citation Index) journals from 2000 to 2023 were systematically selected and coded for IDs, pragmatic features and modalities investigated, methodological orientation, and research findings. The significance of this review paper is the inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative findings and the identification of research trends in the last two decades. This inclusive approach allowed us to reveal the extent to which ID factors were studied within the classic research paradigm (i.e., the influence of IDs in isolation) and the socio‐dynamic research paradigm (i.e., the combined influence of IDs and context over time). Findings revealed that the IDs identified (L2 proficiency, identity, intercultural competence, language mindsets, willingness to communicate, motivation, and cognitive factors) exerted considerable influence on L2 pragmatic competence. Accounting for research gaps, trends in methodology, and findings in the area, we provide specific recommendations for future research to bring the study of L2 pragmatics in line with the ‘affective turn’ in second language acquisition.

L2 pragmatic development by early teenagers in study abroad and foreign language settings: a focus on pragmatic markers

ABSTRACT Second Language Pragmatics (L2 pragmatics) research focused on the study abroad (SA) context points out the benefits of this context for second language (L2) pragmatic development while also illustrating the non-linearity of this development, as it is shaped by different contextual factors and individual differences. Nevertheless, this research has primarily focused on adult learners, and little is known about how children and adolescents learn L2 pragmatics in SA. The present study investigates how pragmatic markers (PMs) develop in young English language learners in two learning contexts: SA and at home (AH). More particularly, the study examines differences in the frequency and type of PMs across these contexts. Thirty-four Catalan/Spanish girls aged 12, learning English at home (n = 16) and in an SA context in Ireland (n = 18), participated in the study. Participants were interviewed before and after their SA experience, and the results revealed no statistically significant differences from pre- to post-test in the AH group, with only one observed in the SA group. Only one significant difference was found between the two groups in favour of the SA group. Hence, the study sheds more light on the complexity entailed in the phenomenon of L2 pragmatic development during SA.

An Ecological Perspective on Agency: L2 Learners’ Sociopragmatic Interpretations and Strategies in a Study Abroad Context

In applied linguistics, there has been a growing body of L2 pragmatics studies that investigate the intricate relationship between language learners’ subjective pragmatic choices and various contextual factors. The current study contributes to the understanding of language learner agency by illustrating the complex processes through which language learners enact their agency in response to varying contextual factors when making their sociopragmatic interpretations and strategies. To capture the ecological nature of agency, this study conceptualizes agency as contextually, interpersonally, intrapersonally, spatially, and temporally embedded. Through the in-depth examination of the accounts of three L2 learners of Japanese regarding their interactions with religious group members during their study abroad in Japan, this study demonstrates language learners’ divergent ways of enacting their agency, stemming from their orientations to the unique configurations of various contextual attributes in the L2 interactions. Such differences were rooted in and guided by their past experiences, present environments, and future aspirations that impacted their sociopragmatic perceptions, expectations, and choices. This study provides a complicated picture of language learner agency as a dialogic and reflexive process in which learners interact with contextual factors and adapt their sociopragmatic choices. Thus, it calls for an ecological, processual, and holistic approach to language learner agency through the close examination of the ways in which various contextual factors come together in L2 interactions, the process of how language learners orient to dynamic configurations of contextual factors, and what guides such orientations.

Evaluating Iranian L2 Teachers’ Assessment Literacy for L2 Pragmatics by Applying the CEFR’s Pragmatic Competence Model: Possible Sociocultural-Informed Solutions

Nearly all multidimensional models of communication competence have pragmatic competence at their core. Proper assessment of second language (L2) pragmatics makes many demands on L2 teachers, both in terms of understanding the construct and in language test development. Therefore, being assessment literate helps teachers in developing effective tests geared toward educational outcomes. Despite the importance of assessment literacy (AL) for pragmatics, the field is still under-researched. Mindful of this fact and the significance of pragmatics in L2 learning and assessment, this study adopted the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) model of pragmatic competence to examine Iranian L2 teachers’ AL for L2 pragmatics and linked the results to the Sociocultural Theory (SCT) for formulating theoryinformed answers to the problems in the teachers’ assessment of L2 pragmatics. Group interviews were run with 67 participants and then qualitative and quantitative content analyses were performed. The paper discusses the identified problems in the assessment of L2 pragmatics and offers recommendations for raising L2 teachers’ AL for L2 pragmatics.

Learning with a purpose: Acquisition of compliments and compliment responses by beginning learners of Spanish in synchronous online exchanges

This research examines the effect of explicit pragmatic instruction and student's perceptions of guided reflections on the acquisition of compliments and compliment responses (CRs) in beginning learners of Spanish. It adopts a pragmatic consciousness-raising approach and a four-step lesson plan for teaching compliments and CRs in the language classroom. Unlike many studies in interlanguage pragmatics conducted in classrooms or laboratory settings at the intermediate and advanced level, this study examines the acquisition and use (or lack thereof) of compliments and CR's though synchronous online face-to-face conversations of L2 learners with L1 speakers of Spanish. It analyzes change overtime with the same learners using a pretest-posttest design. A quantitative analysis indicated statistically significant differences in the production of compliments, yet no significant differences were observed in the production of CR's. The qualitative analysis of the guided reflections highlighted a need for more in-class practice with compliments and CR's. Students' responses suggest that reflections can help raise awareness of the use (or lack thereof) of these speech acts. This study contributes to L2 pragmatics and to our understanding of L2 acquisition developmental stages.

The Development of Pragmatic Markers in English as a Second Language: Do Age and Learning Context Matter?

The present study explores the development of pragmatic marker (PM) use by children and adult L2 English learners in two learning contexts: study abroad (SA) and at home (AH). The study involved a group of 35 Catalan/Spanish girls (aged 11 to 13) learning English AH (n = 16) and abroad in Ireland (n = 19), and a group of 16 adult students aged 19–31 learning English in the UK and Ireland (n = 10) and at their home university in Barcelona (n = 6). To test their pragmatic development, the use of PMs was prompted through pre-test and post-test semi-structured interviews. The results indicated an effect of both age and context on PM development. Children in the SA context increased their use of some PMs, whereas their peers who remained at home did not show any development. Regarding the adults, both SA and AH participants increased their use of specific PMs. These findings shed some light on a topic that has not received scholarly attention in the field of L2 pragmatics: the development of PM use by children. Additionally, they contribute to the very small body of longitudinal studies on the development of PM use during SA.

Un flux de activități didactice pentru dezvoltarea competenței pragmatice în limba română ca limbă străină

The following article discusses various strategies on how to develop L2 pragmatics in a classroom setting. Drawing on the importance of developing learners’ pluricultural repertoire raised by the Companion Volume of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2020), we will argue in favour of developing the pragmatic competence together with the intercultural communicative competence (Byram 1997). In the study case we suggest – ordering at the restaurant – we put forward a string of didactic activities as a possibile teaching resource for teachers of Romanian as a second language in multicultural environments. The article is divided into six sections, as follows: 1) Introduction; 2) CEFR on the pluricultural repertoire; 3) On the intercultural competence and the intercultural communicative competence; 4) Case study – teaching a directive speech act (how to order at a restaurant) in Romanian; 5) Conclusions; 6) Annex 1 to the article consisting in the transcripts used for the case study.

Why is L2 pragmatics still a neglected area in EFL teaching? Uncovered stories from Vietnamese EFL teachers

Abstract Despite receiving more attention and obtaining a well-established status in second language (L2) teaching research during the last three decades, L2 pragmatics remains an excluded topic in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching in many investigated contexts. Adopting a qualitative case study design, this paper examines what seven EFL teachers from different Vietnamese high schools perceive about L2 pragmatics and instructional pragmatics and reflect on their teacher preparation programs in these regards. The findings reveal that the participating teachers were not taught about L2 pragmatics and instructional pragmatics during their professional education, resulting in their little content and pedagogical knowledge of L2 pragmatics. This leads to their general exclusion of L2 pragmatics teaching in their classroom practices. The uncovered stories from these teachers provide essential implications for teacher education programs in Vietnam and its similar contexts. Importantly, they add more understanding to the relationship of teachers’ knowledge and their practices of L2 pragmatics teaching, a current understudied research area with specific reference to teacher cognition of L2 pragmatics.

The Impact of Corrective Feedback on L2 Pragmatics Production in Face-to-face and Technology-mediated Settings

This paper presents findings from a quasi-experimental study that examined the effect of corrective feedback (CF) on L2 pragmatics, specifically comparing Face-to-Face (FF) and Technology-Mediated (TM) modes. The study involved a total of forty-four ESL students from three parallel intact classes. The primary focus of this paper is to report the results obtained from data collected through production tasks employing Role-play scenarios. To analyze the data, a mixed-model Analysis of Variance was conducted, examining the main and interaction effects of CF, delivery mode (FF and TM), speech act type (request and refusal), and time (pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test). The results demonstrated that CF had a substantial positive effect on L2 pragmatic production, resulting in significant overall improvement. Furthermore, the results showed that both FF and TM modes of CF were similarly effective for enhancing pragmatic production. Additionally, the study demonstrated that the effects of CF on pragmatic production were durable and long-lasting. Altogether, these findings support the utilization of corrective feedback in technology-mediated language instruction within L2 classrooms.

The Interplay Between L2 Motivation and Proficiency in Predicting EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Engagement

Drawing on self-determination theory and L2 pragmatics, this study scrutinizes how two motivational dimensions (autonomous and controlled) can affect EFL learners’ behavioral engagement in learning pragmatics across various English proficiency levels. One hundred ninety-eight Saudi EFL learners were surveyed for their English proficiency level, L2 motivation, and pragmatic engagement. The findings revealed an overall significant positive correlation between EFL learners’ L2 motivation and pragmatic engagement. Autonomous and controlled motivations were significantly and positively correlated with pragmatic engagement among all the English proficiency groups. Learners with advanced proficiency exhibited significantly higher correlations than their counterparts, indicating that L2 motivation mediated by proficiency predicted pragmatic engagement. Learners with higher levels of English proficiency were more sensitive to the pragmatic aspects of the language and, therefore, more motivated toward active engagement in pragmatically oriented contexts than intermediate and upper-intermediate learners.

Self‐praise on social media WeChat Moments in L1 and L2 Chinese

AbstractTo date, second language (L2) pragmatics research has predominantly focused on learners’ oral communication, with digital communication being much less examined. In addition, although L2 pragmatics has mainly investigated speech acts, self‐praise has not been examined from the L2 perspective. Therefore, this study investigates instances of self‐praise posted by learners of Chinese on social networking sites. Data were collected from 20 advanced learners of Chinese who were asked to share instances of self‐praise they posted on their WeChat Moments. Altogether, 61 learners’ self‐praise posts in L2 Chinese and 100 instances of self‐praise from 20 Chinese native speakers were collected. The learners’ Chinese self‐praise was analyzed in terms of different pragmatic strategies and emoji uses, with comparisons against the native speakers’ practices. Similarities and differences were analyzed between the two groups’ self‐praise strategies and their emoji use in self‐praise posts. The findings showed that the advanced learners were able to employ the three major types of self‐praise strategies in their self‐praise posts on WeChat Moments. However, their repertoires of individual self‐praise strategies and emojis were not as wide as those of native speakers. In addition, the learners showed divergences from the native speakers in terms of their preferred self‐praise strategies and culture‐relevant emojis.

Speech acts and interaction in L2 pragmatics: Insights from Chinese as the target language

AbstractThe articles in this special issue contribute to second language (L2) pragmatics by investigating different speech acts and interactions in Chinese as the target language. The studies all examined learners’ pragmatic performance in different contexts and compared their performance with that of native Chinese speakers. The findings of the articles showed what the learners could achieve and what they still had problems in. In this commentary, I first analyze and discuss the aspects in these articles that impress me the most, including research design and focus on L2 pragmatics, theoretical contributions, and methodological considerations. Then, I will address some important implications that the articles provide for future research in L2 pragmatics.

The relative effects of corrective feedback and language proficiency on the development of L2 pragmalinguistic competence: the case of request downgraders

Abstract In recent years, corrective feedback has attracted L2 pragmatics researchers’ attention. This study examined the effects of direct and metapragmatic corrective feedback on the learning of request downgraders for Chinese learners of English. Eighty college students were divided into four groups: (1) high proficiency + direct feedback, (2) high proficiency + metapragmatic feedback, (3) low proficiency + direct feedback, and (4) low proficiency + metapragmatic feedback. Using a pre-test–instruction–post-test–delayed post-test design, the results revealed that all the groups made significant progress with a prolonged effect after four weeks, and that metapragmatic feedback yielded a greater effect than direct feedback for the low proficiency learners. Moreover, the learners in general held positive perceptions towards the feedback they received. This study closes by providing pedagogical implications for language teachers and suggesting future directions for researchers.

Effects of deductive and explicit‐inductive instruction on tertiary‐level Chinese learners’ use of English subjunctive as a pragmatic mitigator

AbstractThis quasi‐experimental study investigates the immediate and long‐term effects of deductive instruction and explicit‐inductive instruction to L2 learners on the use of the English subjunctive as a pragmatic mitigator. Two intact classes of tertiary‐level Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners, labeled as the deductive group and the explicit‐inductive group, respectively, received two 45‐min sessions of pragmatic intervention, whereas a third intact class serving as the control group was given grammatical instruction. The immediate post‐test and delayed post‐test administered to the three groups shows that the deductive group had an immediate edge but not a long‐term one over the explicit‐inductive group, in terms of appropriateness and linguistic accuracy; however, the gain of the explicit‐inductive group was better retained than in the deductive group. This study contributes to the expansion of instructional targets within the field of L2 pragmatics. It also highlights the relative advantage of deductive and explicit‐inductive instruction methods.

Pragmatics and Instructional Pragmatics in Second/Foreign Language Preservice Teacher Education: A Case Study in Australia and Vietnam

Pragmatics in the field of English language teaching has recently received increasing research interests, but studies on teachers learning to teach pragmatics are limited. The present study extends this research agenda by investigating how well second/foreign language preservice teacher education (SLPTE) prepares teachers to teach pragmatics. Adopting a multi-site case study approach, this study examines (1) the representation of pragmatics and instructional pragmatics in SLPTE programmes at Australian and Vietnamese universities, and (2) programme leaders’ beliefs about pragmatics instructor preparation. Data were collected from curriculum document analysis, a questionnaire, and four individual semi-structured interviews. The findings show that pragmatics was represented to different extents across the programmes but instructional pragmatics was entirely absent. The findings further show three sets of the programme leaders’ beliefs: (1) preservice teachers were not well-prepared to teach pragmatics; (2) teaching pragmatics and instructional pragmatics to preservice teachers is important; and (3) pragmatics and instructional pragmatics need to be sufficiently addressed in SLPTE. The study has important implications for teacher educators, curriculum designers, and relevant stakeholders regarding L2 pragmatics teacher preparation.

L2 grit and pragmatic comprehension among Chinese postgraduate learners: Enjoyment and anxiety as mediators

AbstractComprehension of implicature may be challenging for L2 learners, which may be further influenced for by learners’ L2 grit and emotions. However, few studies have endeavored to determine the predictive impact of L2 grit, along with its closely associated emotional factors, such as enjoyment and anxiety, and investigate how these psychological factors jointly influence pragmatic comprehension. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the relationship between L2 grit and pragmatic comprehension, along with the mediating roles of enjoyment and anxiety in their interactions. The data were collected from 171 Chinese non‐English major postgraduate learners, a population that has been less pronounced in L2 pragmatics. The findings revealed that the perseverance of effort (PE) of L2 grit predicted pragmatic comprehension instead of the consistency of interest of L2 grit. Pragmatic comprehension was positively but weakly linked to enjoyment and shared negative and moderate associations with anxiety. Only anxiety mediated the interaction between PE and pragmatic comprehension. Implications for pragmatic instruction and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A Review on Refusals in Second Language Pragmatics Instruction

Research on the development of L2 pragmatic competence has focused chiefly on speech acts. However, this does not mean that speech acts are sufficiently understood. Refusals have been much less studied than requests, though they are the second most investigated speech act (Ren, 2022). This paper aims to make contributions to L2 refusal instruction by reviewing previous studies on L2 refusals. In conclusion, research on L2 refusal instruction has mostly concentrated on implicit and explicit instruction, ignoring the role of task-based instruction and other instructions. However, they are widely used in other second-language acquisition (SLA) areas, like morphosyntax. Individual learner factors like L2 proficiency and working memory are investigated in L2 refusal instruction. This paper aims to make contributions to L2 pragmatics by reviewing empirical research on L2 refusals.