Request Speech Research Articles

The Aspect of Politeness Strategy in the Request Speech Act

The Aspect of Politeness Strategy in the Request Speech Act

The development of comprehension in interlanguage pragmatics

Abstract In the past, research in interlanguage pragmatics has primarily explained the differences between native speakers’ (NS) and non-native speakers’ (NNS) pragmatic performance based on cross-cultural and linguistic differences. Very few researchers have considered learners’ pragmatic performance based on second language comprehension. In this study, we will examine learners’ pragmatic performance using request strategies. The results of this study reveal that there is a proficiency effect for interpreting request speech acts at different levels of directness. We propose that learners’ processing strategies and capacities are important factors to consider when examining learners’ pragmatic performance.

Dyslexia: Deficits, Genetic Aetiology and Computer-based Remediation

The rationale, methods, and major results are reviewed for two related research programs on the genetic aetiology and remediation of dyslexia. Results from the rust program have revealed some severe deficits in phonological coding (non word reading) and related segmental language skills in most dyslexic children. Behaviour-genetic analyses of twin data have shown that dyslexic readers heritable deficits in phonological coding are closely linked to their heritable deficits in word recognition. The second research program is exploring the remediation of dyslexic readers' deficits in phonological coding -and word recognition through the use of talking computers. Dyslexic children read stories daily on computers in the schools and request speech feedback for difficult words. Preliminary results indicate that computer-based reading and speech feedback result in substantial gains for phonological coding and word recognition.