Pragmatic Production Research Articles

Third Language Learners: Pragmatic Production and Awareness Edited by SAFONT JORDÀ, MARIA PILAR

The Modern Language JournalVolume 91, Issue 1 p. 134-135 Third Language Learners: Pragmatic Production and Awareness Edited by SAFONT JORDÀ, MARIA PILAR CRISTINA SANZ, CRISTINA SANZ Georgetown UniversitySearch for more papers by this author CRISTINA SANZ, CRISTINA SANZ Georgetown UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: 16 February 2007 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00514_12.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Volume91, Issue1Spring 2007Pages 134-135 RelatedInformation

THIRD LANGUAGE LEARNERS: PRAGMATIC PRODUCTION AND AWARENESS

THIRD LANGUAGE LEARNERS: PRAGMATIC PRODUCTION AND AWARENESS. Maria Pilar Safont Jordá. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2005. Pp. viii + 184. 39.95 paper.This volume reports on a study of pragmatic instruction among third language learners in a foreign language (FL) context. Over half of the volume is devoted to laying out the theoretical background; the rest focuses on an empirical study. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the field of third language acquisition that points out differences between it and SLA research. Especially interesting is the literature review, which presents research conducted in Spain on third language acquisition. This is followed by a comprehensive look at bilingualism. Chapter 2 offers an outline of research in the field of interlanguage pragmatics, organized around three main approaches: relevance theory, politeness theory, and speech-act theory. An argument for the importance of pragmatic instruction is also developed. The chapter ends with a discussion of relevant research on the speech act of requesting (particularly the production of requests) by FL learners. Chapter 3 closes the theoretical framework with an in-depth presentation of the Valencian community and its language learning and use. This is a very interesting chapter for readers unfamiliar with the language richness of this community.

Pragmatic Production of Third Language Learners of English: A Focus on Request Acts Modifiers

The present study examines pragmatic production of monolingual (L1 Castilian) and bilingual (L1 Catalan, L2 Castilian) learners of English in a foreign language learning context, that of the Valencian Community in Spain. We particularly focused on proficiency-level effects and on the role of the task type in the use of request acts peripheral modification devices. We ascertained participants' degree of bilingual competence by means of a bilingualism test, which was designed on the basis of previous research (Li Wei, 2000). Additionally, a level placement test was distributed to our participants, and their performance was assessed on the basis of the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Data for our analysis were collected by means of an open discourse completion test and a role-play task. Results from our analysis point to differences between bilinguals' and monolinguals' use of peripheral modification devices. More specifically our study shows that (1) L3 learners of English employed request modifiers more frequently and appropriately than L2 English learners, (2) intermediate learners performed better than beginner learners both in the oral and written task, and (3) the written task allowed for a wider use of peripheral modification devices although results also show that internal modification devices were highly employed in the oral task. Findings from our study seem to call for further research on the pragmatic competence of third language learners of English thereby considering other speech acts or pragmatic aspects and also by analysing subjects from different linguistic backgrounds.

Third language learners: pragmatic production and awareness

Third language learners: pragmatic production and awareness

The effect of instruction and feedback in the development of pragmatic competence

Abstract This study examines the effectiveness of teaching pragmatic information through the use of explicit or implicit pre-instruction, and explicit or implicit feedback, to English-speaking learners of third-semester Spanish. Results on a pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest indicate that the groups that experienced explicit pre-instruction and explicit feedback during exercises performed significantly better than the other experimental group and the control group in multiple choice items. The group that had implicit instruction together with implicit feedback performed significantly better in the open-ended dialogues, suggesting that the question recasts used had a positive effect on their pragmatic production. The delayed posttest, however, revealed that such gains are not clearly retained in the longer term. Nevertheless, the two posttests indicate that those groups that received instruction and feedback, whether explicit or implicit, appear to become aware of a greater number of options to express suggestions, and also of a need for pragmatic mitigation, more quickly than the control group. These findings are encouraging for the use of pragmatic instruction in the classroom to develop a greater pragmatic competence.

Fear Prudence: Hobbes and Williamson on the Morality of Contracting

Theories of new institutionalism, and specifically Oliver Williamson's theory of transaction cost economics, argue that complete presentiment in contracts is an abstract design of classical economics, not a pragmatic product of contingent experience. Exchange is not a costless activity, nor the market free. The ex ante costs of negotiation (finding a price) and the ex post costs of clarifying, executing, enforcing, sanctioning, and renegotiating are idiosyncrasies that interfere with the smoothness of an exchange. These idiosyncratic dimensions of contracting, in which transactions are neither faceless, nor instantaneous (Williamson 1985, 56), expose decision making to the contingent influence of habit, perceived vested interest, and limited knowledge and capacity. Organizations are a response to this decisional incompleteness and the attendant non-value-adding costs. An organization is a set of authority relations established by a general contract, whereby agents agree essentially to 'tell and be told' (Williamson 1985, 221) in order to minimize transaction uncertainty and hence costs (Spekle 2001). For Williamson, then, the driver behind organizational form is less the reduction in production costs (through specialization, etc.) than the increased certainty of exchange. This is realized by repressing the pursuit of localized interests; using decisional fiats rather than costly arbitration; having a bird's eye view of information flow facilitating the integration of activities both externally (for example, production with demand) and internally (for example, operations with strategy); and reducing the opportunity for shirking and embezzlement (1986, 143-146). Critics of Williamson's transaction cost analysis point to its apparent institutional nalvete. In addition to the transaction, there are other units of analysis that influence organizational form, such as production or prevailing culture. Moreover, even within the transactional unit, the alignment of hierarchies does not always tend toward equilib-

Metapragmatic awareness and pragmatic production of third language learners of English: A focus on request acts realizations*1

The present study attempts to expand the scope of investigation on the role of bilingualism in third language use. Recent studies have attributed an advantage to bilinguals over monolinguals with respect to particular aspects of language use like communicative sensitivity(Oskaar, 1990), metalinguistic awareness(Cenoz & Valencia, 1994; Jessner, 1999; Lasagabaster, 1998) and interactional competence(Jessner, 1997). Nevertheless, very little research to date has been devoted to investigate pragmatic competence of third language learners(Fouser, 1997). On that account, our study aims at ascertaining the effect of bilingualism in third language learners' pragmatic production and metapragmatic awareness with a focus on request acts linguistic formulations. Regarding pragmatic production, we analyzed the use of request formulae by 80 monolingual(Castilian) and 80 bilingual(Catalan and Castilian) female learners of English as a foreign language in a discourse completion test and role-play task. We also contrasted participants' responses to a discourse evaluation test in determining their degree of metapragmatic awareness. Results from our analysis point to the advantage of bilinguals over monolinguals in justifying their evaluation on the appropriateness of certain requests'strategies to particular contexts, as well as on their use of request realizations. Findings from our study seem to call for further research on the pragmatic competence of third language learners of English thereby considering other speech acts or pragmatic aspects and also by analyzing subjects from different linguistic backgroun ds.

Explanation and Argumentation Capabilities: Towards the Creation of More Persuasive Agents

During the past two decades many research teams have worked on the enhancement of the explanation capabilities of knowledge-based systems and decision support systems. During the same period, other researchers have worked on the development of argumentative techniques for software systems. We think that it would be interesting for the researchers belonging to these different communities to share their experiences and to develop systems that take advantage of the advances gained in each domain. We start by reviewing the evolution of explanation systems from the simple reasoning traces associated with early expert systems to recent research on interactive and collaborative explanations. We then discuss the characteristics of critiquing systems that test the credibility of the user's solution. The rest of the paper deals with the different application domains that use argumentative techniques. First, we discuss how argumentative reasoning can be captured by a general structure in which a given claim or conclusion is inferred from a set of data and how this argument structure relates to pragmatic knowledge, explanation production and practical reasoning. We discuss the role of argument in defeasible reasoning and present some works in the new field of computer-mediated defeasible argumentation. We review different application domains such as computer-mediated communication, design rationale, crisis management and knowledge management, in which argumentation support tools are used. We describe models in which arguments are associated to mental attitudes such as goals, plans and beliefs. We present recent advances in the application of argumentative techniques to multi-agent systems. Finally, we propose research perspectives for the integration of explanation and argumentation capabilities in knowledge-based systems and make suggestions for enhancing the argumentation and persuasion capabilities of software agents.

A TRANSPARÊNCIA ILOCUCIONÁRIA E A MARCAÇÃO PRAGMÁTICA SOB PERSPECTIVA INTERLINGÜÍSTICA

Este trabalho pretende abordar, sob perspectiva interlingüística, as noções de transparência ilocucionária e marcação pragmática à luz do papel que desempenham na configuração do comportamento indireto no português do Brasil, no inglês britânico e na produção pragmática de alunos brasileiros de inglês de nível adiantado. Com base em três estudos empíricos, argumenta-se que o modelo pragmático de base referencial, comumente usado na explicação do comportamento diretivo indireto, só poderá ser aceito em conjunto com a noção de marcação pragmática. Argumenta-se, ainda, que tal noção é crucial para se explicar a ocorrência da influência interlingüística na produção de diretivos na interlíngua.

The effects of self-instruction training on a deaf child's semantic and pragmatic production

Effects of self-instruction training on the communication skills of a profoundly hearing- impaired child were studied. Self-instruction training included modeling a series of problem-solving steps in order to direct communication production. Communication production was operationalized as signed semantic and pragmatic functions. A multiple baseline was used to assess treatment and generalization (treatment variations of person and setting) effects. There was evidence to suggest that self-instruction was immediately effective on pragmatic behaviors but such behaviors were reduced when another person administered treatment. In contrast, self-instruction training had a gradual influence on semantic behaviors and those effects were maintained when treatment included a different person and setting. Implications of the clinical study were discussed.

Transfer of learning

An experiment on transfer of learning using text editors revealed significant differences in performance, based on the learning experience of the subjects. The set of commands of a text editor was divided into four subsets. Different groups of subjects learned these subsets in different orders. Depending on the order of learning, subjects formed different concepts of the editor as manifest by their choice of commands, their errors, and their model of the editor, elicited by a sorting task. Pragmatic production model approaches to transfer would need significant enhancement to accommodate this result.

Transfer of learning

An experiment on transfer of learning using text editors revealed significant differences in performance, based on the learning experience of the subjects. The set of commands of a text editor was divided into four subsets. Different groups of subjects learned these subsets in different orders. Depending on the order of learning, subjects formed different concepts of the editor as manifest by their choice of commands, their errors, and their model of the editor, elicited by a sorting task. Pragmatic production model approaches to transfer would need significant enhancement to accommodate this result.

Bridging the gap between production management and economics Part 1 A micro production model

This paper attempts to bridge the gap between where economic theory leaves the concept of the production function and where the pragmatic production manager stands, devoid of an adequate theoretical understanding of the multivariate, compounding set of real-time factors associated with manufacturing systems. The mathematical approach has been changed from calculus to topology in an attempt to provide a more visual vehicle for everyday use. Essentially the topological building block is a three-dimensional vector space which is used to model both the microeconomic and the microproduction function. As the number of dimensions in the model increases to match practical needs, so a new method of defining the production function was evolved.