Proficiency and pragmatic production in L2 Chinese study abroad

Abstract

Abstract This study documented the development of pragmatic production and proficiency of L2 Chinese learners in a study abroad context and explored the relationship between proficiency and L2 pragmatic development. The participants were 129 learners of Chinese who attended a 15-week study abroad program in China. At the beginning and end of their program study, all participants completed a Chinese proficiency test and a Chinese simulated oral proficiency interview. The results showed that the learners’ pragmatic production and proficiency both improved from the pretest to posttest, but the pragmatic improvement did not relate to their proficiency development in study abroad. The findings might be explained by varying levels of development in learners’ proficiency and pragmatic production during study abroad.